With inflationary pressures, many businesses, from SMEs to large commercial and industrial companies, see energy efficiency, monitoring and distributed generation as a way to reduce costs. Those installing solar panels can generate double digit returns, and completing a simple energy efficiency audit can generate considerable cost-cutting options. A capital city airport recently entered into a long-term renewable electricity supply agreement with Origin for the cleaner energy benefits, and because the terms allow for future cost predictability.

Businesses are increasingly looking to engage consumers and employees in their decarbonisation journey. A large national electronics retail chain that installed rooftop solar also placed live, smart energy dashboards in-store to share key metrics with employees and customers, including the amount of solar generated and an approximate measure of the carbon emissions avoided.

There is a growing trend in employees seeking to work for purpose-driven organisations, and in a tight labour market, an increased focus for employers on attraction and retention of staff. Demonstrating tangible progress towards net zero emissions is one way a business can differentiate.

A global professional services firm contracting renewable energy solutions, for example, also requested a competitive cleaner energy offer for its employees. In addition to retail energy plans with 100 per cent GreenPower and carbon offset natural gas, the offering included incentives for solar and batteries linked to Origin’s virtual power plant.

In another example, Origin is providing a legal firm with an electric vehicle subscription offering. Employees can pay for the subscription from their pre-tax salary and commit for no more than a month at a time, with no insurance, maintenance, or roadside assistance costs. Eligible customers can also sign up to an EV energy plan where energy consumed during the middle of the day is free.

Those customers that are further advanced on the path to decarbonisation are looking for ways to electrify process heat and transport – two sources of Scope 1 emissions that can be more difficult to eradicate. For example, we are helping one of our food and beverage manufacturers seeking to replace processes currently powered by gas, with electric boilers.

We believe there has never been seen such advantageous conditions for businesses to act on emissions and create opportunities in the process. Australian businesses are the early adopters of the energy transition and can play a leadership role in our journey to a decarbonised energy system.

James Magill is Executive General Manager at Origin Zero