Energy Management

For us, energy management is an integral part of sustainability management. We have established a dedicated core area for this, as it requires specific specialization and expertise—particularly from a technical perspective.

Energy management can have a significant impact on the implementation of sustainability, as there is substantial leverage regarding both a company’s profitability and its carbon footprint. Furthermore, the topic is vital for companies subject to the Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG), as regulatory and legal requirements must be met in such cases.

The following elements and formats were developed to make the use of energy within the company more efficient, thereby saving costs and reducing the carbon footprint.

Holistic View and Management of Energy Generation and Consumption

Analysis of the Energy Management System (e.g., ISO 50001)

Is our energy management system sufficient for our future planning?
Is our catalog of measures sufficiently ambitious?
For many companies, energy management is no longer uncharted territory. The design of energy management systems varies greatly among medium-sized enterprises, and a dedicated cross-functional “energy management” role does not always exist. We support our clients in structuring and optimizing their energy management systems, incorporating all locations and the long-term planning of energy-relevant changes in energy consumers, generation plants, and storage systems. Additionally, we include energy procurement and sales procedures and practices in our considerations.

Classification in the Electricity Procurement Maturity Model

What is the maturity level of our electricity procurement?
What maturity level do we want to achieve?
The ability of companies to master their electricity procurement varies significantly. Some companies manage to reduce their electricity procurement costs by 10–20% annually compared to similar firms. We use a maturity model to provide guidance for our clients. This model uses objective criteria to distinguish between seven different levels of a company’s capabilities in electricity procurement. The higher the level of capability, the better a company is able to optimize electricity procurement across multiple dimensions.

Optimization of "Electricity Assets"

What is the profit potential of electricity generation and storage?
At which locations can we make it usable?
Based on existing assets (e.g., PV, battery), we analyze the existing profit potential for various use cases using a dynamic calculation (15-minute load profile grid) or a corresponding simulation. These cases typically include the use of electricity from the company’s own PV system, peak shaving, price-dependent storage, and atypical grid usage. Depending on the results, we provide recommendations on how existing assets can be used more optimally or what contribution additional assets (e.g., larger PV or battery) could make. We summarize these recommendations in a concrete business case.

Energy Management Organization

Who manages energy in our company?
How do we organize end-to-end energy management?
In many medium-sized companies, energy management is not handled centrally but is distributed across many functions. To optimize and increase efficiency, companies with high energy consumption are moving toward appointing an energy manager and establishing energy management as a cross-functional role. Based on our experience, we design this function appropriately and efficiently depending on the size and complexity of the company.

Best Practice Workshop

How do others successfully manage their energy consumption?
What can we learn?
We organize workshops for our clients with other companies that have already designed and optimized their energy use more sustainably. To this end, we identify suitable peer companies in advance and approach them specifically. In the workshop, participants exchange ideas and discuss selected issues that arise during the implementation of energy management. Through the workshop, participants benefit from the experiences of others and can gain new perspectives.

Project Management for Energy Transformation

Who is driving the topic internally?
How do we need to position ourselves?
Increasing energy efficiency (e.g., the further development of electricity procurement for cost optimization) is sometimes complex and is implemented within the framework of dedicated projects. To relieve our clients’ resources, we are happy to take over project management externally.