Competition: Go green and get lean!

The Publican, in conjunction with British Gas Business, is today launching The Efficiency Factor, a nationwide competition to find the most energy efficient pub in the UK.

Six finalists, with advice and support from energy experts at British Gas Business, will be able to implement sustainable strategies to reduce their energy consumption, improve profitability, and also do their bit for the environment.

During the competition you will find out how to get your staff involved and turn your pub into a lean, green fighting machine. And if you enter you'll be in with a chance of winning a celebrity pub quizmaster for a night, and an extra pair of hands behind the bar on a Saturday night for a year.

Over the next eight months we will get regular updates from six finalists in their bid to be crowned The Efficiency Factor winner.

The big picture

According to Adrian Harvey, commercial director of British Gas Business: "£12bn-worth of energy is wasted in the UK every year. The government has set the stiff target of reducing carbon emissions in the UK by 60 per cent from 1990 levels by 2050. Energy prices are fluctuating across the board, and greenhouse gas emissions are rising, putting energy efficiency on the front burner as a smart environmental and business practice.

"The pub industry is not at the forefront of energy efficiency. But why shouldn't it be?" asks Adrian. "Like any other industry, pubs dedicate their time to becoming as profitable as possible. Why shouldn't you invest time in saving energy? Not many of your competitors are.

"Aside from the much-publicised environmental benefits, the decision to become energy efficient also makes good business sense. There's no reason at all why you can't do your bit for the environment and increase your margins.

"By adopting simple low-cost and no-cost measures to reduce energy usage, you could slash up to 20 per cent off your average annual energy bill."

Get your pub involved

Be honest now, how much time and effort have you and your staff invested in trying to reduce your power consumption? Look around the bar.

• How many of your lightbulbs have you replaced with more efficient alternatives?
• Do your staff know what fridges they need to turn off and when?
• Do you spend thousands of pounds on energy each year, with parts of your restaurant lit up as brightly as one of the runways at Heathrow?

Now is your chance to take control of your energy bills, with support from the experts. As well as the great prizes on offer you could also boost your profits and put your pub in a leading position when it comes to energy efficiency.

The Efficiency Factor competition is open to freetraders, tenants and lessees in the UK who have mains gas and spend more than £750 per month on energy. Print off the entry form from the link, fill it in and submit your most recent energy bill to be in with a chance to win.

Based on the information provided British Gas Business will select six pubs that it believes would benefit most from energy efficiency advice. These finalists will then move to the next stage and go head-to-head to see which can make the largest saving over a six-month period.

The finalists will be visited at the start by British Gas Business' team of energy-efficiency experts for a free energy audit to determine where the biggest reductions can be made. Each pub will then need to follow a simple six-month action plan and British Gas Business will contact them regularly to get updates on their progress, which will be reported in The Publican and on thepublican.com.

The finalists with the greatest and second-greatest percentage reduction in energy usage and CO2 emissions respectively will be chosen as the winner and runner-up. If it is too close to call, the finalists will also be judged on how much they encourage their staff to get involved.

British Gas Business will give the winner a celebrity quizmaster to host their pub quiz for an evening plus £2,600, the equivalent price of an extra bar person working every Saturday night for a year. The runner-up will also get £2,600.

The bottom line

"Energy efficiency is an obvious solution to an immediate problem," concludes Adrian.

"It never ceases to amaze me the lengths some of my customers will go to save money on suppliers, but I am disappointed by how little time and effort - if any - is directed at energy management.

"Publicans are under pressure to get smart, reduce costs, and contribute to a healthier environment. The greatest benefit to your business will come from you making this an issue for your business and taking responsibility for your own power usage."