Leadership teams at some of the UK’s largest organisations are failing to support energy buyers when investing in new energy technology, according to a recent study.
In an annual poll conducted by Centrica, a third of respondents (34 per cent) responsible for buying and managing energy in UK organisations warned that achieving board level buy-in was still the biggest energy challenge facing their organisation, down only one per cent on last year.
The survey, which looked at more than 100 private and public-sector organisations, found that nearly half of respondents believed political uncertainty could make it difficult for UK businesses to improve their energy infrastructure.
A further 34 per cent highlighted that rising pressure from other areas of their businesses, including wage costs and workforce skills gaps, were diverting attention away from energy investment.
The poll showed that appetite to invest had increased, although still less than half (49 per cent) of organisations said they planned to spend more than £1 million on energy technology over the next two years. This has increased from 33 per cent in 2017.
British Gas business managing director Gab Barbaro has urged senior decision makers in both the public and private sectors to embrace new technologies or risk falling behind.
“We are in the middle of an energy revolution and investing in modern infrastructure is vital to organisations achieving the resilience and efficiency they need,” said Barbaro.
“Energy buyers recognise this but need support from their boards to help bring the UK’s energy system into the 21st century.
“Forward-thinking organisations we work with from around the world are already reducing their costs, lowering their carbon emissions and increasing their productivity by adopting new energy technologies.”
Looking ahead, half of firms (50 per cent) believed battery storage would be the most important energy trend of the coming decade, followed by use of the Internet of Things devices to manage energy with more flexibility.