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The Forum > Article Comments > How one small business cut its energy use and costs > Comments

How one small business cut its energy use and costs : Comments

By Tom Bowman, published 20/10/2010

How significant would it be if small businesses increased their energy efficiency and reduced their emissions?

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Given public policy is driving energy efficiencies and carbon reduction the availability of information one can trust is essential. Knowing what is available, how cost effective it is and how efficacious the solution is in practice will lead to more people being willing to make the change. There are more ‘snake oil’ salespeople out there giving advice than one can estimate.

Perhaps government could use some of their facilities to model what to do and how to do it; provided the true cost of what is done is made public. Model the change so people can see.
Posted by Paul @ Bathurst, Wednesday, 20 October 2010 8:00:16 AM
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Paul
What makes you think governments aren't principal among the snake oil salesmen? The entire hoo-haa and moral panic is an artefact of the governmental funding of science, and all those dutiful technicians diligently adjusting their data sets unidirectionally *up*.
Posted by Peter Hume, Wednesday, 20 October 2010 10:57:18 AM
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Australian businesses undoubtedly have the capacity to operate more efficiently and reduce their energy costs in the process. A few have already taken such action and improved their profit margin and competitive position in the process. However the majority will be slow to act until there is a significant hike in the cost of electricity and vehicle fuel – and a better example from the public sector.

It is all very well for governments to urge the private sector to reduce their carbon footprint but hardly encouraging when it does little to set its own house in order. It is time we demanded action from Commonwealth and State governments and the many businesses and agencies they own or operate.

In this regard, independent monitoring agencies, such as Auditors General, need to be given the power and responsibility for monitoring and reporting annually on the performance of the public sector.
Posted by Agnostic of Mittagong, Wednesday, 20 October 2010 12:53:38 PM
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Would it be better for our future as well as for nature, if us humans all lived underground also expelling harmfull gasses even further underground similar to natural forests and such?
Posted by bushbred, Wednesday, 20 October 2010 4:02:35 PM
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What a pile of garbage. It is simply an advertising promotion, for a company in the global warming scam business.

He bought a Toyota Prius. Another scam. These things cost so much energy to produce, that there is no chance they will ever "save" any emissions.

Then, instead of repairing the gear that had already paid it's manufacturing emission costs & was operating reasonably efficiently, they buy new ones. Once again the emissions expended in manufacturing replacements, & probably crushing the old gear, has produced much more emissions than the new gear will save against using the existing stuff to the end of it's life.

It highlights just how stupid the green movement is, that they can be conned so easily. I wonder if the individuals are as stupid as the movement they form? I may be able to sell a few bridges.

Just as well those CO2 emissions are good for the planet.
Posted by Hasbeen, Wednesday, 20 October 2010 8:25:54 PM
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This is Tom Bowman, the author of the article. Hasbeen raises some of the concerns we had when we started. We learned how important it is to consider our circumstances in making choices, rather than rely on generalizations and assumptions.

For example, research indicates that carbon emissions from driving a car—even a Prius—over its lifetime outweigh emissions from manufacturing the car. By more than doubling our fuel efficiency, we gain a very large benefit. However, a colleague of ours decided to keep his moderately efficient car because he drives it so much less than anyone else would. Depending on one's circumstances, either option might make sense. Our old car is probably still on the road too, so it is not being wasted as Hasbeen suggests. New cars are built and sold every day, and in a very small way we contributed to consumer demand for more fuel efficient models.

It is incorrect to assume that keeping our old copier and air conditioner were viable options. They were very old and worn out, parts were becoming hard to find, and costly repairs were becoming frequent. If we had repaired our old air conditioner we would have had to replace most of its components with new parts anyway. Therefore, emissions for new manufacturing could not be avoided, and we would have also paid an inefficiency penalty year after year. If our equipment had been relatively new, then repairing it might have been better, as Hasbeen suggests. But circumstances vary. At least the old unit was recycled.

It is also easy to accuse businesses of sharing information for self-interested reasons. Every business does. I would simply note that our client base is very diverse and generally not concerned with sustainability, energy efficiency, or global warming. The information in this article is offered freely in hopes that it might help interested business owners make their own organizations more energy efficient.

Best to all.
Posted by Bowman, Thursday, 21 October 2010 1:21:38 PM
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