Many companies are looking to reduce their environmental impact and overhead costs, and pursuing more sustainable solutions is a great way to achieve this goal.
Companies are always looking for ways to reduce overhead costs, be it, streamlining hiring processes, working more efficiently or renting/purchasing less expensive office space. Addressing these issues without having to make major sacrifices may seem like a daunting task. However, corporate sustainability practices can address a number of issues that are pertinent to the economy and consumer trends.
With research building about the negative effects of climate change, many consumers are finding that they would rather do business with more sustainable companies. Besides, many of these measures can reduce the amount of money companies pay in yearly energy costs. Reducing utility costs and decreasing dependency on polluting fossil fuels - now that's a win-win.
Major Companies Pursuing Sustainability
A number of the country's largest corporations are implementing sustainable solutions in a variety of ways. For instance, Intel Corp. is the largest renewable energy consumer, using about 3.1 billion kilowatt hours of renewable energy. On top of this, the company received100% of its energy from green sources during 2013.
More and more companies are looking to pursue energy-efficient solutions as well. Johnson Controls Institute for Building Efficiency found that efficiency increased significantly during 2013, with major producers of energy efficiency appliances like GE, Honeywell and Siemens offering more intelligent and low environmental impact products.
Intelligent Buildings
Companies are also improving efficiency by upgrading lighting. Lighting systems tend to run quite frequently, making them a lucrative place to improve energy costs.
Intelligent lighting systems can be valuable tools in addressing lighting issues. Using controls that can detect the number of people and the amount of natural light in a room not only can save energy but the U.S. department of energy studies show increased productivity when employees have access to natural daylight.
As more companies pursue sustainable measures, the market for these types of products is expected to grow. Lighting control products were valued at $1.688 billion in 2013, but is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 12% through 2020.
Katia Lundy is the director of marketing & communications of Plymouth Rock Energy, Woodmere, N.Y. Tags: