Becci Wicks, Lloyds Bank – Advice for firms facing higher energy bills

All comments to be attributed to Becci Wicks, regional director for London at Lloyds Bank:

“The cost of ‘doing business’ is hitting many businesses hard, and energy bills are a huge part of this. But there are some key steps SMEs can take to alleviate the pressure. Recent research by the think tank Green Alliance revealed that, just in Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, London and Manchester, office buildings are shedding more than £60million every year on unnecessary energy use, meaning there are big savings to be made.

“The most important thing to remember is that what you don’t measure, you can’t manage – keeping costs under close review means you can keep track of whether changes you implement are having an effect. And even small tweaks can have a big impact. It may sound obvious, but encouraging teams to turn off lights and computers, and dropping the thermostat by even a single degree can save significant amounts of power.

“Also, with the pandemic prompting many businesses to reconsider their office space requirements, it’s worth considering a shared or serviced option, or if teams have adopted a hybrid model, whether it is possible to agree temporarily over the winter months to days when everyone works from home and when everyone comes into the office, rather than having only a few people in the office each day across the week. This can help to reduce a number of costs, including energy bills.

“Finally, investing in sustainability can pay dividends over the long term. Switching just one traditional halogen bulb to an LED can save around £2 to £3 every year – so there is potential for huge cost reductions by making the switch throughout an office space. At Lloyds Bank, we offer specific finance for sustainable investments through our Clean Growth Financing Initiative, which include a price discount on our normal commercial lending as an incentive.”