by Chris Hargreaves | Nov 21, 2022 | News
Analysis of recently released results from the 2022 ‘CFO Sustainability Snapshot Survey,’ confirms that collaborating with sustainability experts and peers is the best way forward for businesses to learn, build sustainability capability and create meaningful impact.
The 2022 CFO Sustainability Snapshot Survey carried out by Deloitte, the Sustainable Business Council, and Toitū Tahua: Centre for Sustainable Finance, found progress towards sustainable action remains largely ‘stagnant.’
Respondents said the wide scope of sustainability issues is difficult to navigate and their organisations struggle to cope with the scale and complexity of the challenge.
Barriers to taking action
Survey results also indicated that barriers to action include a lack of resource or capability, an absence of examples of good practice, and limited legislative requirements to guide them around areas to prioritise.
Total Utilities Director Chris Hargreaves said of the survey, “The results underline what we are seeing on the ground with our clients. Organisations and senior leadership are struggling to find a way forward and often don’t know where to start with measuring and then reducing their carbon footprint.”
“CEOs and organisations are grappling with calculating the cost of taking action versus the cost of doing nothing. However, addressing carbon is becoming a real business problem – not an optional extra and creating a low carbon economy requires considerable planning.
“Business leaders will need to be adaptable and flexible to meet the Government’s emission budgets and reduction plan and they will need to have a plan to mitigate risks associated with it.”
Advantages of decarbonisation stack up
Chris says despite the lack of progress there is still room for optimism, with the survey highlighting key drivers for sustainable action being values-based rather than solely based on compliance or a cost versus profit exercise.
A total of 66% of CFOs identified ‘doing the right thing’ motivates sustainable action in their organisation. ‘Competitive and reputational advantage’ (62%) and ‘investor and shareholder demands’ (37%) rounded up the other top three drivers for action.
“There is a growing realisation that the benefits of addressing carbon now are huge in terms of mitigating against the rising cost of carbon, as well as protecting brand and reputation, with more customers turning to sustainable companies,” said Chris.
Reach out to our experts
Science tells us we need net zero emissions to limit temperature rises to 1.5°C – giving us the best chance of preventing irrevocable changes to the climate. This survey underlines the fact that collaboration with experts and peers is essential to making meaningful progress towards this target.
Total Utilities has worked in the NZ energy market for well over 20 years and specialises in assisting organisations with the decarbonisation process and putting together carbon reduction plans.
Chris explains, “We use science-based methodologies to create your pathway to net zero, whilst ensuring a stakeholder led approach. We can also help reduce your business risk by adhering to today’s environmental regulations and preparing you for future legislation.
“Funding challenges are often a significant roadblock to businesses taking action, but the benefits of future proofing your business and cost saving over time help offset this. We can also help you identify cost saving and revenue opportunities that will have a positive effect on your productivity, profits and performance.
“I’d advise senior leaders and CFOs to reach out and talk to one of our experts today. There’s no need or advantage to doing this alone.”
Contact Total Utilities to find out more about our services and solutions.
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by Chris Hargreaves | Nov 14, 2022 | Energy, News
Ever felt ripped off after being served up a beer with more head than you can shake a stick at? Then take a moment to consider how power wastage from your business’ equipment is as useless as the froth on your over-fizzed brew.
But what on earth has power factor got to do with beer I hear you say? And more importantly, what even is it?
Power factor in a nutshell… or a pint glass
Power factor is basically a measure of how efficiently your business sites use power supplied by your network distributor. Poor power factor = poor power efficiency and increased charges.
But for a more detailed, um, ‘scientific’ explanation, let’s get back to that beer:
Beer = active power (kW) – the useful power, or the liquid beer is the energy doing the good work.
Foam = reactive power (kVAR). This is wasted or lost power. It’s the energy being produced that isn’t doing any work and is annoyingly inefficient.
The mug = apparent power (kVA). This is the demand power, or the power being delivered by the utility.
So, the more ‘foam’ on your power factor, the more power wastage and the higher your inefficiency. Poor power factor is bad news for your business, your carbon footprint, and the environment.
Power factor is expressed as a percentage – the lower the percentage, the less efficient your power usage.
For example, equipment with a power factor of 1 is using all the power supplied to it. Big tick. Generally, a power factor of 0.8 or above is considered good.
However, if your power factor is lower than 0.8, it should be corrected to save on consumption and comply with the requirements of the electricity network operator.
Paying hand over fist for power
Total Utilities Director Chris Hargreaves explains, “Your power supplier provides electricity to meet your demands. Therefore, if your apparent power needs are high in order to compensate for poor power factor, you – the customer – will end up paying through the nose for it.
