Availability of energy sources became a worldwide concern during the recent decades. Using BSC for energy efficiency in company operations proves to be a good measure against the energy crisis.
Energy consumption is always part of every operation of a company; from the handling of internal business affairs to the provision of service and products to its customers. This is the reason why in every aspect of operation of a company,
there is always a huge emphasis given in the efficient management and use of energy so as to save on expenses. For this reason, using the balanced scorecard or BSC for energy consumption may be the break that companies have been waiting for.
At the present, the availability of energy is the concern of thousands of companies around the world. The need for energy is the motivation for various providers to continue searching for sources of energy, especially those that are renewable. This need centers on the demand for oil-based fuel, electricity production, and chemical-based energy. However, no matter what the nature of the need for energy, the fact remains that every company spends a very substantial portion of its resources to pay for energy consumption. This amount is even increased quite substantially if the company is not able to make use of its energy supply in a proper and efficient manner.
There are those who say that the balanced scorecard is only meant to measure and evaluate the performance level of a company, with consideration to all its internal perspectives and aspects of operations. What they fail to consider is that the balanced scorecard is, in fact, a very flexible and versatile tool that can be used in whole or in part in order to gauge the performance of not companies, but also associations, organizations, and even informal groups. Also, the balanced scorecard finds application in giving recommendations for the improvement of these companies and other groups based on the findings of the evaluator.
Precisely, the balanced scorecard will first be implemented to determine the performance level of a company. Through this, good and bad performance indicators will be taken into consideration in terms of the specific effect on the performance of the company. This will most likely involve the departments of the company, which are concerned with disbursing funds and finances and managing of operations and resources.
Once the performance indicators have been singled out, those that have a direct dealing with energy consumption will be highlighted. These would involve acts that consume energy from the most basic, such as lighting, heating, and equipment operation, to the most complex, such as the production and manufacturing aspect of a company. As a feature of the balanced scorecard, all the minute details of energy use will be recorded.
The details of energy consumption will definitely reveal which department of the company consumes the most energy. Each department’s need for energy will also be considered. This way, the department that has the most wastage in terms of energy use will be determined, and the appropriate action or remedy can be had. In the same way that the performance measurement and evaluation tool was used to determine the performance of the company, the use of BSC for energy efficiency also found application, proving that the instrument is indeed a valuable, flexible, and versatile tool.
