Major repositioning for energy firm

Lytham St Annes energy consultancy BiU has announced a name change reflecting its renewed focus on supporting businesses to achieve “a positive climate impact”.

As part of what it describes as “major repositioning” the business will now be called Sustainable Energy First, with the focus on economic and environmental sustainability central to its offering.

The firm said it was “repurposing its business” in what it describes as a “bold move”.

It added: “As a leading energy and utility management consultancy, it will continue to deliver its core services which include procurement, revenue recovery, compliance support and net zero consultancy.

“However, as Sustainable Energy First, it pledges to place economic and environmental sustainability at the heart of its purpose.

“Central to this ethos is a ‘service agnostic’ approach. Whatever it is contracted to deliver, the Sustainable Energy First team will be hunting for tangible opportunities to improve customers’ sustainability impact and financial viability.

“Using a combination of people and technology, the team will identify and provide a business case for a range of decarbonisation measures, from remote energy management through to large-scale renewable energy projects.”

Sustainable Energy First says it will apply all its “talent and technology” towards improving UK business’ sustainability performance in three specific areas: economic, environmental and social.

The company was founded in 1997 and has always been headquartered in Lytham St Annes. It has 130 staff, the majority based in Lancashire.

Chief executive Michael Abbott, pictured with other members of the management team, said: “We’re really excited to be repositioning as Sustainable Energy First: it marks a brand-new chapter in our 25-year evolution.

“Sustainability is driving every corporate and social agenda, but this was not a ‘fashion-led’ decision – it’s about embedding sustainability into everything that we do and empowering our staff to deliver positive change.

“Rather than being all things to all people, we are focusing on the one important piece of the ESG puzzle that we do well – that’s helping companies to decarbonise as rapidly as possible and improve their economic sustainability and resilience to uncertainty.

“We are already helping many existing and new customers navigate the challenging conditions of the energy market crisis, to mitigate the impact on their business and ensure long-term survival.

“Collectively our clients account for a significant proportion of the UK’s carbon emissions – we want to take responsibility for driving down this number as swiftly as possible to get the UK to net zero.”

The company is also addressing its own environmental impact. Sustainable Energy First will set a science-based emissions reduction target this year, in line with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

It says it will also set a net zero target this year, with a clear pathway on how this will be achieved and by what date before the UK’s 2050 target. It will report voluntarily on progress in its annual sustainability report. The company is also aiming to be carbon neutral in 2022.