Most businesses will take control of their own energy use by generating a quarter of their electricity onsite by 2025, with 81% of US businesses predicting this change will take place in just seven years, according to a study by Centrica Business Solutions.
The study of more than 1,000 global businesses was launched to identify the key drivers and barriers to adopting new energy approaches including battery storage, on-site generation and demand side response.
Around one-quarter of businesses have already invested in on-site generation in the form of solar and/or combined heat and power (CHP) with one-third considering investing in these technologies. The increase in demand for flexibility that rewards businesses for increasing, decreasing or shifting their energy use has been identified as an opportunity by 44% of businesses planning to feed energy into the grid in the future, according to the report.
The study of businesses from the US, Canada, Germany, Italy, the UK and Ireland identified that "energy leaders" — defined as those businesses that have adopted strategies to use energy efficiently and effectively — were more than twice as likely to unlock competitive advantage from their energy management. These businesses also reported strong financial performance, being a leading brand in their market, and attracting and retaining the best talent.
However, the survey also revealed that while 35% of US businesses consider themselves to have a formalized energy strategy in place, far fewer have specific targets or budgets in place to support their ambitions. For example, despite two-thirds of respondents citing having back-up in the event of a power outage as very important, just 20% have specific targets in place to address this. In a similar vein, only one in 10 businesses have set targets to support the link between sustainable energy use and brand image, despite being identified by more than half of respondents as very important.
“It’s necessary for businesses to take control of their energy use and have an actionable energy strategy in place whether that includes goals for resilience measures, emissions targets, or increased onsite generation,” said Stephen Prince, Head of Centrica Business Solutions North America.
