The Government’s launch of an energy saving tool for hospitality to tackle rising utility costs was launched today and aims to advise operators on how to reduce unnecessary electricity use from “wasted energy hotspots including extraction systems, fridges, ovens and lamps”.
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The energy saving and carbon reduction tool, developed by the Carbon Zero Services and funded by Ed Miliband’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, claims to have delivered savings of nearly £2,500 for 90 hospitality businesses during a year long trial.
It is now being rolled out to 525 small and medium sized pubs, restaurants and hotels following the trial.
According to the Government, a pub in Bromley managed to cut its energy usage by 26%, saving them £48 per week - over a year, that reduction will prevent nearly £2,500 of yearly profit being lost to energy waste.
Meanwhile, a smaller pub in Caterham, Surrey saw its overnight energy use fall by 66%, equating to savings of more than £1,500 a year.
Slashing bills
Minister for Industry Chris McDonald said: ”We’re extending support to help more businesses slash bills and protect Britain’s hospitality sector.
“Our pubs and restaurants are playing a leading role in cutting emissions, which is not only good for the planet but for cutting their costs too.”
However, reaction to the Government’s latest initiative to support the sector has been more incredulous than welcoming.
British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) CEO Steve Alton said: “Our members have cut waste, reduced energy and made every change possible to their businesses in recent times to ensure they are sustainable, cutting unnecessary costs to help them thrive and survive, with over 700 of them being recognised through our Sustainability Champion Award.
“They are already facing the new level of energy bills, two to three times higher than those of 2021, and there simply is nothing more left to cut.
“Support from Government urgently needs to be focussed on reducing the cumulative tax burden they have faced for too many years, with over 40p in the pound currently going straight to the Treasury.”
Other operators were less polite. Heath Ball, operator of four pubs across London and Sussex, said: “I’ve never seen a Government so short sighted and downright dismissive of an entire sector of the economy.
He continued: “Today’s advice is just another example of their ignorance. Turning off fridges and ovens? Have they ever even been to a pub? Do they have any idea what we actually do?
“I wish they would just come clean and admit they don’t care about the hospitality industry. If we all fail, it seems they simply don’t care. This makes me so angry.”
Downright dismissive
Phil Sutton, operator of the award winning Perry Hill Pub in Catford, South London, added: “It is a jaw-droppingly clueless launch by Government for an industry that has already cut consumption to the bone. How about the Government starts with capping their own duty on energy costs rather than profiteering with percentage VAT takes on rising costs.
Anthony Hughes, who runs the Lincoln Green Brewing Company in Nottingham, said: “Pubs are already among the most energy-conscious businesses in the country – they’ve had to be. Since the last energy crisis, operators have stripped out waste, invested in efficiency, and run incredibly tight ships just to survive.
“Being told now to turn fridges off risks sounding out of touch with the day-to-day reality of running a pub.
“The real issue isn’t a lack of awareness or effort from operators – it’s the mounting cost burden being placed on them. Increases in National Insurance, above-inflation rises in the National Living Wage, and a business rates system that continues to penalise bricks-and-mortar hospitality are all hitting at once.
“If Government is serious about protecting pubs, it needs to move beyond well-meaning but simplistic advice and address the structural pressures that are undermining the sector. Meaningful reform on taxation and rates would do far more to secure the future of Britain’s pubs than telling experienced publicans how to run their businesses.”
UKHospitality chair Kate Nicholls added while “practical tools” like this can help businesses reduce bills in the long-term, they don’t solve the challenges currently facing the sector.
“The sector is looking to the Government for more reassurance they will be supported should we continue to see energy prices spike”, she said.
“Many hospitality businesses have already experienced their energy prices hike significantly, particularly those that are off grid using heating oil or are coming to the end of fixed contracts.
“Those affected will be looking to the Government to do more immediately to support businesses, which is why we’ve written to the Energy Secretary to make clear the need to prepare meaningful business support measures.”
