Pubs can do more on energy efficiency, new research reveals

Over half of publicans are less conscientious about saving energy in the pub than they are at home, and one in five believes there is little they can do to be more environmentally friendly, according to new research.

The survey's results, released by British Gas Business at Publican Live,​ revealed that the trade can do far more to save money on energy and be more environmentally friendly.

The study, conducted for British Gas Business by research group Ipos MORI, polled over 300 small and medium sized businesses.

Speaking at the Go Green and Make more Cash seminar at The Publican Live, British Gas Business head of marketing Simon Stenning said: "Being green is a by-product of being more energy efficient. Being more efficient is what businesses should be doing every day."

British Gas Business also released the results of an energy audit it conducted into one pub's spending and efficiency. It concluded that the Swiss Cottage, in Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, could cut its fuel bills by 20 per cent if it made several recommended alterations.

These included:

• Replacing standard light bulbs with more energy efficient versions
• Fitting motion detectors in the toilets to reduce the amount of time the lights are turned on
• Controlling heating from a point only accessible to members of staff and fitting locking devices on radiators so that customers can not medlle with the heat of your pub
• Having two boilers - one for the main parts of the pub, and one for the kitchen, which requires more constant use of the boiler
• Replacing extractor fans in rooms with high ceilings rooms with fans, which distribute heat more efficiently
• Partitioning the cellar to create areas of varying heat appropriate to different products
• Using induction hobs, rather than gas hobs in the kitchen

Although Stenning was unable to estimate a cost for all these improvement, he said an installation such as a fan would cost "a couple of hundred quid" and that pubs would soon see a return on the investment.

Pubs can put their green credentials and cost saving to the test by entering the Efficiency Factor, a nationwide competition to find the most energy efficient pub in the UK being run by The Publican in conjunction with British Gas Business.