Make your pub more energy efficient
With consumers increasingly choosing to eat and drink in places which satisfy their environmental conscience, it can pay twice over to take positive steps to reduce the energy consumed by your business - and you can combat climate change in the process.
According to statistics from the Carbon Trust, annual energy costs for the hospitality industry are in excess of £1bn, resulting in carbon dioxide emissions of more than 12.5 million tonnes per year. Typically, energy costs in a pub will account for an average three per cent of total operating costs, but these can be reduced by around 10 per cent.
The biggest areas of energy saving potential are heating, lighting and, in larger businesses, air conditioning. So if you're wondering what you can do to make your pub that little bit greener, consider the following measures:
Swap lighting to low energy equivalents
They use up to 75 per cent less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs while still emitting the same level of lighting. Old incandescent bulbs waste up to 90 per cent of their energy through the emission of heat rather than light.
Although the initial shelf price of low energy bulbs may be higher than traditional bulbs, they last 10 times longer. It's said that each low energy lightbulb you install could save you as much as £9 per year in energy costs, while cutting your CO2 emissions by 40kg per bulb annually.
Cut energy waste in the kitchen
Buying new kitchen appliances? Then keep your eye out for the 'Energy Saving Recommended' logo available on products ranging from boilers to fridges and dishwashers.
These accredited appliances are able to provide maximum output for minimum input, meaning they use less energy to do the same job as other less efficient versions.
Minimising ice formation in freezers (this can increase electricity consumption by up to 20 per cent), keeping oven and fridge doors closed (for each second the door is open, the fridge temperature may increase by one or two degrees Celsius) and ensuring that dishwashers are fully loaded are additional ways to keep energy wastage to a minimum.
Carbon neutral patios
Since the smoking ban became law we have seen a boom in the number of publicans investing in outdoor heaters to keep their smoking customers comfortable and warm.
However, British Gas found that patio heaters in Scottish pubs now emit up to 10,000 tonnes of CO2 each year - two thirds of the amount of an average household.
And with the smoking ban now in force south of the Scottish border, emissions could rocket to 160,000 tonnes of CO2.
Consider investing in greener, carbon neutral alternatives to patio heaters, such as wood-burning chimeneas or braziers.
Water-saving toilet flush
A standard toilet cistern pushes nine to 11 litres of water down the toilet pan with every flush. Over a year, that adds up to around 50,000 litres for the average household.
Yet the majority of toilet trips only require 50 to 60 per cent of that volume of water for a clean flush. For a quick, cheap fix fill out some of the space in your toilet cistern with a suitable object.
House bricks wrapped in plastic (bubble-wrap or even just a carrier bag) work well, or you may prefer to invest in specialist products called Cistern Displacement Devices or Water Hippos.
Don't blow hot and cold
Unless it's too cold for comfort, set your thermostat at 19°C. Your heating costs go up by eight per cent every time you increase the temperature by just one degree. Also consider running your air conditioning system on time controls.
Energy consumption can increase by as much as 60 per cent as a result of poor maintenance, so ensure all ventilation components are clean.
• For some time, WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme) and the Institute of Hospitality have been working together to provide advice and information on waste and recycling for the hospitality industry.
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