Advice on Going Green from a Business Professional

Sal Christ, a reporter for Albuquerque Business First, recently posted a great article regarding an interview with Jim Klein, Director of Engineering for Presbyterian Healthcare Services.  Her interview revolved around the green renovations PHS has performed over the past five years.  Klein offered some great advice from a perspective that many can relate to, a business professional looking to make a smart investment for their company.  Christ prefaces the interview by summarizing, "Energy efficiency is less a project than an ongoing process," emphasizing that going green can be as simple as switching to LED lighting, or as grand as obtaining LEED certification, and everything in between.

When asked why to invest in energy efficiency, Klein's response was:

"Energy efficiency is a good business practice — it's an end-to-end business practice. There's also the aspect of doing the right thing, but you have to do it within the context of evidence-based design and good business."

Klein put a strong emphasis on maintenance; an easy way to improve efficiency of a facility is to increase the efficiency of appliances and other systems, decreasing maintenance costs.  He also urges business owners to be patient and look at the investment as long-term.  While upfront cost of most energy efficiency upgrades can be quite costly, they will pay off over time.  Savings will not be instant, but they will be substantial when given proper time for money saved from utility and maintenance cost to pile up.

"They say that 20 percent of the ownership cost of a building is in building it and 80 percent is in the life of the building. LED lights are a perfect example of that — I'm not going to have to touch them for 10 years, so my maintenance cost is dramatically reduced, my parts cost is reduced. It's not reduced tomorrow, though. It's reduced over time."

Perhaps one of the most valuable pieces of advice Klein offers is to understand your facility and its specific needs.  Know your energy waste and your operating opportunities.  While all new efficiency technologies serve a purpose, they may not be relevant to your business needs.  Having a solid knowledge of your energy consumption will allow you to spend money on upgrades where they will be most effective.

Finally, Klein recommends to take full advantage of any and all rebates available to you.  Rebates can be tricky and time consuming to procure, however, which is why Worldwide Energy provides this service for you.  Our specialists will navigate the paperwork for you to make sure your business gets absolutely all of the funding available for your improvements.

Contact the energy efficiency professionals in our office to learn more about the process of going green in your facility.  We will provide you with a turnkey solution that fits the needs specific to your business and your budget.