Utobeer
Key facts on Utobeer
| Building type | 3-storey |
| Size | 113 sqm |
| Total employees | 25-30 |
| Sector | Office and food service |
| Built | 1860 |
| Tenure | 8-10 staff |
| Typical occupancy | Leasehold |
| Use | Mixed |
Utobeer is an independent, specialist beer shop offering 700 beers and ciders from around the world. The business started in 1999 as a Borough Market stall, expanding in 2006 with a new bar, the Rake.
The Better Bankside Business Improvement District (BID) connected Utobeer with the Mayor’s Business Climate Challenge (BCC). The company was particularly interested in getting the programme’s expert support to identify and understand priority energy-savings actions that tenant businesses, like Utobeer, can undertake.
I’m an active part of the Better Bankside group, and I was really curious to see how the Business Climate Challenge could help pubs like ours.
Business Climate Challenge journey
Utobeer’s leaders champion environmentally-friendly business practices. “From day one, we’ve had an internal policy to make sure our employees are educated about sustainable energy practices,” says Michael Hill, Utobeer’s co-owner. Utobeer’s procedures seek to minimise energy use, and the business has recycled bottles, glass, and plastic for over 15 years.
Energy and building improvements
When Utobeer kicked off its Business Climate Challenge participation, its co-founders were keen to understand how the beverage industry can promote energy efficiency while saving costs. “To try and save money in a pub is extremely hard,” Michael Hill explains, “simply because you have machinery that is operating 24/7.”
Business Climate Challenge priority recommendations
- Reduce boiler flow temperature for heating.
- Utilise timer controls on outdoor heaters.
- Install a free air-cooling unit to complement the Beer Master cooling system*.
- Upgrade insulation for back patio door.
- Install LED lighting with intelligent controls.
- Install point-of-use water heaters.
- Upgrade to newer smart meters
*A free air cooling unit cools via colder ambient air rather than using a chiller’s refrigeration cycle.
Total potential energy savings: 10 per cent
Utobeer acted on several recommendations from its BCC audit report as soon as possible as follows:
- installed LED lighting with intelligent controls
- implemented automatic light switches in the central hallways
- upgraded insulation for the back patio door and reduced the boiler flow temperature for heating.
Next steps
There are further recommendations from the audit report for Utobeer to implement as time and budget permits:
- utilising timer controls in the Rake’s patio area during the autumn and winter seasons
- reviewing its smart meters and working to ensure they are compatible with the BCC’s energy management dashboard, which can provide half-hourly energy usage data.
Being a tenant, our landlord can make a bigger impact on energy savings through the design elements of the building…but the BCC helped highlight practical things we can do as an individual company to reduce energy usage.