Investments in infrastructure are essential for boosting economic growth. Implementing sustainability initiatives through different areas of your infrastructure can make a big impact on carbon emissions reduction. Here are 5 ways you can make your infrastructure more sustainable and energy efficient.
Investments in infrastructure are essential for boosting economic growth. Implementing sustainability initiatives through different areas of your infrastructure can make a big impact on carbon emissions reduction.
A well-maintained infrastructure enables the transportation of goods and services, provision of access to work, schools, health care and recreational activities, connects communities and countries with markets, gives access to clean water, sanitation, and power and improves livelihoods and creates employment.
Changing behaviours towards energy reduction is vital in helping lower emissions, so it’s good to get a head start in increasing the adoption of energy efficiency technologies across your infrastructure. Here are 5 ways to create a more energy efficient infrastructure:
1. Power your charging infrastructure with renewable energy
Transitioning to electric vehicles (EVs) is one of the most important actions in achieving carbon net zero, so charging infrastructure is vital. Factoring in and planning for your vehicle charging infrastructure before placing orders for your new electric vehicles is critical.
Whether you’re looking to own and operate a charging solution, enter into a revenue share partnership with a supplier, or direct award for a replacement unit, our agreements offer the flexibility to suit your requirements.
2. Choose greener energy for your built environment
In the UK, energy supply accounts for just over a fifth of UK emissions. Reducing this footprint is essential for meeting Carbon Net Zero targets.
Heating is a big challenge in the UK’s carbon net zero journey. In the UK, just under 80% of the energy used to heat buildings comes from natural gas. However, when burned, natural gas emits greenhouse gases and is not a viable path to net zero.
The demand for power to charge cleaner road transport and heating is increasing the need for the supply of clean, renewable power generation. As renewable energy sources’ penetration levels improve, they will continue to support new business models for low-carbon energy projects.
If you own, operate or are responsible for any buildings, you can change the energy you use, reduce any energy demand, or both. Green Tariffs can ensure that your energy links to a renewable energy asset.
3. Reduce the demand for energy in refurbished buildings
Refurbishing buildings to reduce the energy demand is a cost-effective solution to reducing carbon emissions. In lowering energy demand, refurbishing buildings is a great way to reduce your Scope 1 and 2 emissions, and so is a valuable tool for all Government organisations regardless of reporting standards.
There are several options available to help reduce your operational carbon emissions. For example, LED lighting is an excellent alternative to traditional lighting as it’s much more energy efficient, producing less CO2. Additionally, sensors can prevent energy wastage by ensuring lighting is only used when needed.
4. Build a cleaner energy future with digital transformation
Technology innovation has a huge potential to help support the UK’s net zero transition. Digital transformation is an enabler of sustainability. It can help reduce environmental impacts by optimising resource use and reducing waste. It can increase energy efficiency, build a clean energy future, and make our economies circular by closing the loops of material and energy flows.
In line with the Government’s Cloud First policy, we support every step of your digital transformation journey. For example, our Crown Hosting agreement provides data centre colocation facilities for the public sector, delivering significant cost savings and sustainability measures. Through this agreement, carbon savings in the region of 99.9% are achieved from efficient hyperscale facilities and ‘Green Electricity’ compared to onsite infrastructure.
5. Optimise energy management with data analytics
Understanding the environmental impact of your IT estate is the first step to making changes to reduce the demand that can lead to lower emissions.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies can help optimise energy management. From baselining current emissions to tracking progress to carbon accounting and supply chain transparency, AI-powered data analytics provide insights and predictions about improving processes and becoming more fuel-efficient.
Further actions you can take include monitoring ongoing consumption, identifying heavy data users and departments that use more processing power, and actively managing IT usage. For instance, sensors can prevent energy waste by ensuring lighting is only used when needed. You can even model what impact different actions could have using other criteria and at what cost.
Learn more
Crown Commercial Service (CCS) can help you meet your sustainability goals and increase value for money through greener procurement. Explore how we can support your net zero journey. Visit our Carbon Net Zero website and download the CNZ Cityscape Guide.