Sensible savings
All the lights and 10 TVs were on when Honeycombe Leisure managing director James Baer visited one of his pubs recently. In a busy pub it's a cost that may be difficult to avoid - but in a pub that has not even opened for lunchtime trading, turning off those lights and TVs is the sort of quick energy-saving win that more licensees and bar staff should be carrying out.
Energy costs used to be something that many in the hospitality industry could afford to leave to look after themselves. But not any more.
Gas and electricity rises began to hit Honeycombe, the Preston-based managed pub company which operates 95 pubs across the North of England, towards the end of 2004. Costs seemed to be escalating at an "alarming rate", remembers James.
"There had been a decade of energy being seen as a throwaway item. It was cheap, and good housekeeping practice had virtually disappeared in pubs as people just didn't need to worry about it," he says.
"People thought energy was always going to be renewable and cheap! Now those days are over. In the early part of 2005 it suddenly shot up to the forefront of everyone's mind."
Making the first move
After identifying the problem, Honeycombe moved fast. The company contacted Hospitable Climates, the free-of-charge energy efficiency advisory programme, managed by the Hotel & Catering International Management Association on behalf of the Carbon Trust - which has partnered with The Publican on our Get Switched On! campaign - and is putting much of its advice into practice.
"A lot of energy saving is about education, and getting our licensees and staff to understand the reasons behind it all. It's not just another cost-cutting edict from head office. It's a huge cost which has to be controlled," says James.
"For staff to be fully engaged they have to see that it's not just about putting money into shareholders' back pockets."
Following advice from Hospitable Climates, Honeycombe has appointed its own energy champion to spread the word and promote the issue throughout the business. Health and safety manager Cath Kelly has taken on the brief and is checking out on energy-saving measures in pubs while carrying out her usual health and safety audits.And it is often the simple things that she is picking up on.
"So much of this is about good housekeeping," declares James. "Do you really need all the lights on before the pub opens? A cleaner might want to listen to music but do they have to put MTV on 10 TV screens to do it?
"Throughout society, people have got to change their attitude to saving energy."
To date the company has stopped short of installing solar panels and other large-scale energy saving equipment. Instead, the next three months will see the whole estate converted to energy-saving light bulbs, with an external electrical firm carrying out the work to take the pressure off of licensees.
"It's about getting out a constant message to turn off a light," says James. "It's not old fashioned, it's a very relevant message for your business and for the environment.
"So much of this is common sense and education but it needs to be persistently hammered home. Otherwise people won't be turning off lights, they'll be turning off mentally."
l For more advice and tips, and to join the free energy-saving programme, contact Hospitable Climates on www.hospitableclimates.co.uk or call 0800 585794.
