Our Energy Assessment+ provides a way to evaluate your company's energy use and environmental impact. Assessments are conducted by experienced energy and environmental consultants. We will determine the current energy efficiency of your business and its environmental impact, and provide clear guidelines for action - tailored to your unique business environment.

The GCX commercial energy assessment+ includes the following core components:

1. Energy Assessment+ report of up to 80 pages (written in non-technical language) that complies with all relevant standards.
   
2. Action Matrix outlining actions you can take to lower your energy requirements, in order of priority, taking into account timeframes, costs, business interruption and technical issues.
   
3. Best practice evaluation based on your industry and location - to evaluate your energy efficiency against peers and direct competitors.
   
4. Sustainability guide detailing the impact of your carbon, waste, water and transport activities on the environment.
   
5. Education guide for staff to understand how they impact energy efficiency in their daily work habits and to deliver consistent reductions.
   
6. Supply chain program to assess the environmental impact of your supply chain with recommendations regarding energy efficiency. (Please note that the supply chain program is an optional addition to the Energy Assessment+ program)

Together these components provide a holistic view of your company's energy and environmental impact and will drive positive economic and social change within your enterprise.

Beyond Traditional Assessments

GCX energy audits go well beyond the scope of standard industry audits by providing a detailed overview of your environmental impact as well as your energy costs. Your environmental impact is measured in tonnes of carbon used to operate your business - your ‘carbon footprint'. The value of understanding your carbon footprint is considerable:

• Governments are beginning to place a financial cost on carbon. There is no doubt that over the next few years Australia will see a national carbon trading system. Those businesses which have optimised their carbon footprint will be at distinct advantage.
• Being prepared for this change is recognised as an important competitive driver for many businesses. First movers in Australia, Europe and North America have seen substantial competitive gains.
• Each tonne of carbon emitted is an opportunity to save money.
• Knowing your carbon cost is a powerful business benchmark. Informed decisions can be made - for some businesses this means going carbon neutral by offsetting, for others it means driving change within the enterprise.
• Good people are attracted to good companies. For staff, customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders, the value placed on working with or for a business that is socially and environmental responsible cannot be underestimated.

Areas covered

Within your energy and environmental assessment we review and provide recommendations in:

• Energy use and efficiency (with saving of 30% or more possible)
• Energy bill analysis, including assessment of energy sourcing costs vs. industry best practice
• Appliance use and alternatives
• Impact of office products and supplies
• IT use costs, with potential savings and alternatives
• Recycling review and possible improvements
• Selected major supply costs and possible savings (environmental and energy)

The Action Matrix+

A key part of any audit and review service is deciding which steps to take, and in what order, once the audit is complete and the results presented.

Our Action Matrix+ analysis is built into every report and provides a clear step-by-step guide to deciding what steps your business can take to make the biggest impact and greatest return on investment.

The matrix works by combining business goals (which we collect during the audit) with audit results, industry best practice and trends in energy / water / waste disposal / carbon costs. The results are tabulated and presented as a list of actions in a logical order, providing you with a clear path to follow.

Education and Communication

Conducting a first time audit of energy use and environmental impact is an important first step towards improved business efficiency. From our experience, the process a business undergoes after the audit is key to long term value. As part of our audit process we can offer an optional assessment of your business culture, communication processes, suppliers and customers. We use that information to develop an education framework designed to maximise the value of your initiative.

People and technology

The GCX audit team is a dedicated team of experienced professionals who understand the needs of a wide range of industries. The team sources experts from around the world to meet the specific requirements of complex customer engagements. Our partners include leading industrial engineering companies, resource management consultants, and energy efficient and environmental product manufacturers. These resources are combined with best practice software built to meet the needs of Australian business.

Investment

We base our audit fees on the size of your business, its geographic location, the complexity of your energy use and how far you wish to measure your supply chain environmental impact.

On average, a business could see savings on energy costs of around 20% per year (based on historical industry data, individual results may vary).