“For some larger customers, power suppliers might even take the largest peak and apply it across the full billing period. So you’re paying a very high price indeed for that froth on your beer!
“Poor power factor can also cost your business through direct penalty charges applied by many electricity distributors in New Zealand. This combined with charges for apparent rather than actual power can result in sky-high utility bills – particularly in this current climate where the cost of power is going through the roof.
“Conversely, by reducing the amount of energy your site requires at any one time, you reduce demand and the cost of supplying energy to your site.”
So, how do I get a handle on my business’ power factor?
Before you start to tackle a power factor problem, it’s important to get a measure of how efficient your current equipment actually is.
Total Utilities provides power factor audits – complete health checks of the overall quality of your electrical network. Our power factor audits identify problem areas and suggest opportunities for improvement in order to maximise your energy savings, mitigate faults and increase system reliability and efficiency.
Total Utilities can save you money with power factor correction
If a problem is identified during our audit, installing power factor correction is a great option to reduce your demand charges.
Total Utilities works with Rotorua based power factor correction specialists KVAr Correct, to provide complete, custom, and ready-to-go power factor correction solutions, plus ongoing monitoring and maintenance. These modular systems are custom designed to meet each customer’s need, ensuring the best return and no wasted capacity.
So, if you’re looking to reduce costs and increase energy efficiency (and let’s face it, who isn’t?), maybe now’s the time to look into your power factor? Use less. Pay less. Reduce your carbon footprint.
It’s a win-win for your business, your bottom line and the planet.
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by Chris Hargreaves | Oct 7, 2022 | Carbon Neutral, Energy, Sustainable Business
With prevailing energy market conditions causing sharp price hikes that show no signs of abating – what can you do and who do you turn to for advice and viable solutions?
Since the beginning of 2021, negotiated contract pricing for large commercial customers has increased from 11c/kWh to 18c/kWh for a three year period. This means a customer using one million kWh per year is paying $70,000 more for electricity per year than 19 months ago.
Mass market customers have not been impacted to the same degree with pricing moving from 9c/kWh to 12.5c/kWh.
Rather than bore you with the (too numerous) details and interrelated factors that have caused this unwelcome turn of events, let’s explore the options open to businesses to mitigate sky high energy costs.
Time to turn to the experts?
Many businesses are turning to energy management consultancies to help them navigate the challenging energy markets and provide services to assist them to get the very best deal on their utilities.
They are also hiring consultants to explore sustainable and renewable energy options to help them diversify their energy portfolio and give them maximum bang for their buck in terms of energy efficiency, pricing and carbon liabilities.
But according to Total Utilities Director Chris Hargreaves, it’s a case of ‘buyer beware,’ when it comes to hiring an energy management consultancy. He says the quality of service and outcomes vary dramatically.
“If it was my business, there are only a small handful of organisations I would consider using in New Zealand to obtain energy contracts on my behalf and to have the ability and insight required to properly explore efficiency and sustainable solutions.
“The consultancy industry for energy is not regulated, so effectively anyone can start up a business that offers procurement services,” he says.
Chris advises considering various factors before hiring a consultant, including how many procurements they conduct each year. The energy market is highly dynamic and energy retailers are entering and leaving the market at unprecedented rates and pricing models and practices are changing daily.
If the consultant or advisor you are using is not pricing in the market on a regular basis, then you are likely to get caught out by the market changes. Look for companies conducting over 100 procurement exercises per year (as an example, we average almost 350).
You should also establish whether your consultant reviews the entire market of energy retailers for pricing (we do), or just their favoured few companies (nope, not us).
Also, does your advisor or consultant gather detailed market intelligence to track wholesale pricing and industry developments? Do they warn you of potential ‘gotcha’ clauses to look out for in energy contracts as part of their procurement process? Needless to say, Total Utilities ticks all these boxes.
Aside from engaging a reputable energy management consultancy to help you traverse choppy utility waters, Chris explains there are various ways to hedge against rising costs, to minimise budgetary risk and ensure you comply with regulatory requirements.
Cost saving starts with sustainability & efficiency
He says that first and foremost, now is the time to explore efficiency, sustainability, and low carbon solutions to increase resiliency.
“By exploring sustainable solutions such as LEDs, Renewable Energy Certificates, solar and energy conservation methods, you can achieve short term wins and relief from volatile energy prices, whilst also unlocking long term sustainability benefits and future proofing your business.
“Sustainability not only saves money by creating energy efficiencies, it also decreases your reliance on the grid, so you are no longer at the mercy of volatile energy prices,” he adds.
