I read with interest a couple of articles this month in Marketing Week, entitled Studies Show it Pays to be Ethical and The Only Way is Ethics (nice pun).

Basically, recent studies carried out among consumers have established a link between business’s ethical credentials and the preferences of affluent, ethical consumers to buy their products. One study found that 91% of consumers take ethics into account when purchasing products.

A couple of other interesting pointers that grabbed my attention are that perception is just as important (or perhaps more so) than actual environmental performance. Top brands that scored higher on ethical perception than performance did rather better in consumers minds than other brands that are actually more ethical in their actions but not as vociferous.

Wealthy consumers of FMCG are happy to pay premium prices for goods and services they perceive to be ethical but I suspect it’s a little different in the business world. In business, cost is still king. Companies need to be seen to be ethical and environmentally sensitive but it cannot come at a cost. Products have to be ‘green’, ethical and cost less. The bottom line is as sacred as ever, especially in a struggling economy.

As a UPS manufacturer, we invest £thousands into researching how to make UPS more eco-friendly and in developing new products accordingly so that our customers genuinely use less energy and can be kinder to the environment at the same time. More details are available on our website.

Jellyfish are currently proving to be the greatest threat to continuity of supply for nuclear power stations the world over. They have so far been responsible for at least three reactor shutdowns in recent weeks and scientists are expecting more.

Two weeks ago, EDF was forced to shut down its nuclear power plant in East Lothian Scotland due to a jellyfish invasion entering its cooling systems. Both units at Torness Power Station were manually shutdown on 28^th June 2011 as a precautionary measure. EDF reported that there was no impact on the environment or the public. However, the clean up operation took over a week to complete and for the plant to be operational again.

Torness has two Advanced Gas Cooled Reactors but it also relies on sea water to ensure it operates safely. Filters prevent seaweed and marine animals from entering the cooling system but they became clogged by the jellyfish, which meant the reactors had to be shut down to comply with safety procedures.

Since the closure of Torness, other reactors in Japan and Israel have also had to be shut down because of jellyfish.

The city of Hadera, Israel, was plunged into darkness when the Orot Rabin nuclear power plant’s cooling system was invaded by Jellyfish. The same happened at the Shimane reactor in Japan. It comes only months after an earthquake and subsequent tsunami caused lethal explosions and ultimately closure at the Fukushima nuclear complex.

In some articles I’ve read, Scientists are saying that massive blooms of jellyfish in summer months are normal and that these incidents are purely coincidental. Environmentalists, however, seem to be making a link with global warming and even going so far as to claim that the Jellyfish are natures army sent to fight the nuclear cause.

The positive side to this is that leatherback turtles (a protected species) are thriving, enjoying the rich food source Jellyfish provide.

However, what’s clear to me is that this is yet another endorsement of the fact that there are always lurking threats to power supply and that nuclear reactor shut downs can happen at anytime and for any reason – many which we cannot even begin to imagine. Businesses need to be ready with their own power protection, back-up systems and onsite generation if they are the ensure continuity through disaster – be it a Jellyfish invasion or anything!

Did you know the UK’s National Grid (and I should imagine most other energy utilities the world over) employs a team of people who do nothing other than demand forecasting?

Electricity is one of those things we take for granted. You come into the office, switch on the lights, computer, kettle and – hey presto – it all works! Simple! So why a whole team to manage and forecast demand? Well, too much electricity entering the Grid can cause problems like overloads, circuit-breaker tripping and even blackouts. Too little and the frequency of supply falls, causing sags and brownouts. It’s great that we can sleep at night knowing there is someone out there taking care of all this so that we don’t have to! Or do we?!

With demand for energy so high and supply increasingly challenged, isn’t it time, particularly as business people, we started to adopt a more proactive stance towards energy consumption?

Measuring true electricity usage, particularly by businesses, is not straightforward but nor is it rocket science. There is a science to it, which, with a bit of professional guidance is within the grasp of most business professionals. But imagine what you could do armed with that information? Firstly, you’d have greater ability to consolidate you energy bills with your supplier and get a cheaper rate perhaps. With a better idea of peaks and troughs in consumption you could even consider money saving initiatives like ‘Peak Lopping’, which is a way of reducing energy bills and securing supply during peak times. It is the practice by which the user has a contractual agreement with their energy supplier to switch from mains to back-up generator during peak periods. In return for this ‘interruptible’ supply, the user gets a significant reduction in their energy bill. A by-product is that the power continuity plan, UPS and back-up supplies are being utilised and tested under load conditions. And if you have an accurate graph of energy consumption, you will have an accurate idea of power protection requirements in terms of sizing your generator and back-up UPS.

At the moment, most companies are happy to leave this in the hands of their utility supplier to ‘guess at’ and manage but how do you know that their ‘assumptions’ or readings about how much energy you use are accurate and that they have your best interests at heart? The time will come I believe - and in the not too distant future – when demand forecasting and energy consumption management will be mandatory practice for big business. But you might as well start now so that when it does happen, you’re ahead of the game.

For more information about demand forecasting and measuring energy consumption read The Power Protection Guide.