Educating & informing to drive change
The John Lewis Partnership, which includes the Waitrose brand, has announced its plans to offer all 76,000 of its staff, or ‘partners’, online training to educate them on energy consumption and emissions. Working with The Energy Institute, a professional membership body, John Lewis will roll out the EnergyAware behaviour change tool to its employees over the next two years. The bespoke course will transport participants from a home setting to a John Lewis distribution centre, as well as Waitrose and John Lewis retail sites. This will enable them to better understand how changes in their behaviour can help reduce energy use, costs, and carbon emissions[i], with this being for both their actions at work and at home.
The move by John Lewis forms a part of its pledge to be a net zero business by 2035, where it has previously made climate positive actions such as the introduction of a biomethane gas filling station and a switch to HFC-free refrigeration units in its stores by 2028.
“This is a timely training tool given the tumultuous state of energy markets in 2022. Not only do we wish to support Partners at home in the face of these trials, but also support the behaviour change in our properties. The training in partnership with the EI allows the Partnership to embed these skills with all Partners in line with our net zero commitments.” - Nadia Hartley, John Lewis partner & Commercial Analysis Manager, Utilities & Carbon.
Increased cost of energy begins to bite.
The move by The John Lewis Partnership to educate its employees on energy saving comes at a time when people and businesses are facing increased pressure from rising fuel costs. The energy price cap has risen substantially in the UK, with the average dual-fuel bill for a household at £1,971 per annum, or £164.25 per month.
In the UK, the energy price cap has risen by almost £700
Source: BBC, Referencing Ofgem[ii]
Businesses are also suffering; many companies have found that their bills have doubled with business energy prices not protected by a price cap like consumer rates. Subsequently, the energy and emissions curbing measures taught by schemes such as the one offered by John Lewis may prove beneficial for employees outside of their working lives. It also helps cut costs for those working from home, as we see a large proportion of the UK workforce continuing to fulfil their employment commitments remotely.
Lessons for Businesses
The introduction of energy awareness training has benefits for both business and their employees. With energy costs greatly impacting our daily lives, now is an important and sensible time to introduce ways to cut energy wastage and help foster behaviour changes around energy use.
At Zero Carbon Academy, we are passionate about providing the necessary tools and information to individuals and businesses to enable them to progress on their journey to Net Zero. In the coming months, we will be providing training courses to help support this and further content in our ‘Net Zero – Here’s How’ channel, which will provide bite-size, easy to understand guidance on basic sustainability initiatives.
References
[i] John Lewis and Waitrose Partners to become EnergyAware with Energy Institute – Retail Times
[ii] Energy bills set to rise again in October, regulator warns - BBC News
