Cost Cutting

I read a headline in my igoogle newsreader "Cutting Costs, Cutting Waste". I thought, wow, this is the heart and soul of procurement/supply chain efficiencies and it's getting mention in the Globe and Mail! So I quickly jumped onto the link - http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081215.wsbgreenit1215/BNStory/MissionCritical/

Now, this article wasn't what I had expected, but it does make a good point about going green cost savings through energy conservation. Saving energy by turning off a light isn't an instant gratification into cash, you need to wait for the monthly bill to come in and see what savings did occur. It all depends upon your business and energy profile. For instance, a local child care centre use a stove, fridge, washer/dryer none of which are energystar appliances (they were donated). According to Energy Star, energystar qualified appliances could cut energy use by 10-50%. For a typical household that would be $75/year. For a non-profit, that's $75 that doesn't have to come from soliciting donations! In reviewing usage, we determined the centre could save energy by using motion sensor lights outside (previously they would leave the outside lights on overnight/all weekend for security), by changing the lights, they've reduced their energy consumption, and extended the life of the lightbulbs!

As for my office, when I'm the only person in the office, I leave the fluroescent lights off (the whole office is on a single switch), and open the blinds - I have plenty of light, and if necessary, use a task light on the desk. It uses less energy and is better ergonomically. (ref: http://www.ergoware.com/blog/tag/ergonomic-lighting)

Our office multi-functional device is not used extensively with only 4 of us here sharing it. Therefore we keep it on the energy savings setting.

We use a coffee maker that makes individual cups as required, instead of leaving a coffee maker on for hours and/or having to dispose of old coffee and making a new pot!

There are lots of things we could consider cutting further, but this is just the beginning of a new mentality! You can get your own tips from BC Hydro here and here

Helping Others

Lately, we've been attempting to help non-profits manage their budgets through strategic cost-cutting and purchasing efficiencies. As written in my 2001 article, there are some simple strategies for saving time and money. We have been implementing those tips as we go along to identify these organization's main expenses.

However, what differs in a non-profit is the fact the revenue can't be increased from Sales (like a typical for-profit business) but instead from fundraising. Right now with the way the economy is; we are all doing our best to just keep our heads above water. Because of this, many charities are hurting too. So we are also looking for ways to increase the funds coming into these organizations, without it being too cumbersome for members and donors.

One way that you can help your favourite charity (even if you can't donate money yourself) is through doing a simple search using isearch.igive.com So you can support your charity during the lean times! As an organization we are encouraging our staff/subcontractors to use isearch.igive for searches while at work. By doing this, we hope that our work can benefit charities in more ways than one! (Procurement does involve a great deal of 'searching'!)

And, if YOU don't have a favourite charity, please consider setting up isearch.igive to donate your search proceeds to the James Bay Child Care Society or the BC Paraplegic Association.