Energy Audit May Reveal Lighting As Low Hanging Fruit

Last week I taped a WHIO Reports television program for the Dayton market. I shared the interview desk with Tom Tatham, director of energy programs for DP&L. We both emphasized the advances in lighting efficiency that will make upgrades and retrofits a slam dunk for ROI. And we agreed on the importance of developing an energy plan for your business.

You need to start with an energy audit. Depending on your operation, your audit can range from a walk-through to sophisticated modeling. The energy audit will enable you to set priorities and work to a plan.

Chances are if your lighting is more than three years old, upgrades will reduce your energy consumption immediately. Also, utility companies are offering attractive incentives to help defray the cost of new fixtures and lamps. The project will move toward the top of your to-do list.

A distributor replaced metal halide fixtures in the warehouse with 6-tube T-8 fluorescents, upgraded the ballasts for longer lamp life, and installed motion sensors so lighting was only on when someone was present. The results: a 30% reduction in wattage compounded with a 25% reduction in on-time. After figuring in incentives, the facilities vice president measured the payback in months, not years!

Whether you occupy office, retail, warehouse or institutional space, you’ll benefit from the learning experience of an energy audit, especially if your lighting is old school.

Coming soon:  LED lighting shows improvement.

Carbon Offsets: A Good Temporary Measure

Although my business transportation isn’t a gas guzzler, it’s not a hybrid or high-mileage subcompact, either. So I want to balance out my carbon footprint. Carbon offsets are my best option, until it’s time for a new car or truck.

Buying carbon offsets for your business vehicles is easy and relatively inexpensive. I used a simple calculation to translate the gallons of gas used in a year to tons of CO2 released into the atmosphere. In my case, it’s about five tons, a mid-range amount. I visited NativeEnergy.com where I found an even simpler calculator, which gave me a comparable result.

The idea behind carbon offsets is to support the substitution of green energy for energy that would otherwise be produced by conventional means, thus reducing carbon emissions overall. You’re typically buying electricity production to offset whatever is your source of carbon emissions (for me, burning gasoline), but the carbon reduction is the same.

My carbon offsets from Native Energy came in the form of shares to capitalize a new wind farm in Greensburg, Kansas, developed by John Deere Renewables. The wind plant will provide all the electricity for the town, with more to spare for neighboring residential developments, farms and industry. Greensburg was 95% leveled by a tornado in May 2007. The residents committed to rebuilding as the greenest town in America, changing everything but the town’s name.

Until I’m ready to shop for a more efficient vehicle that meets my business needs, carbon offsets are a good temporary trade-off to reduce the overall carbon footprint.

Don't Save the Sale

You're the CEO or VP of sales on a ride-along with a new salesperson. On the second call, she can't seem to effectively respond to your prospect's questions. It's clear to you there's an opportunity to get the conversation back on track.

Do you step in and save the sale?

No. Nine times out of ten you must allow your sales rep to make mistakes, experience the consequences and learn. People gain insight from their own failures as well as successes. Don't be a sales call hero. Your first obligation is to your sales representative's growth. And if your team is building relationships, not just hunting transactions, there will be another day to close this sale.

Three Solid Reasons to Green Your Business

1. Reduce your energy costs 25%.
How much are your heating and electric bills each month? Energy costs represent about 30% of commercial building costs. Converting to higher efficiency lighting, adding insulation, reducing idle computer time, and instituting other green practices will conservatively save you 25% on your utility bills. Payback is comparable to other good investments.

2. Reduce your water bill 25%.
Low-flow restroom fixtures, lavatories and sinks make a big difference. If you have landscaping, new irrigation technology and local plants and trees contribute to savings. Have any grass mowed to three inches in the summer and it will stay greener with less water.

3. Recruit the best young employees.
92% of college students say they want to work for a green company. When you begin hiring in full force again, don't miss out on motivated young talent who make employment decisions based on a new set of criteria: location, flexibility and environmental responsibility.

Sales: Accountability

Accountability is the number one job of sales management, and it is the most likely not to be done.  Holding individuals on your sales team accountable for what they said they would do - that is, the actions they would take - is a tough job.  It's especially challenging because good salespeople can be Type A, highly directive personalities.  So it's a responsibility that begs to be put off.  Wait until the time is right, wait until he's in a better mood, wait until she comes back from vacation, wait until I feel like dealing with it.  Lots of excuses and reasons to delay dealing with a topic that needs to be covered every week in one-to-one discussion. 

Holding a person accountable doesn't mean raking him or her over the coals, or initiating a confrontation.  It's an adult to adult conversation, and leave blame out of it.  Instead, build in learning: what will you do differently this week that will allow you to do what you said you would do?  

Not everyone can gear up to do this week in and out.  If so, there would be many more successful sales managers.