According to the World Energy Outlook 2019, if the world continues on its current course with no further policy changes, energy demand will grow by 1.3% each year until 2040. From 2019 to 2040, India is expected to contribute for roughly one-quarter of global energy demand growth (India Energy Outlook 2021). This indicates that much of the societal pressure will be on India to manage its energy consumption effectively, putting further pressure on industrial, commercial, and sectors to manage their energy efficiently. As a result, optimizing energy performance has now become a priority for every organization.
Start with no or low-cost solutions
In any industry, we often find the top three operating costs to be energy, labor, and materials. Energy has the largest potential for cost reduction among the three, and when we talk about lowering an organization’s energy usage, we usually think of installing newer technology, which comes at a significant cost to the company. Whereas engaging people or influencing employee behavior at work may achieve a lot. According to one research, employee feedback and peer education resulted in energy savings of 7% and 4%, respectively (Staddon S. C., 2016).
Let’s talk about behavior:
- Do you switch off lights when you are the last person to leave the office?
- Do you use electrical lighting even when natural light is enough?
- Do you provoke others to save energy by setting examples yourself?
- Do you close windows & doors while using air conditioners?
- Do you switch off or unplug your desktop when not in use?
These are just a few questions to help you understand how our behavior affects our energy use.
Employee Conduct has the potential to save up to 15% of energy
What are your thoughts on tying corporate energy reduction goals to employee involvement, motivation, and behavior? Research suggests, public social awards resulted in 6.4% energy savings, but private monetary prizes resulted in an increase in energy usage (Staddon S. C., 2016). Savings from behavioral interventions have been reported to be in the 5-15% range for direct feedback and 0-10% range for indirect feedback (Darby, 2006). It is quite clear to see how employee involvement may lead to cost savings if implemented successfully.
A broader view of employee engagement and behavioral obstacles in companies
According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace survey, 85% of employees are not actively engaged in the workplace, and 43% of behavioral barriers (such as insufficient top management support, lack of time or other priorities, lack of interest in energy efficiency interventions, technical risks such as the risk of production disruptions) impede the adoption of energy conservation measures. Thus, it can be observed that employee disengagement and behavioral obstacles pose challenges that can affect businesses’ increasing energy expenditures.
Drivers to influence employee behavior – backed by researches
Many studies have been conducted to determine what drives employees’ behavior and attitude toward energy conservation, and it has been observed that employee’s energy-saving intention is significantly influenced by social pressure, indicating that individuals are motivated to conserve energy when their colleagues and leaders expect them to (Tang, 2019), (Leygue, 2017). This revealed that corporate commitment and incentive to improve business image greatly influence employees’ energy conservation behavior. Goal setting, in tandem with employee feedback, has a beneficial impact on energy conservation behavior (Siero, 1996). Handgraaf, discovered that using an incentive, drives staff to save energy (Handgraaf, 2013). Employees’ attitudes and behaviors toward energy conservation can be impacted by social norms, corporate climate, pro-environmental policies, goal setting, rewards, and group discussions (Leygue, 2017). Most workers spend over 30% of their workday engaging in interactive activities, and leaders are the ones who engage and initiate such processes (Chen, 2010), and thus are anticipated to influence energy-saving behavior through energy-saving management.
To summarise the preceding research, a combination of the following elements will drive employee behavior and attitude toward managing their energy performance:
- Organizational climate
- Social pressure
- Social norms
- Leadership commitment
- Motivation
- Energy conservation targets
- Employee involvement
- Reward mechanism
- Awareness
- Environmental policies
- Energy saving management
What next?
Being aware of behavioral factors, the question now is, if there is an approach that can help to influence employees’ behavior toward effective energy management. Many would suggest conducting an energy audit, which would definitely provide opportunities to lower energy consumption, but it would not impact bringing a cultural change towards sustainable energy performance. So, what should be done? Let us introduce you to Energy Management System (ISO 50001:2018). Let us look at how the ISO 50001:2018 method includes all the behavioral elements that have been discovered via various studies while also focusing on decreasing energy bills:
In consideration of the above approach, ISO 50001:2018 provides organizations with a framework that focuses on engaging everyone in order to constantly improve the organization’s energy performance through a methodical, data-driven, and facts-based approach.
What additional options are there?
What other no-cost or low-cost alternatives might a business pursue to improve its energy performance? Well, it could be considering energy-efficient equipment when purchasing new equipment, considering full capacity utilization of machines as under-running would only result in high energy consumption, adhering to preventive maintenance plans, focusing on reducing internal rejections and rework, and so on. Check out our blog on Energy Efficient Practices for additional information on how to reduce your energy costs with no or very little expenditure.
Bibliography:
Staddon, Sam C., Chandrika Cycil, Murray Goulden, Caroline Leygue, and Alexa Spence. “Intervening to change behaviour and save energy in the workplace: A systematic review of available evidence.” Energy Research & Social Science 17 (2016): 30-51. [Google Scholar]
Darby, Sarah. “A review for Defra of the literature on metering, billing, and direct displays.” Environmental Change Institute. University of Oxford (2006).
Brunke, Jean-Christian, Maria Johansson, and Patrik Thollander. “Empirical investigation of barriers and drivers to the adoption of energy conservation measures, energy management practices and energy services in the Swedish iron and steel industry.” Journal of Cleaner Production 84 (2014): 509-525. [Google Scholar]
Tang, Zhenya, Merrill Warkentin, and Le Wu. “Understanding employees’ energy saving behavior from the perspective of stimulus-organism-responses.” Resources, Conservation and Recycling 140 (2019): 216-223. [Google Scholar]
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Siero, Frans W., Arnold B. Bakker, Gerda B. Dekker, and Marcel TC Van Den Burg. “Changing organizational energy consumption behaviour through comparative feedback.” Journal of environmental psychology 16, no. 3 (1996): 235-246. [Google Scholar]
Handgraaf, Michel JJ, Margriet A. Van Lidth de Jeude, and Kirstin C. Appelt. “Public praise vs. private pay: Effects of rewards on energy conservation in the workplace.” Ecological Economics 86 (2013): 86-92. [Google Scholar]
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Image Source1: https://www.electricalindia.in/10-tips-to-save-energy-and-money-with-electric-motors/
Image Source2: https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/list-10-natural-resources.php
Image Source3: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettsteenbarger/2020/01/18/how-to-overcome-major-life-setbacks/?sh=4bc2b28147ad
Author: Amar Kapoor
Consultant at Productivity Management Group
11th September’2021