Keeping the lights on
One of the trends we’re seeing in the industry is a move away from centralised, utility based generation – to so called ‘distributed generation.’ This is a shift from a single source to many sources to allow for increased resiliency and reduced reliance on the grid.
For example, traditionally if the grid goes down, you have no real option to keep your business going. But if you have solar with battery storage, you might be able to keep the lights on until the grid comes back online.
Additionally, you avoid the full impact of market volatility if your energy sources are distributed – it goes back to the wisdom of the old proverb, ‘don’t put all your eggs in one basket.’
Talk to us
A great place to start when it comes to navigating the ever-changing energy markets is to talk to our team at Total Utilities. Our data-driven approach, born out of comprehensive investigations and analysis, allows us to carefully tailor energy services and solutions to your business.
With our proven 20 plus years in the energy business, we negotiate over $400 million worth of energy contracts for our clients every year. We can leverage relationships to get you better prices.
Our detailed pricing analysis and tendering services help save time and money by pinpointing the best possible energy contracts and ensuring the most favourable terms and prices.
We put sustainability, cost saving and energy efficiency at the heart of our clients’ businesses, so that they can be both sustainable and highly profitable.
And in this environment, setting sustainability and carbon reduction targets isn’t just about reducing your environmental impact – it simply makes good business sense.
Contact us to find out more about our energy management consultancy services.
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by Jonathan Gardiner | Aug 19, 2022 | New Zealand Energy Certificates, NZ-ECs, Sustainable Business
Total Utilities Management Group is excited to announce our registration on the ‘New Zealand Energy Certificate System (NZECS)’ – enabling our clients to support renewable generation and reduce their reportable emissions.
Administered and developed by Certified Energy, NZECS allows energy consumers to offset their reportable electricity related greenhouse gas emissions and support renewable energy by buying New Zealand Energy Certificates (NZ-ECs) to redeem against their consumption.
What are New Zealand Energy Certificates (NZ-ECs)? NZ-ECs show how and when energy was generated, and from where. This information is referred to as a ‘generation attribute.’ NZ-ECs can be traded and transferred from electricity generators to electricity retailers, who can ultimately sell these certificates to energy consumers. Through the purchase of a certificate, a consumer ‘reserves’ that unit of generation as their own – enabling them to make a clear statement about the type of electricity that they support.
This means that Total Utilities can now act as an independent broker of NZ-ECs and can buy and trade certificates on behalf of our customers to support them to invest in 100% renewable energy.
Certificates can be used to report zero-carbon electricity usage in accredited Greenhouse Gas Reporting Programmes and are a competitively priced alternative to carbon offsets that also offer the potential for greater impact.
By using Total Utilities as your independent broker for NZ-ECs, you can also be assured of straightforward, flexible contract terms – regardless of whether your energy use is big or small.
Fully Transparent Reporting
New Zealand is a relatively late adopter of a system of tradable energy certificates. Certificates create supply chain transparency with the attributes of each certificate outlining energy generation source, age of the generator and whether or not the generator is certified net zero carbon.
Electricity purchased directly from the grid in New Zealand comes from sources which are on average 80% renewable, however, depending on where and when it is purchased, the actual makeup of energy being delivered can vary sharply. This means that up until now, consumers of electricity had no way to link their consumption directly with a renewable generator.
Certified Energy’s NZ Energy Certificate System changes all this…
NZ-ECs prove that purchased energy is directly tied to a 100% renewable energy generator. They also allow energy consumers to report zero related greenhouse gas emissions and thus, to invest in a sustainable future for New Zealand.
NZ-ECs not only provide a fully transparent method of reporting, but also incentivise generators of renewable energy, who can sell their energy certificates on the open market. Total Utilities currently manages around half a billion dollars per year of utility contracts on behalf of our clients and sustainability has become a major strategic objective for many of these businesses.
We are fully committed to assisting our clients move towards 100% renewable energy, helping them in their journey towards net zero emissions.
Total Utilities Managing Director, Jonathan Gardiner, reacts to our registration on NZECS…
“We thrive on energy competition, and our registration as a participant in the New Zealand certificate market allows our customers to get the best of both worlds – full energy market competition, and quick sustainability wins with New Zealand Energy Certificates.
“By choosing to only offer NZ-ECs from suppliers which meet the strict Toitū Envirocare compliance criteria, our clients can report zero-carbon electricity usage in accredited GHG programmes, be part of New Zealand’s renewable energy future and meet carbon reduction targets.
“Electricity is a major cost and driver of emissions for many of our clients, so providing an independent service to negotiate energy supply contracts along with NZ-ECs means our clients can choose to take energy supply from any retailer whilst also meeting their sustainability goals.
