3 in 4 businesses missing out on energy advice

Nearly two thirds of energy-intensive firms like manufacturers say they are very concerned about rising energy costs, but most are unaware that expert support is available to them.

A national business survey carried out in November by MA Business – the publisher behind popular industry titles including The Engineer, Manufacturing Management and Machinery – found that only 28 per cent of energy-intensive businesses are tapping into available assistance to manage their energy costs.

Despite 95 per cent saying they are worried about the cost of energy, most do not have a strategy in place. Even amongst those that do, the majority are only looking at short-term measures. Nearly half of the companies surveyed said they have passed on the increases to their customers.

With experts forecasting that energy prices are unlikely to fall below pre-2021 averages for the rest of this decade and the current government Energy Bill Relief Scheme set to end in March 2023, there is a limit to how successful these actions can be in the long-term.

When asked about taking action to reduce their energy consumption, nearly half of surveyed companies said they were impeded by the upfront costs of energy saving technologies and 20 per cent said a lack of technical understanding to make changes was their biggest barrier.

However, support is available to help businesses with these concerns. SME manufacturers in Greater Manchester can access fully-funded guidance from the Growth Hub, including:

• One-to-one advice from energy efficiency specialists through our Sustainability and Net Zero Service, who are experts in their field when it comes to identifying and implementing opportunities to cut energy waste from buildings and processes – often at low or not cost
• Our expert Manufacturing Service can also provide tailored one-to-one support to take costs out of your business through lean measures to improve your productivity and profitability
• A set of introductory energy saving guides and recorded webinars are also available via our #HereForBusiness campaign.