Trust appeals to businesses: Purchase energy efficiently and reduce your electricity bills

Some efficiency gains require considerable research and hours of expensive consultants’ time, whereas others can be obtained by simple adjustments. Electricity savings belong to the second category, but nonetheless they are often overlooked by Danish companies. By purchasing energy efficiently and following the Trust’s purchasing guidelines, companies can easily save large amounts of money on their electricity bills.

‘Our calculations show that a typical office-based company with 100 employees can save up to 8,050 Euros worth of electricity a year – simply by purchasing energy efficient products when the time comes to buy new PCs and photocopiers,’ explains Christian Jarby, Manager for Public Sector Affairs at the Trust. ‘Many companies use considerable resources to purchase products from the cheapest sources and valuable time to negotiate good supplier agreements. However, using the guidelines it is possible to save a lot of money without having to use too many resources. It is just a question of telling your supplier that the products must comply with the energy requirements specified in the Trust’s guidelines.’

Danske Bank follows purchasing guidelines
Danske Bank decided to do exactly that. The message to its suppliers was clear: To feature in our offices, the products you supply must fulfil the energy requirements specified in the Trust’s guidelines. In future, this will result in substantial savings of electricity for the Bank. Just following the guidelines for future purchases of new IT and lighting equipment for the Bank’s branches will reduce the company’s annual electricity bill by up to 107,250 Euros.

‘With 23,000 staff and high volume purchases of PCs, photocopiers and other equipment every year, we are very determined to choose the most energy efficient products when we buy. Our goal is to reduce the consumption of resources as much as possible – in terms of the environment, but also naturally in relation to our operational overheads. This is why we have now decided that all purchasing should be based on the Trust’s guidelines. In this way we will be sure to acquire the most energy efficient products for our office landscapes. I expect this to result in significant reductions in our future consumption of electricity,’ says Tonny Thierry Andersen, Chief Financial Officer at Danske Bank.

The Trust is very pleased with the initiative taken by Danske Bank and urges other Danish companies to follow its lead.

The Trust’s purchasing guidelines
The Trust’s 2007 purchasing guidelines can be downloaded at: www.savingtrust.dk/purchasing. You can also order them from the Trust’s Customer Advice service by sending and e-mail to sparel@sparel.dk or by telephoning +45 70 26 90 09.

For further information please contact:
Christian Jarby, Manager – Public Sector Affairs
The Danish Electricity Saving Trust
Tel.: +45 20 14 72 45
E-mail: cja@elsparefonden.dk