Despite sustainability becoming increasingly important to businesses, we know that protecting your bottom line and seeing a fast return on investment are the key drivers for decision makers.
But how can cost-effectiveness be combined with choosing the right solutions for your business, and the environment?
Balancing sustainability with return on investment
Lots of the more environmentally friendly options being offered to businesses for energy have a longer payback period, with solutions like solar PV installation often having a payback period of five years or more. Realistically, there is normally only motivation to upgrade existing systems when they need replacing, and even then, a quicker return on investment will be more appealing than a greener solution.
Yet the pressure to be more environmentally responsible as a food and beverage manufacturer is only increasing, so you need to factor in sustainability when making decisions about new processes. Getting the balance right can be a challenge, which is why Veolia can help.
Solutions which provide value for money
There are a variety of energy solutions available which offer a high return on investment, enabling your business to adopt a more sustainable approach. These include heat recovery projects, which utilise abstract waste heat from processes and reduce primary energy demand. There are also power optimisation solutions such as VSD (Variable Speed Drives), which reduce energy consumption while improving productivity. Both of these examples can pay for themselves and offer good value in a short time frame.
In addition to the technology improvements, there are solutions you should consider implementing across your business more broadly, which offer quick payback and can make a big difference to culture and the environment. These include energy monitoring systems such as Veolia's Hubgrade solution, which enables you to identify areas of the business where improvements to energy consumption can be made.
Getting the right mix
All of these solutions work best for your business when implemented as part of a mixture. Balancing these projects with more long-term ROI technology like Anaerobic Digestion (AD) and solar PV can help your business satisfy sustainability and productivity targets whilst ensuring that you see a quick return on investment and value for money.