The largest conference centre in the North of Scotland is well on its way to achieving its sustainability targets, having made significant savings on its gas and electricity bills.
Aberdeen-based energy management specialist, Orchard Energy, was appointed by the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC) to conduct an energy review as part of an ongoing sustainability policy, which resulted in substantial savings of £170,000.
Through reviewing the AECC’s past bills and current contracts, Orchard Energy was able to identify opportunities to reduce costs. Orchard Energy specialises in purchasing contracts in line with market movements, often purchasing contracts way in advance of the current end dates - a strategy that proved very successful for AECC.
The original AECC was built in 1984 and redeveloped in 2003 to ensure the city continues to attract large and popular events and secures a bigger share of the conference, exhibition and concert market. It is an essential part of the city’s infrastructure and brings £130m into the local economy each year.
Aberdeen City Council has recently been given the green light for a further £333 million development which will feature a four-star hotel and energy centre and will replace the current building with a state-of-the-art venue focusing on the ambitious sustainability plans currently in place.
Graeme Cumming, interim managing director at AECC said: “We recognise that our operations have the potential to have both a positive and negative environmental impact which is why we engaged with Orchard Energy to carry out an energy review, with the savings identified being invested back into the organisation’s sustainability plans.
“We are committed to working in line with our sustainability policy to make positive changes. We were also the first Scottish venue of our kind to become ISO 20121 compliant - an international management system standard that has been designed to help organisations in the events industry improve the sustainability of their event related activities, products and services. This includes engaging and educating our staff on sustainable initiatives and monitoring our waste and energy usage.”
Gareth Henderson, managing director of Orchard Energy, said: “Our team of specialists in Glasgow have been working closely with AECC for a number of months and we are very pleased to have helped them achieve this huge saving.
“We specialise in helping businesses in Scotland and across the UK save money through proactive energy management, by monitoring the volatile energy markets and securing the best contracts at the most opportune times to suit our clients’ needs.
“We can also identify areas where clients are overspending, make recommendations on how to reduce future energy bills and consumption, as well as implement the work that needs to be carried out.”
He continued: “We hope the work we’ve done for the existing conference centre will stand us in good stead to be considered as the energy management specialists of choice for AECCs’ latest high-profile project.”
For more information on Orchard Energy go to www.orchardenergy.co.uk
For more information on AECC go to https://www.aecc.co.uk/