MITIE launches ‘joined up’ CarbonCare scheme

10 December 2009

MITIE launched CarbonCare as an integrated carbon and energy management service that builds and expands on a Dalkia’s original programme which it absorbed in its recent acquisition.

The CarbonCare name and programme were inherited through its recent acquisiton of Dalkia, but it has been expanded and repackaged to encompass the spectrum of services most likely to be required by its clients. These range from simply raising awareness, energy efficiency improvement by innovation, collecting and managing data, ensuring compliance and guaranteeing energy reduction programmes through to investment in, and installation and management of, renewable energy resources.

"No one has successfully brought together all areas of carbon and energy management and we are very excited by the prospects of this new business stream," commented Mike Sewell, Marketing Director for MITIE’s Technical Facilities Management business. "For the first time clients have a holistic solution that will multiply the benefits across organisations."

MITIE’s Chief Executive, Ruby McGregor-Smith commented: "CarbonCare is a full range of integrated services that can help manage down an organisation’s energy use and carbon footprint, from providing the right equipment, and using it efficiently, to complying with the increasingly complex legislative environment. Our expertise ranges from measuring your carbon exposure, to developing a comprehensive carbon reduction plan tailored to a particular business, helping eliminate waste, reduce costs, and identify effective clean energy alternatives."

She went on to say that, "CarbonCare is critical to the future growth of the MITIE Group and it is why we spent £120m to acquire Dalkia."

The acquisition of Dalkia in September and subsequent merging of the two companies provided the opportunity to rationalise the energy efficiency services offered by MITIE with the resources of Dalkia. MITIE has a strong track record of energy management projects most notably with Tesco where it has saved the retailer £1.1m, reduced its emissions, implemented planned lighting programme and improved utilisation of natural light. Its innovative energy solutions are currently helping local councils achieve 60 percent carbon reductions in Building Schools for the Future new-build schools. MITIE is also working with partners such as E.ON to install ground-source heat pumps in disadvantaged homes.

Among the Dalkia flagship projects is North Somerset Council, a winner of the PFM Award 2008 for the Partners in Public Service category. Working with 12 secondary schools in the area, Dalkia helped reduce carbon emission by 15 percent and improve the schools’ learning environments.

At the launch this week of the new CarbonCare programme, MITIE said it recognised that the pressures facing business from legislation to energy costs would enable the company to assist clients or remove their concerns through this comprehensive scheme. They recognised that organisations have a real need for joined up advice on managing their assets in an energy efficient way and for meeting their obligations. Most do not have the capabilities internally to deal with these complex issues and until now have had to go to a range of suppliers to provide advice and practical delivery. Through CarbonCare, MITIE will provide the expertise of individual specialists and full integration across all services. Organisations that outsource their carbon and energy management to MITIE will achieve considerable benefits over the life cycle of their assets.

Investment in renewable energy resources such as wind turbines, CHP and ground source heat pumps are also available for clients to consider on a part investment and shared savings/income arrangement. However, as Paul Burnett, Strategic Development Director, MITIE, pointed out the level of the proposed ‘feed-in tariff’ is currently about 20-30 percent too low to make this an atractive proposition for most of their clients.

The Dalkia name is expected to disappear by March 2010 as the rebranding process is completed and Dalkia is absorbed into MITIE’s Technical Facilities Management division.