Energy Efficiency Good for Branding, Deloitte Report Concludes

By Michael Foster, Big4.com Blogger

A new Deloitte report suggests that energy efficiency does more than saves money: it also improves a company’s brand.

That’s one of the conclusions of the study, entitled reSources 2012, which says that 81 per cent of companies believe that energy efficiency is “critical” to brand building. Over 75 per cent of respondents said that energy efficiency was one of the ways that they promoted themselves to customers, in a sign that energy efficiency not only saves on operating costs, but can also be an attractive selling point for acquiring new business.

However, respondents believe that they have much more work to do when it comes to improving their energy efficiency. Most survey respondents said that they achieved nearly 60 per cent of their targeted energy reduction levels, while acknowledging that further cuts will be much harder and may require larger investments that might not be available until business conditions improve.

At the same time, lower energy costs may hinder managers’ efforts to improve energy efficiency, according to the report. Analysts at Deloitte noted that low natural gas prices may paradoxically mean that it will be harder for companies to reach their cost targets for energy expenditure.

The highest growth was found in adoption of green energy programs through electricity providers and self-generation of energy. Nearly 35 per cent of companies surveyed said that they generate a portion of their electricity on their own. Last year, that figure was 21 per cent.