“The certificates help create a circular economy as sellers of certificates are required to invest the revenue they earn from certificates in new renewable generation or decarbonisation projects. Purchasers of certificates are investing in a sustainable future for New Zealand.”
“By being amongst the first NZ-based participants to register on Certified Energy’s NZ Energy Certificate System, Total Utilities underlines our commitment to providing customers with the most powerful tools in their journey towards adopting renewable energy sources and moving towards net zero emissions.”
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by Chris Hargreaves | Aug 18, 2022 | News, Uncategorized
We are excited to introduce a new face to the Total Utilities team with Executive Administrator, Komal Mathew, recently joining us.
Komal has a wealth of experience in the energy sector, having worked in energy coordination roles for the past 10 years.
Her role will involve providing administrative support to our experienced team of directors, as well as assisting with projects on the go. She will be a regular contact point between the team and our customers.
She has hit the ground running and is responsible for customer support, sales and marketing support, procurement support and energy sensor stock control.
Komal says, “Luckily, with my energy background I already understand a lot of what I need to know for this role, so I’m looking forward to using my knowledge to become a helpful and productive member of the team.”
Komal moved to New Zealand from South India back in 2009 and is very happily settled here with her husband and young family.
She has two children, aged 10 and 3, and she loves nothing better than hanging out with them and taking them to the local park. Her hobbies include Indian cookery and she is known for her delicious curries – “My husband loves them, so I think they must be good!” she says.
Komal has an outgoing personality and loves to ask questions to get to the bottom of any issue. She says she immediately felt welcome by the Total Utilities team and is very excited to be starting in her new role.
Please join us in welcoming Komal.
by DavidSpratt | Jul 8, 2022 | Planet Spratt
I began my journey to a sustainable future envisaging a world of tree-hugging, lentil soup and freedom from reporting fuss. Little did I know that the bureaucrats had got in ahead of me and set up a rules-based order that made tax returns look like a walk to the dairy.
It turns out that the United Nations, Ministry for the Environment, MBIE and agencies like Toitū, the Green Building Council and NABERS, all have stringent requirements for the benchmarking, measurement, auditing and verification of greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency and carbon footprint.
As I first looked at the reporting requirements it was quite off-putting. Would businesses really put up with this level of bureaucracy? How many private companies would be willing to divulge what could be very sensitive competitive information? Just where would businesses find the resources to report with the level of accuracy demanded?
Paperwork, compliance & more compliance…
And last month the compliance demands got even more stringent.
Any company listed on the NZ Stock Exchange and with a market capitalisation of over $60 million will be required to report on all its direct emissions with the regime commencing on 1st January next year, 2023.
To be specific, if your financial year ends on 31st March 2023, you will be expected to be able to verifiably report on a whole year’s carbon emissions, risks and remediation in full as of the year commencing 1st April 2023 to the 31st March 2024. If your year ends on the 30th of June, then you have a little more time to prepare, with reporting commencing on the 1st July, 2023. Annual shareholder reports just took on a whole new sustainability focus.
If your company is privately held or has a market cap of less than $60 million, this is no time to breathe easy. The new $60 million number is down from $500 million previously. Expect the government to widen its orbit once it has systems in place to demand more from the average medium scale business.
Before readers start crying, “Government overreach and political interference gone mad,” this new government mandate is only one of a series of sustainability challenges facing businesses.
It’s not just about the mandatory GHG and Carbon reporting for bodies like Toitū. It’s about shareholders and stock exchange reports, board reports, executive updates, feedback to staff and stakeholders.
Sustainability – the ‘Data Monster?’
It’s easy to think of sustainability as a data monster with no end to its demands on your businesses time and skills and with little benefit to show for it.
But then if you ask business influencers and stakeholders about their motivation for taking a sustainable position, it turns out there are many different reasons people choose a path to sustainability:
- Government mandated reporting
- Cost reduction
- Saving money
- Being more efficient
- Supplier and customer demands
- Recruitment and retention of the new generation of environmentally aware talent
- Shareholder owners themselves who have defined a policy that reflects their own commitment to a sustainable future
These intended uses help form the policy and action statement that an organisation will formulate and highlight in communication with regulatory bodies and key stakeholders.
They also define the priorities which drive choices and resource allocation.
Finally, they define the type and depth of reporting that an organisation will commit to delivering in the years and possibly decades ahead.
As Peter Druker, founding father of modern business management so succinctly put it, “If you can’t measure it you can’t manage it.”
Unfortunately, ‘screw the paperwork’ just isn’t going to cut it anymore.
