Green energy drive pays off for marketing agency

Digital marketing agency Purpose Media has introduced a number of measures to reduce its carbon footprint, following an energy audit carried out by the University of Derby.

The firm has invested in solar panels to provide clean electricity to its South Normanton headquarters.

It has also replaced all its light fitments with LED bulbs, swapped petrol company vehicles for electric models and introduced free EV charging for staff and visitors.

Managing director Matt Wheatcroft said the business had been conscious of its environmental footprint and enlisted the help of experts from the university to conduct a detailed audit.

He said: “We’re committed to doing all we can to operate sustainably, and the university helped us assess the impact we were having on the environment and recommended measures we could implement to improve things.”

The university study revealed that installing solar panels could reduce the company’s carbon output by 6.3 tonnes each year, while moving to company electric vehicles could save a further 1.4 tonnes.

The business also adopted a recommendation to switch light fittings to LED and decided to introduce two EV charging points, which are free to use for employees and clients.

The move has been close to a six-figure investment for the company, although some of that cost was mitigated by a £20,000 Green Entrepreneurs’ Programme grant from the university towards installation of the 109 solar panels.

Matt now intends to investigate options for increasing insulation within the company’s offices to improve efficiency further and reduce heat loss.

He said: “We’re delighted with how the project has progressed to date and that we are making our contribution towards improved sustainability.

“On top of the reduction being achieved in our emissions, we are also seeing substantial savings in our energy bills.

“Even after the installation of our two EV chargers, electricity costs have fallen by two-thirds during the winter months, and we expect not only to be self-sufficient in the summer but to also be able to supply excess power to the grid.

“We think it should all add up to a saving of around £20,000 each year.”

Communications director Steve Hall is one of the Purpose team who is able to take advantage of the free EV charging at work.

He said: “It helped persuade me that switching to an electric vehicle, despite increased up-front costs, was economically viable in the longer term as well as being good for the planet.”