A north east professional football club could save £10,000 on their annual energy bills, thanks to an energy audit from UK compliance and energy assessment experts, Green Zone Surveys.
The innovative energy audit carried out at South Shields Football Club identified 88,000 kWh of savings that could be achieved through various energy saving measures and reduce the carbon footprint of the club by 4.2 tCO2e per annum.
A spokesperson from South Shields Football Club, said: “As a forward thinking, and environmentally conscious football club, we were delighted to see the amount of potential savings that Green Zone Surveys identified in our energy audit, and we will use this insight to inform our future investments and improvements.
“With ever increasing energy costs, it has proved invaluable to be able to see exactly where the highest energy consumption and carbon producing areas of the stadium are, and we will be considering each recommendation identified in the report to complement our already installed photovoltaic panels and air source heat pumps in our new main stand.
“To name just a few, the extension of the photovoltaic panels to the social club, replacing the ageing calorifier and launching a training and energy awareness campaign for our staff immediately, all stand out as avenues to explore.”
Founded in 1888, the football club has been at its current ground since 2015, with the main stand undergoing a full rebuild in 2022. With the total number of match day visitors now reaching around 4,000, not including staff and players, the club wanted to use the opportunity to gain an understanding of where they are using their energy and identify both short and long-term improvements.
The “GreenAudit” report identified over £50,000 of capital investment opportunities and included lists of recommendations on how to improve the buildings’ energy performance, allowing the club to make informed decisions on what changes need to be made.
The audit revealed areas where energy is being used inefficiently, leading to significant cost savings, and helping to determine how to best invest in energy-efficiency technologies, such as LED lighting, energy-efficient plant and equipment, or energy monitoring systems.
Green Zone Surveys’ Technical Manager, Ben Palmer, said: “As a result of the audit, the client now knows how, and where their energy is being consumed, to better target savings and investments. To be able to find such high savings for a client is always fantastic; the carbon savings that will also be generated is great for everybody.”
According to the energy assessment experts, a commercial energy audit can identify opportunities to reduce energy use, lower carbon emissions and save money, by offering recommendations and revealing areas where energy is being used inefficiently, leading to significant cost savings of up to 17%, on average, each year.
Green Zone Surveys’ Chief Executive Officer, Callum Thompson, said: “‘GreenAudit is a revolutionary, new tool in assisting businesses to better understand where they are consuming energy and to introduce measures to reduce their output and ultimately their costs.
“The software enables businesses to have full visibility of their energy consumption and identify areas of wastage and unnecessary usage, assisting not only in areas of cost reductions but also carbon reduction, with clear insight into where a business’ carbon outputs lie.
“As a result, GreenAudit enables businesses not only to minimise costs at a time of clear financial challenges, but also to strive toward their sustainability goals and their commitment to NetZero.”
Green Zone Surveys (UK) Ltd can provide Level 1, 2 or 3 energy audits in compliance with the methodology outlined in with ISO 50002 or BS EN 16247: 2012.
Callum added: “As one of the UK’s longest established providers of building and energy compliance surveys, Green Zone Surveys has been there since the beginning and has worked alongside businesses of all different sizes in a variety of industries. This means you can breathe easy knowing you are working with professional, industry experts who have the knowledge and experience to guide you through the full compliance process.”
