Changing employee behaviour to improve energy efficiency and fight climate change
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) helps companies and countries implement energy management systems by allowing managers to track and quantify energy consumption to improve their performance.
Do you ever think about how much energy you are using to light and heat or cool your office? A lot of people don’t. While the debate on reducing energy consumption is usually focused on developing and implementing new technologies, a lot can be achieved by changing how employees behave, and using much less energy.
Turning down the office temperature from 24C to 21C during winter is a simple, no-cost way to cut down energy consumption. The same is true for factories. When a production line is not working at full capacity, switching off equipment can lead to substantial savings. However, employees often don’t know how to identify energy-saving opportunities or how to implement them. As a result, most companies do not properly manage their energy use, and are wasting natural and financial resources.
That is why the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) helps companies and countries implement energy management systems (EnMS) in line with ISO 50001. They allow managers to track and quantify energy consumption and design action plans to improve their performance.
The idea is simple: the same principles of continual improvement which are used to ensure product quality should be applied to a company’s energy use and consumption. That means having a structured and systematic approach to integrating energy efficiency into an enterprise’s daily practices.
Usually most medium-sized and large companies only have one or two people responsible for energy use. But when an energy management system is implemented, a cross-departmental team is made responsible or accountable for energy management. In addition, all personnel are made aware of the organization’s energy performance goals, and are encouraged to contribute with ideas and actions to improve them.
