You Save More (Energy) With Clicks

 

Clicks Group Limited, one of GCX’s most committed and progressive clients, is at the forefront of carbon and energy management in South Africa. Aware of the future risks of inaction, Clicks consulted with GCX  to help them design the most effective Climate Change Response strategy for the group. To start off, GCX conducted a carbon footprint assessment of Clicks’ operations for the financial year 2007/8, which revealed that 68.3% of annual emissions were as a result of electricity use.


Due to our South African legacy of electricity generation from cheap and dirty coal, this finding is common to the majority of businesses in SA and is the premise to the logical next step; identifying where energy is being consumed and whether efficiency can be optimised by conducting a detailed energy audit.
Detailed energy audits of Clicks Head Office and one of their three Distribution Centres were conducted with the objectives of
•    reducing the overall energy consumption of the facilities,
•    thereby reducing the overall carbon footprint,
•    cutting  energy bills  and
•    providing bankable recommendations.

GCX analysed the historical consumption of both buildings to establish a baseline, then identified energy management opportunities and presented Clicks with a financial analysis of these opportunities. The energy audit revealed that the highest consumers of energy in the Head Office were the air-con systems and lighting, while in the Distribution Centre, lighting and battery chargers used the most energy.

According to the  findings of the audit, Clicks Head Office could potentially save over 30% of  its total energy consumption by installing motion sensors on their lighting systems as well as by implementing the other energy management opportunities identified in the audit.

At the Clicks Distribution Centre, energy savings of up to 24.1% could be achieved through various lighting retrofits.  Additionally, by changing their air conditioners to split units, and making other IT and water heating technology improvements, the accumulated savings at the distribution centre could be 27.6%.

The findings of the energy audits provide a guidline for Clicks' reduction opportunities,  whilst the payback periods and return on investment will  assist in determining the timelines and investment strategy for realising these reductions.

Through targeting energy efficiency, Clicks Group Limited, who have won a loyal market share by their availability, extensive product range and real savings have now found another way to save more and lead through innovation.

The remarkable thing to note is that Clicks had already implemented good measures with regards to energy efficiency at their facilities before they undertook the energy audit. However, as this article show's there are always further ways to improve energy efficiency, no matter how efficient your energy use is currently. Through the recommended improvements, Clicks can realise energy savings, avoid CO2 emissions and realise large financial savings too.