The first few months of 2022 have been dominated by a cost-of-living crisis, spurred largely by rising energy costs caused by a
combination of factors – not least, the war in Ukraine, which has exposed many countries’ reliance on Russian energy supplies. This is
having a knock-on effect on manufacturers, many of whom are facing business-critical decisions over energy costs.
As a result, it has never been more important for business leaders to understand their energy consumption. Manufacturing Management’s latest energy survey, in partnership with Inenco, has found that UK manufacturing leaders are keen to make a difference. Awareness of their business’ carbon footprint has never been higher and there is a real appetite to cut energy usage.
However, there is also a significant amount of confusion around how to achieve this, with the majority uncertain as to whether they will even be able to meet the sustainability targets they have set themselves.
From a government perspective, the UK Energy Strategy, announced by the Prime Minister in April, promised new North Sea offshore gas projects to reduce the UK’s need for imported gas supplies. While this might provide some needed security for large gas users in term of price this does not solve the problem of becoming independent from gas as part of the long-term push towards Net Zero.
