EHS Technology Can Cut Utility Costs, Improve Energy Efficiency

November 4th, 2008

Remember the Chinese curse, ‘may you live in interesting times’? That adage definitely applies to corporate managers who are under mounting pressure to cut operational costs. As corporate revenues spiral downward, cost cutting pressures accelerate.

Increased demand for water and electricity is driving plans for expanded power generation and treatment plants, which are likely to drive higher utility costs. However, what alternatives are available if there’s no money to build new power plants or water desalinization facilities? It’s time for the enterprise to harness its collective ingenuity to develop improved resource management practices.

As a result, a growing number of companies are looking to save money by minimizing use of water and electric utilities. I got this idea from an article in Scientific American that shows how water and energy management are interconnected. Communities need water to produce electricity, which is needed to treat water.

The article says communities need to solve both of these problems at the same time. More businesses are contributing to the solution by developing programs that emphasize better resource stewardship.

Investing in EHS technology can empower your company to improve energy efficiency by cutting waste. EHS software can pay for itself in lower energy costs and lower compliance costs and risks. Companies would reap immediate ROI, improve environmental performance plus help defer the need for new utility plants, pushing potential cost increases further into the future.

Which leads me to another timely adage: You can’t manage what you can’t measure. Companies can’t efficiently manage their resources unless they have accurate and actionable information from an EHS software platform.

Tags: ehs software energy efficiency energy management environmental performance scientific american utility costs

Entry Filed under: Sustainability, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Corporate Responsibility, EHS/HSE Technology, Environmental Compliance, Non-Financial Risk Management