October 14, 2024 Commercial Solar Power, Solar Power
What role can solar power play in your sustainable business goals?
If you are part of the 77% of companies that believe energy costs are the biggest threat to your business, you will know how difficult it is to grow and innovate when you spend so much to simply keep your buildings operational.
What’s more, when stakeholders at all levels – from government to customers – expect businesses to act sustainably, there’s even more pressure on your company to find renewable alternatives.
Solar power can free you from the volatility of the grid, and at the same time, it can open up many opportunities for your business.
In this blog, we will explain what those are.
Commercial solar power – why is it critical for a sustainable business strategy?
Business leaders are aware of the limitations that grid electricity can impose on them. In no uncertain terms, it’s expensive, polluting, and subject to immense price volatility.
All of these factors simply constrain businesses that want the predictability of a secure energy source and the freedom to invest in their own growth that low-cost energy delivers.
This explains why solar power is such an attractive alternative to grid electricity. If you didn’t know already:
- Solar power is the most cost-effective source of electricity per kWh.
- It isn’t subject to the market price volatility of grid electricity.
- It’s zero-carbon – and completely non-polluting.
For businesses, it provides reassurance that their energy is cheap to produce and theirs to control.
However, there’s more to these benefits than meets the eye..
How else does wider sustainability benefit businesses interested in solar power?
Sooner or later, every business, no matter the industry, will have to be a ‘sustainable’ business.
Far from being a matter of ethos, it’s the direction of travel in an evolving market landscape, evidenced by:
- Regulatory changes
- Evolving expectations of stakeholders
- Competitive advantages for sustainable businesses
Let’s explore these in more depth, and learn what part solar power plays in a sustainable business strategy:
- A new regulatory reality
For the UK Government and many international partners, net-zero targets are written into law. This means that businesses everywhere are increasingly affected by legislative measures (and incentives) to decarbonise.
These can take the form of:
- Direct penalties for CO2 emissions (under the UK Emissions Trading Scheme and the Climate Change Levy)
- Reporting requirements such as the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS)
- Preference for businesses with low/no-carbon emissions at procurement
- European Compliance Laws, such as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D).
All of these are compliance realities that businesses trading domestically and internationally will need to conform to by securing sources of sustainable energy.
However, even if you aren’t directly affected by regulations now, you do have to understand the changing expectations of your stakeholders.
- Changing stakeholder expectations
Being compliant is far from a business’s only interest in sustainability. You are aware that managing the expectations of your customers, investors and supply chain partners is equally important to maintaining your commercial advantage.
Every stakeholder matters, and this is why:
Customers
Customers are increasingly sustainability-conscious and in fields as diverse as FMCG, agriculture, tourism and manufacturing, they have greater expectations for a business to operate sustainably.
You can benefit from this awareness: sustainability motivates a growing number of customers to buy from a certain brand. Likewise, you can consider passing on the savings you make from using solar power energy, or reinvesting them into improving your product.
Investors
Frameworks such as ESG (environmental, social and governance) create opportunities for sustainable businesses to access investment and tender opportunities.
Not only does solar power act as an environmentally sustainable source of energy, but it also helps secure operational sustainability, which is a vital sign of good governance to investors.
Supply Chain Partners
Sustainability increasingly affects the credentials of your supply chain partners, who are under greater scrutiny to minimise so-called ‘scope 3’ emissions in the supply chain.
Businesses that can show they emit less can become more valuable partners in these supply chains.
3. Competitive Advantages
Finally, in simple terms, renewable energy sources such as solar power allow businesses to:
- Spend less on energy than their competitors, with more capital available for innovation and R&D
- Access investment and tender opportunities they would not have had before
- Build greater brand equity (trust and loyalty) with increasingly conscious stakeholders
With all of this considered, what does a business looking to switch to solar power need to know before preparing to install it?
What to consider when installing a commercial solar power system
Solar power projects may seem daunting at first – but with the help of an experienced project partner and trusted installers, it is far easier than you think.
Innasol Solar’s surveying and design-led philosophy ensures that we understand your business’ exact needs when sizing a solar power system for your company.
What this delivers is a system with the quickest possible return on investment – sometimes, in as little as 3.5 years – with savings in the £10,000s to £100,000s in a lifespan of 20 years.
All of which delivers energy security, operational efficiency – and completely zero-carbon energy to make businesses truly sustainable.
If you are curious about installing commercial solar pannels at your business, you can see what a bespoke solar power system will look like at your company.
All you need to do is fill out a free, short and no-obligation questionnaire – and we will help you understand if solar power is right for you.
Just get in touch using the contact form, or by calling Paul at 01621 892613.
