An Elland-based energy management specialist has identified savings of almost ??8m for 32 businesses to help maximise their energy efficiency.
The businesses operate in a variety of sectors across the UK, from large manufacturers in the North East, to iconic sports stadiums like the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
It appointed Orchard Energy to carry out an audit as part of the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme. This is mandatory government legislation, which aims to reduce the amount of energy wasted by businesses.
All large organisations with more than 250 employees or turnover in excess of ??50m were required to comply with ESOS.
Led by the Environment Agency, it is hoped that ESOS could lead to significant reductions in carbon emissions.
The energy audits carried out by Orchard Energy ranged from implementing simple lighting controls, to full lifecycle cost analysis of the heaviest consumption areas of a business, and identified savings of ??7.8m.
Paul Armstrong, finance director and company secretary at Thomas Armstrong based in Cumbria, one of the businesses which selected Orchard Energy, said: "I chose Orchard to tackle our ESOS project due to their positive and enthusiastic response given the timeframe in which the report had to be completed and submitted."
Gareth Henderson, Orchard Energy' group managing director, said: "ESOS is an important legislation introduced by the Environment Agency, which has presented a significant savings opportunity for large businesses across all sectors and in all areas of the UK.
"It's crucial that companies that have saved considerable amounts of money by completing ESOS this year continue to implement recommended energy saving measures, which will lead to even greater longer term benefits."
Orchard Energy has been providing energy audits to firms for over 10 years.
On average it has identified 2% in cost savings to customers without them spending money, just by simply switching off things that are not in use.
