Track the success of your sustainability plan with these essential metrics
How are you measuring the success of your business sustainability plan? Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) allow you to keep track of your company’s health and performance, measure the progress of initiatives over time, adjust projects to stay on track in meeting targets, solve problems with data, and analyze patterns over time. In addition, energy KPIs can measure energy-relevant processes to change production processes. Keep reading to learn key performance indicators that you should measure in your energy management plan for your New York City, NY business.
Energy Cost
The Energy Cost Index (ECI) comprises supply and demand variables and evaluates the total energy costs (like gas, water, steam, electricity, and more) of a business in dollars, percentage of revenue, or as a delta to prior periods. A company might also measure their energy costs per square foot to see how much energy they are using compared to businesses that have different revenues. Stakeholders might also evaluate their budget for energy reduction programs and consider the savings and return on investment these programs will provide.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Greenhouse Gas Emissions are important for companies that are building a sustainability plan. While these emissions comprise four gases, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, and fluorinated gases, they are usually measured as metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (mtCO2E) or as a percent reduction of this value. Make sure to measure your total annual emissions and a breakdown of these emissions by utility type.
Energy Consumption
Energy consumption per square foot determines consumption by air-conditioned square footage. This is measured in British Thermal Units (BTUs), kilowatt-hours (kWh) per square foot per year/month, or in percent reductions of these values, and is the most popular metric for measuring the reductions of consumption in energy efficiency programs. Therms are a non-SI unit of heat energy equivalent to 100,000 British Thermal Units and are the energy equivalent of burning 100 cubic feet of natural gas. These metrics are evaluated from weather normalized energy, the energy used under average weather conditions. Consider measuring energy consumption by types, such as steam consumption, fuel consumption, and oil consumption.
Electrical Demand Load Factor, Peak Demand, and Minimum Demand
Electrical Demand Load Factor measures the efficiency of electrical energy usage as a ratio of the total energy used in the billing period divided by the possible total energy used at peak demand throughout the entire period (kW), with peak demand being the maximum electrical power demand in that period. The opposite of this is the average minimum demand (kW), the minimum power requirement at its lowest point of utilization (for example, when an office building is empty at 2 AM).
Environ is an energy consulting firm that can help you determine and measure relevant key performance indicators for your business. Call (917) 338-1023 or fill out our contact form to get in touch with us. We would love to help your organization work towards carbon neutrality!