Collective of companies saving energy together

Collective of companies saving energy together

The challenge

Companies can potentially do a lot of energy saving and generation. Many companies see the benifits and necessity of it, but to actualy acting and implementing measures is more difficult. Investments are high and it is often a lot of research work for companies to come to fitting measures. The technical solutions to make buildings and activities more energy-efficient are available. It is now about investing in the mind-set and practical implementation. Collaboration with other companies could offer a solution within for example an industrial estate or a business park. That requires consultation, shared vision and mutual trust.

The Solution

CCS Energie-advies gives advice on energy savings and alternatives to companies for over 20 years. In partnerschip with TNO and the Italian research institutions ASTER and ENEA the project BEST Energy CheckUp was started at the end of 2017 to help business estates to become more sustainable.

First, the interest of the entrepreneurs is stimulated via a site-wide energy scan based on public data. This scan, called the Energy Potential Scan, was developed by TNO and shows the potential savings. If the interest of the entrepreneurs is aroused, the next step will be to screen the individual business premises of the entrepreneurs, based on the efficient SME Energy CheckUp developed by CCS.

A collective can be set up based on the information obtained. This is to become a professional energy-oriented organization which will implement collective measures. In example for the joint purchasing of energy, hiring installers, the exchange of heat via a heating network or the construction of solar parks or wind turbines. The goal is to take the joint opportunities and make the site energy-positive.

In the Netherlands, the project is now running a pilot in the port area of Enschede. Based on the energy potential scan, the potential environmental gain from energy saving is around 35,000 tons of CO2. In addition, in Italy, on the business park Ponte Rizzoli and in the fashion district, entrepreneurs work on identifying and collectively applying best practices that are applicable to many entrepreneurs.

The impact

Energy saving via collective measures through the cooperation between companies (on industrial estates or within branches). Moreover, this collaboration can in the future lead to beautiful new initiatives on business parks, for example in the field of circularity.

About this article

11 February 2019 / Author:

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