A Light Bulb Idea From Bield

Bield Housing And Care Press releases

Katarzyna Stradowska Bield Edinburgh PR ClientAn ambitious plan by Bield, Scotland’s leading housing and care provider, to appoint a dedicated Property Energy Manager has seen some impressive savings for the organisation.

Katarzyna Stradowska has taken on the task of making Bield’s energy usage as streamlined as possible, offering advice on various energy saving products, raising awareness amongst staff on environmental pressures, and developing and delivering an energy policy and strategy.

Since starting her role at Bield in April, Katarzyna’s work has saved the charity around £40,000 per annum through simple changes implemented throughout the business.

One key success has been a change in water supplier to Severn Trent. The new contract with Severn Trent not only ensures savings of around 19% on its standard water charges, but also includes the installation of meter loggers which give Bield control over their water consumption and may help detect any water leaks or unusual patterns of usage.

Meter Loggers have already saved more £4,500 at one of Bield’s Care homes in Glasgow after finding that its bathroom facilities were using more water than necessary.

Katarzyna has a wealth of energy management experience, having previously worked with the likes of Hilton Food Group and City Facility Management in Glasgow.

She said: “It has been a pleasure working with an organisation such as Bield.

“Having worked with various big corporations in the past, I felt it was important that I applied all of my previous experience and knowledge into my new role with Bield.

“Our changes so far have received very promising feedback from tenants and staff which is really very encouraging.

“It is important to us that we implement sensible and realistic changes throughout the organisation so all ideas have to be researched thoroughly before progressing.

“As we move into 2015, environmental issues continue to be of great importance so I am working on several projects which will hopefully produce more positive results for Bield.”

A main target for Bield this year is a plan to install LED light bulbs in the communal areas and bathrooms within developments, as a way of reducing cost and energy.

Katarzyna said: “With this task, the complete light fitting needs to be changed, not just the bulb, but when this does happen, it means that we will reduce energy and CO2 emissions by as much as 70-80% which is a really positive result.

“There is also reduced maintenance cost associated with LED fittings due to the longer lifespan of the lamps and their five year warranty, so I am confident that we can make significant savings on relamping and installation costs.”

Having already carried out a trial run for LED light bulbs in two of their developments in Shiell Court and Rannoch Court in Dundee, Katarzyna has received positive feedback from tenants and staff, who were impressed by the fittings and the savings to be made from the switch.

Aileen Morton, Marketing Officer for Bield, said: “We have seen key changes to our carbon footprint since appointing Katarzyna as Property Energy Manager.

“We are looking forward to continuing to make our energy usage more streamlined and efficient, which will reap benefits for Bield, our staff and the people who use our services even better.”

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