Telecoms giant BT cut its global energy use by 3.3% in the 2012/13 financial year racking up annual savings of £33 million, according to the company’s yearly sustainability report.
Driven by CSR targets and by the need to cut costs in the face of rising prices the company cut its energy use to 2,575 GWh down from 2,665 GWh the previous year. This has exceeded BT’s target of cutting energy use by 1.5%, despite increasing energy demand from business growth in key areas such as fibre-based broadband.
Global carbon emissions were down 77% on 1997 base levels, a stone’s throw from the company’s 80% by 2020 target.
In the UK, which accounts for 84% of BT’s energy use, savings were slightly higher at 3.4%, reducing the annual UK energy bill to £275 million, while the company also hit its target to reduce its UK carbon emissions by 80% three years ahead of deadline.
Satisfactory net reduction?
Despite hitting its energy and carbon targets, the company has not set itself any concrete energy reduction targets for the coming years, instead saying it will reduce its worldwide energy use faster than the growth in energy required to expand its network – presumably meaning that any net reduction will be satisfactory.
“In 2013/14, we aim to achieve our fifth consecutive year of global energy reductions, by continuing to cut consumption faster than our network expands,” BT said. “This means that we will need to look at ever more innovative and exciting ways to reduce our energy consumption and drive growth in the business.”
In addition, it has embarked on a major employee engagement drive, aiming to increase the number of employees involved in energy use to 85% by 2020.
Smart network
This year’s reduction in consumption was achieved largely through a smart energy management network, which was rolled out this year across the business. The network consists of smart meters to monitor energy consumption, a building energy management system (BEMS) which controls specific sites across the estate, and an Integrated Energy Management System (IEMS) which processed the data for cross referencing with the company’s energy bills. The BEMS was rolled out across 2,200 sites, while the IEMS platform validated around 100,000 invoices from 30 suppliers.
“This validation offers us better visibility and control of our usage,” BT said.
The company has also streamlined operations at its datacentres, saving £5 million, is implementing newer more energy-efficient telecoms network platforms at a saving of £6 million, and has saved an additional £6 million by introducing energy efficient fittings throughout buildings on its estate. BT is also streamlining LED lighting at some of its larger sites.