Before I’m drowned out by the howls of outrage, don’t get me wrong - the Government’s energy saving tool is akin to them offering the industry a great deal on inflatable dartboards.
It’s a tone deaf move for an industry that by and large has pulled every efficiency lever already in desperation to stay above water, but along comes the Government offering a great deal on stable door locks, while the horse is long gone over the horizon.
But sadly the reaction to the launch was perhaps a little extreme, and not helped by the Daily Telegraph twisting the release into the claim that Energy Secretary Ed Miliband was telling the industry to serve warmer beer and turn off ovens. (And mea culpa on that, I dived straight into the deep end there without confirming the truth!).
Spoiler alert - Miliband didn’t say that, it was a Telegraph interpretation of the concept of switching off fridges overnight that the paper extrapolated up to leading to warmer beer. But many operators are using things like smart plugs to power down fridges already - never let the truth stand in the way of a good outrage though. And how many of you are telling your chefs not to automatically switch on all the appliances when they walk in the door?
Recommendations not without merit
So yes, perspective is key - the recommendations of the Carbon Zero Services report are not without merit, the problem is the vast majority of them were recommended, and implemented, some years ago - so the real outrage is the Government thinking this is useful advice, not the advice itself.
Maybe we need to ignore some of the incendiary characters out there on social media, many of whom have been swept up in the Telegraph hysteria, and keep our powder dry for the real fights around over taxation.
And for the Government - perhaps you need to take note of the level of response this launch sparked? Prior to the current challenges, something like this might have prompted a wry smile, and a few comments of “out of touch” Westminster.
But the Government has created such a toxic environment between itself and the hospitality industry with its excessive and targeted taxation policies and wage hikes, that the slightest thing brings the villagers out with burning pitchforks.
Maybe have a think about why that is, and how you could apply some real change on taxation to resolve some of that tension?
Just a thought.