In the latest stage of the energy-saving 'Get Switched On! with The Publican' campaign, we urge you to take a closer look at your pub's energy usage.
Get Switched On! in association with The Carbon Trust/Hospitable Climates.
Horror stories from across the industry are continuing to reach The Publican, four weeks into the Get Switched On! campaign. Stories of how licensees have been paying to light the outside of their pubs during the daytime... how they have been paying more for their electricity than they realised after being switched onto a new tariff... and more.
Some tales beggar belief. Word has reached us of one business where a new ceiling was erected underneath an old one. But the lights were left on the old ceiling - and they were still connected. The result was that the venue was lighting itself not once, but twice over - and paying for twice as much electricity as it needed to!
Pub companies have told us about kitchen staff who come in at 10am and turn on the grills to warm up, even though they won't be cooking for at least another two hours.
These days most modern kitchen equipment heats up quickly from a cold start. Knowing how to use your kitchen equipment efficiently is one of the simplest ways in which energy savings can be made in the pub.
You don't need to carry out a major refurbishment of the business to make savings - it is the simple things which can be done today and every day which can make the biggest difference. That is why this week, with the help of our campaign partner Hospitable Climates (the free of charge energy efficiency advisory programme, managed by the Hotel & Catering International Management Association on behalf of the Carbon Trust) we have put together a simple checklist to help you make some major savings now - click here for your copy.
We urge you to print it off and take it around your pub - or pin it to the wall and save yourself some real money.
Wear it on your sleeve
The work behind the scenes - in the kitchen, and in the cellar - is vitally important. But don't forget that it is in the bar area that you can really wear your environmentally-friendly trading style on your sleeve. This is where the public can see you at work, and where they can see the evidence of your "green credentials".
But as well as the visible checks and changes you can make, there are plenty more things that can be done today.
Saving energy in your business is not just about getting your self switched on to the issue - it's about switching on your staff too. They are the ones who will be implementing many of the measures, day-in day-out. Why not appoint an energy champion among your staff to lead the issue and work with the rest of the team to make sure they get the message?
Meanwhile, if you are worried whether you are on the right tariff for your energy have you spoken to your supplier about it? You are perfectly within your rights to contact your gas or electricity provider and ask them to confirm that your present tariff is the best and most appropriate for your business.
In the long term, if you are looking to carry out a major refurbishment, make sure you incorporate the provisions mentioned in the checklist. If you are looking at installing environmentally-friendly equipment there may be a tax break available to you through the government's Enhanced Capital Allowance Scheme.
It's a win-win
Clearly we all have our selfish reasons for wanting to save energy in our businesses, and in our homes.
But all these measures are not only about saving yourself money - they are about helping the environment too. All the energy we use in our everyday lives, both at work and at home, causes pollution and uses up the planet's precious natural resources such as oil, coal and gas.
Working with Hospitable Climates, carrying out all these simple measures, will help you to reduce wasted energy consumption - to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, to slow the rate of climate change and to keep the environment healthy and safe.
Not only will you be saving energy for your business, and protecting your profits - but you'll be helping to protect the planet for future generations too.
Find out more
For more information on any of these areas speak to our campaign partner, Hospitable Climates, the free of charge energy efficiency advisory programme managed by the Hotel & Catering International Management Association on behalf of the Carbon Trust. Visit www.hospitableclimates.co.uk or call 0800 585794.
Switched On statistics
- 40 per cent
- Only 40 per cent of energy used to cook a meal is actually used for food preparation and refrigeration. The rest is wasted.
- 20 per cent
- The average share of your pub's energy consumed by your cellar.
- 15 per cent
- How much the average energy bill in the hospitality industry has risen as a result of the government's 2001 Climate Change Levy.
- 8ºC
- If the temperature in your cellar is below this, you need to act.
- 13ºC
- If the temperature in your cellar is above this, you need to act.
- 3 per cent
- The average share of a pub's operating costs accounted for by energy bills.
- 10 per cent
- The average amount these costs can be reduced by, if licensees get switched on to energy savings.
- 20 minutes
- The time in which you could carry out the audit of your business opposite - and make yourself considerable savings on your energy costs, and help protect the environment in the process.