New guide eases manufacturers into ESOS

ESOS is designed to help British businesses become more energy efficient, saving them money and helping the UK towards achieving its emissions targets. Under the compulsory scheme, large companies (250+ employees or annual turnover over £50m and balance sheet over £43m) will have to carry out a detailed energy audit by 5th December 2015 latest.

EEF expects around a third of manufacturers will need to comply, making it vital for them to get to grips with the scheme as quickly and smoothly as possible in order to meet the deadline. However, a recent npower survey shows that 46% of manufacturers aren’t even aware of the scheme and 69% feel uninformed about what is required of them.

The guide - Understanding the Energy Saving Opportunity Scheme - a Guide for Manufacturers – provides an overview of the scheme, explaining what it is, who qualifies, what is required and by when. It is designed to help businesses plan their approach to the scheme and provides valuable links to other sources of help and information.

However, the guide isn’t just about compliance. It also explains how manufacturers can go above and beyond ESOS requirements to achieve even greater cost-savings and competitive advantage.

According to DECC (Department of Energy & Climate Change), big businesses are potentially wasting around £2.8 billion a year on electricity they don’t need. By implementing recommendations made as part of their ESOS audit, they could slash consumption by 0.7%, saving over £250 million a year on bills.

Gareth Stace, Head of Climate and Environment Policy at EEF, says: "With the deadline for ESOS compliance hitting at the end of the year it’s vital that companies get up-to-speed as quickly as possible.

"For the many manufacturers that have already taken significant steps to improve energy efficiency, ESOS can be viewed as a ‘stock taking exercise’, ensuring that momentum is maintained and new measures are highlighted and taken when possible.

"For others, the scheme will provide the impetus to map out an energy efficiency strategy from scratch, highlighting the most cost-effective measures to be taken and where considerable savings can be made. With energy prices, most notably electricity, set to rise significantly in coming years, energy efficiency measures remain the most effective and proactive way manufacturers can manage and minimise these increasing costs.”

The free guide can be downloaded here: www.eef.org.uk/esosguide.

In addition to the free guide, EEF is also offering companies bespoke in-house ESOS support training.