Sobriety plan: what measures for companies?

In order to reduce energy consumption in companies, 15 concrete measures are proposed to companies under the Energy Sobriety Plan:

Energy saving

• Apply strict temperature guidelines for premises and buildings;
• Turn off the interior lighting of your buildings when they are unoccupied and reduce the exterior lighting.
• Modernize lighting in offices (settle automatic presence detection...);
• Determine the performance of your buildings and the insulation of infrastructure (floors, windows, walls...) and settle technical management devices for your premises;
• Use tools to control, monitor and measure in real time the energy consumption of your company;
• Train your employees in eco-gestures;
• Relay energy consumption level alerts to your employees via the EcoWatt device.

Energy management

• Implement solutions that consume less energy (low-consumption lighting...);
• Incorporate energy efficiency provisions into contracts with suppliers, subcontractors and other parties;
• Implement stand-alone heating or heat recovery devices.

Support for sustainable mobility

• Group displacements and remove unnecessary displacements
• Implement the Sustainable Mobility Package and the Mobility Credit Scheme for employees benefiting from an official vehicle;
• To contract mobility plans with the social partners.

Organization of work

• Appoint or establish an energy sobriety ambassador or focal point in each establishment;
• Present an energy reduction path your company and the action plan for energy sobriety to the Social and Economic Committee (ESC) or trade union representatives.

Teleworking

In cases where the EcoWatt signal is red (excessive energy consumption), a suitable teleworking organization will have to be provided.

Sobriety measures for digital uses

Digitalization represents a significant part of a company's energy consumption (about 21% of its electricity consumption), and measures of sobriety have also been taken on this aspect:

• Purchase of more environmentally friendly and sustainable equipment;
• Reduce screen brightness, turn off the workstation, or put it into hibernation if not present.
• Sleep or, if possible, turn off network hardware when not in use in the company.
• Streamline data storage within the company
• Implement a digital sobriety transformation plan in the company;
• Adapt server cooling systems that store data.

SME engagement charters

In addition to the measures of the Energy Sobriety Plan, SMEs in commerce, crafts and tourism have committed themselves in eight charters to implement several measures aimed at achieving energy savings.

Among the activities covered by these charters are cafés, hotels and restaurants , the wholesale trade, on retail trade, thebusiness event or large and medium-sized commercial areas.