Energy costs sit low on the radar of NZ businesses
Rising energy costs sit low on the radar of New Zealand businesses, according to the latest Grant Thornton International Business Report survey of 3500 business leaders. The survey showed that only 10% of New Zealand businesses expect rising energy costs to constrain business growth in 2014 compared with 35% of businesses globally. Only Norway (4%) and Finland (8%) were less concerned than New Zealand out of the 45 countries surveyed. Alastair Boult, National Director, Government Advisory at Grant Thornton New Zealand Limited, said that while rising energy costs was the second largest concern for international companies, behind economic uncertainty, many New Zealand businesses do not seem to share the same concern towards energy savings. “This is important in light of the recent media attention on cheap loans for domestic solar initiatives. New Zealand’s size, lack of scale and large number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) mean that our businesses are not as green in their actions compared with other countries, even though we may think we are,” said Boult. “This complacency is a concern. Electricity demand at the moment may be flat, but the ever-strengthening economy will put pressure on this sector. Energy saving is all about protecting and enhancing the bottom line and any education or advice on ways that businesses can save money will be a boost to the economy as a whole.” On a macro scale New Zealand spends about $18 billion per year on energy and 20% of that is wasted, according to estimates from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA). “This highlights the fact that New Zealand is nowhere near as energy efficient as it should be,” he said. “However, we are already very strong on the renewable energy front. In 2012, renewable energy made up 37% of New Zealand’s Total Primary Energy […]