Energy. All Canadian organizations use energy for product production or services and/or infrastructure to provide heat, light, air-conditioning for staff and electricity to run equipment (computers, etc.). For many organizations, energy is the largest single expense aside from salaries. But do we proactively manage this resource or do we simply consume and treat it as an uncontrollable cost of doing business? Without taking a close look at optimizing cost and the impact to our firms we do a large disservice to owners and our stakeholders. Historically we have not stewarded energy well. Ontario and Canada for that matter has had low cost and plentiful electrical energy for many years. That has all changed. The Ontario government is now valuing electrical energy differently, presumably to ensure consumers pay for the real cost of this commodity. If you haven’t developed a mitigation strategy get going! If you do, not only will you protect your operating margin but you will contribute long term sustainability for your firm!
