Businesses are leading the way to net zero with smart energy management

Energy briefing update - December 2021

Last month, the Energy Efficiency Council (EEC) launched the fourth edition of Navigating a dynamic energy landscape: a briefing for Australian businesses at the final session of the Energy Efficiency Expo for 2021. The webinar featured a lively discussion between Sally Townsend from Blackmores Group, Wei Sue from ClimateWorks Australia, and the EEC’s Holly Taylor and Luke Menzel. Sally, Wei and Holly provided insights into ways businesses can make progress on their pathways to net zero.

Wei kicked off the conversation by showcasing ClimateWorks Australia's Best practice for Australian company net zero commitments. She said that "businesses that are serious about meeting their energy and climate commitments should be deploying capital to technologies that are commercially available now."

Holly continued the discussion by covering how the energy and carbon landscape has shifted in the last year, emphasising how businesses can proactively manage the risks – and capture the opportunities – of this shift. She concluded that "businesses can hit off some quick wins to get started, then focus on continuous improvement afterwards" as they work towards net zero with smart energy management.

Sally brought with her an insightful look on how Blackmores Group has become an ambitious business on the sustainability front, committing to net zero in their operations by 2030. She reiterated Wei’s comments, noting that "building the business case and achieving targets in its early days demonstrated the value of investing in energy efficiency" for Blackmores Group.

You can watch the recording of the event here, or listen to it as a podcast here.

The briefing – available here – provides a snapshot of the current state of the energy market and industry in Australia with a focus on the trends relevant for businesses. This yearly business briefing serves as a roadmap to help businesses navigate the increasingly dynamic energy landscape in Australia.

The version published last month notes how 2021 bore similarities to 2018 when we launched the first edition of the briefing. Specifically, volatility in energy prices has remained a consistent feature within Australian energy markets. In the past year, Australian gas prices rose steeply as a flow-on effect of the rebound in international oil prices to pre-pandemic levels. This contributed to a simultaneous jump in electricity prices, due in part to the use of gas for electricity generation, which has grown as more coal has gone offline and much more variable renewables energy (VRE) – like solar PV and wind – has come online.

The briefing also observes the marked increase in net zero emissions commitments made by businesses, with the number of ASX200 companies with net zero goals jumping from 14 in March 2020 to 49 in March 2021. This trend, just as much as cost concerns, is now driving business action on energy management, and is key to businesses unlocking the opportunities of Australia’s energy transition and net zero transformation.

Click here to return to the fourth edition of the energy briefing update.

About Navigating a dynamic energy landscape

There is an enormous amount of information on energy in the public domain, yet it can be hard for business leaders to extract what matters for their businesses.

Navigating a dynamic energy landscape: a briefing for Australian businesses is an executive-level briefing designed to cut through the noise and help businesses confidently navigate Australia’s dynamic energy landscape.

The sector spotlights and other resources that accompany the briefing exist to support this aim.

This initiative is delivered by the Energy Efficiency Council with the support of industry and the NSW Department of Industry, Planning and Environment.

To learn more visit energybriefing.org.au.