IT Fears prevent retailers making energy savings in carbon reduction challenge
IT innovations and the fear of the increased cost and resourcing implications they bring are a recognised barrier to retail change.
By Steve Dillon
Anyone who doubts this need only look at the slow and difficult birth of internet retailing – beset as it was by myths and fears which made some retailers wrongly believe that they didn’t have the resources to compete successfully in the new marketplace.
Now, as the need to reduce carbon emissions and manage energy more efficiently moves rapidly up retail boardroom agendas, many risk making the same mistakes.
Not only do many retailers remain ignorant of just how much they will need to reduce energy use by, they are also unaware of how they are going to achieve this.
Mention the phrase remote energy management systems in many a boardroom and watch the eyes betray a mixture of fear and a lack of understanding.
However, just as the e-tail pioneers are now reaping the rewards of their foresight, some retailers are already benefitting from reductions of up to 30 per cent in power costs and carbon emissions.
Maintenance costs can also be reduced by around 10 to 15 per cent as the systems can remotely diagnose potential call-outs before they become business-critical, using web-enabled technology.
The positive thing from the perspective of those retailers who recognise themselves in this dilemma is that, just as many multi-channel platforms can be set up without major staffing and cost implications, so can energy management systems.
The figures speak for themselves. M&S is already working to cut energy consumption at its stores by 25 per cent and Boots plans to lower its energy costs by 7 per cent and unplanned maintenance by 10 per cent.
Co-operative Group has looked at cutting its energy bill by £1.2 million a year – significantly reducing its carbon footprint. The cuts equate to 8 per cent on an energy bill of £15 million – growing to a 20 per cent saving by 2012.
Lightweight wireless energy management systems allow retailers to monitor energy use at all their outlets from a central base and issues warnings if there is a problem. The fact installation cabling is not needed, coupled with the lower cost base, makes such systems commercially viable for even the smallest buildings.
In the current economic climate this is a commercially practical and innovative approach as it lowers overheads immediately and the comparatively small cost of installation can be spread to reduce overall payback time.
With retailers looking to sweat their existing assets as far as possible IT projects with quick paybacks are a must. Yes, there is leading edge technology out there which many people still don’t know about or understand but do you really want to be left behind because of a combination of fear and ignorance?
Steve Dillon is managing director of environment technology specialist ADAM International.
