Energy, not money, makes the world go round!
Whoever you are, wherever you live, whatever you do – you use energy. In 2022, 13% of total energy used worldwide was coming from renewables (sun, wind, water), 7% from biomass and biofuels, and 4% from nuclear power. While the proportion of cleaner and safer sources has been steadily growing, a staggering 77% still came from fossil fuels: coal, oil, and gas.
Yes, this “holy trinity” of the industrial era’s fossil energy sources allowed humanity unprecedented civilizational growth over the last two centuries. But we have now known for decades the dire consequences of our addiction to them. There is no doubt that we have to abandon them as soon as possible. Fossil fuels are harmful to public health, disastrous for our planet’s climate, and one of the top sources of international conflict and geopolitical instability.
But can we actually drastically and rapidly limit the use of fossil fuels and ultimately free ourselves from them completely?
YES, we can. YES, we must.
Coming from Poland, a country whose energy mix is extremely dependent on fossil fuels (80+% of total consumption) and especially coal, I can vouch that this is the number one area of climate action. Action that cannot wait as we’re already severely behind the schedule set by Earth’s changing climate. Change that we have caused and that we keep accelerating.
But there’s action that we can take – starting with what we can put in place on our own. For instance, in my case, living in an apartment, I don’t have much say over insulation or heat sources, at least not in the short run. Luckily, the walls of the entire building have been properly insulated some years ago, and the heating and hot water come from the urban grid. But if these changes were not yet in place, I could act through the homeowners’ association to try to make them happen. This is always an option, even if it is more time-consuming. And if you rent? The owner is your go-to person for that. In fact, they could be more than interested in looking into the energy efficiency of the place. It is also becoming a legal requirement in more and more countries to improve it. Moreover, it increases the value of real estate while reducing the maintenance costs.

What did I do myself then? I changed windows some tears ago for triple-glazed heat-saving ones. It was an investment, but it has already paid off. And if you don’t have funds for such an outlay? There are things to do with no budget involved – and actually money to save. The first step is to understand what consumes the most electricity at your place. I discovered my three top ‘energy-eaters’ were the fridge, the washing machine’s tumble dry program, and… the wifi router inconspicuously sitting on a shelf (out of sight, out of mind!). Make sure you use your fridge correctly, use a good old laundry drying rack, and unplug the router when going away for more than a day. You’ll be surprised with the results – I was! There are lots of reliable, easy-to-follow tutorials online, like https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/hub/quick-tips-to-save-energy/
Let’s not absolve the business from its climate responsibility, though!
The bigger the company, the bigger its role to play. Any and every company must look into its own energy consumption and make sure no energy is wasted. It’s quite surprising, but often a simple review of policies can bring about a double-digit percentage cut of energy use! Depending on a given business’s area of activity, the review may be more or less complex (especially if you’re in manufacturing or logistics). But there are at least three points for any company to look into. Is the heating and air conditioning properly set up? What about light automation? Does the company promote proper employee behaviour, explaining environmental and monetary costs of, say, leaving a screen – or, oh horror!, the lights – on for the weekend?
So you’ve optimized your company’s energy use – a gold star for you! Your bill goes down, and so do your greenhouse emissions. Level up! The next question: where does the energy come from? Can you produce any of it on your own, on-site, from photovoltaics? Can you contract renewable energy over the long term? There’s a double gain here. It’s not just good for a planet with close-to-zero emissions (including producing and maintaining renewable energy sources!). It’s also great for your bottom line, as for quite a few years now, renewables have been way cheaper than conventional energy.
Is it only about savings?
Nope! Depending on what your area of activity is, there is a pretty good chance you can actually offer your customers products, services or solutions that help them to reduce their energy use. How? For example, offering less energy-consuming devices or educating them on a better use of the existing ones. I have the luck to work for a leading DIY and home improvement company in Poland, Leroy Merlin. What is our key action here? We develop and propose energy-saving solutions to our customers. They range from bigger investments (such as thermal insulation of walls, home photovoltaics or heat pumps) to all sorts of devices that use less energy than standard ones (the simplest example here being the A-class LED lighting, saving even 60% of electricity vs less efficient LEDs).
What does all this has in common? It’s about the business’s top line: building a competitive advantage and a future-proof offer that should make both the customer and the environment happier. Lower costs, lower emissions – a winning combination!
All in all…it’s down to us, no excuses!
Energy, not money, makes the world go round. But… energy IS money!
We sure can take action – there’s no excuse or no real reason not to. Especially if we understand that optimizing energy use, going renewable, and helping your customers with their energy challenges simply pays off – and fast.
Some of the actions are purely down to us, especially if we live in developed economies. No one else can take for us the decision to change the electricity provider, swap baths for showers, lower the default temperature at home or just stop, please stop!, leaving the lights on when you leave the room. All this combines reducing energy uses and greenhouse emissions with quite substantial savings.
Of course, a large part of what must be done can only be made possible by systemic solutions, be it governmental or corporate. Examples? Let’s take governments. There is need for a egal right to changing one’s electricity provider is a must for consumer to freely select renewable energy providers. It’s already in place in many countries. Another example? Stopping subsidies for products that are harmful to our planet, promoting those that are less of a burden for the environment.
What about businesses? On top of cleaning up our own backyards, we should seriously make sure correctly priced and well-marketed energy-saving products and services are an integral part of our offer – and not just a box-checking afterthought.
Yes, the world is still addicted to fossil fuels. There is change happening but we must accelerate it. And we do have the power! Let’s make sure we use for the good of our planet – and our own.