Applying the Government's Recommended Energy Sobriety Measures in Your Business

Since early July, the French government has been communicating about its Energy Sobriety Plan. Because of the conflict in Ukraine and the threats posed by climate change, the Government is asking French citizens to reduce their energy consumption.  

In this article, you will find a summary of the Energy Sobriety Plan and our recommended measures for applying it within your organization.  

What is energy sobriety?

Energy sobriety covers all the actions that reduce energy consumption to a minimum, in order to fight climate change and build a more responsible world for tomorrow.  

Energy sobriety is part of a degrowth movement, one of the major pillars of the ecological transition.  

Energy sobriety is a response to an energy-intensive lifestyle. The goal is to reduce consumption in order to gradually change behaviors and ways of life.  

Learn everything about energy sobriety in our article: Energy sobriety: the solution to the ecological crisis?

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Understanding the Energy Sobriety Plan

In July 2022, the French government announced the Energy Sobriety Plan. The plan comes in a doubly tense context.  
The crisis in Ukraine, which has been going on since the beginning of the year and is affecting energy supplies (particularly gas), along with the challenge of responding to the climate crisis, are making energy needs increasingly difficult to meet.  

The Energy Sobriety Plan is part of France's 2050 National Low-Carbon Strategy (SNBC). To end its dependence on fossil fuels, France must cut its energy consumption by 40%.  

France's energy strategy

To meet this reduction target, the French President unveiled the four main pillars of his action plan in February 2022.  

• Reducing electricity consumption through energy sobriety
• Changing the way we consume through energy efficiency
• Accelerating the use and development of renewable energy
• Reviving French nuclear power to ensure energy independence

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Actions to reduce your company's energy consumption

To be part of a global movement, and also to ensure access to energy for everyone, citizens and organizations alike need to adopt new ways of operating.  

If you don't know where to start to reduce your energy consumption, we have put together a few actions for you!  

Reduce energy loss

Insulating your business premises reduces energy loss in both winter and summer. Good insulation keeps in the heat produced by your heating system and the cool air generated by an air conditioner.  

Discover the grants available to businesses for energy renovation.

Choose responsible digital

As we know, digital technology accounts for 4% of global CO2 emissions and is very energy-intensive due to overconsumption (from social media to data centers, not to mention a simple email).  
To make your digital use more responsible, you can:  

• Use low-consumption equipment (computers, printers, screens, etc.)
• Reduce storage in the cloud and on other servers by sorting your archives and clearing out your mailboxes  
• Cut down on unnecessary emails and the sharing of large files. Instead, choose external, responsible and temporary file-sharing solutions.  

Save energy

On a daily basis, you can take various actions that will reduce your energy consumption (and even lower your electricity bill).  

• Turn off the Wi-Fi on weekends  
• Switch off all standby lights and power strips  
• Turn off all electronic devices in the evening and on weekends (printers, coffee machines, etc.)  
• Turn off the lights in the evening and on weekends (including shop windows)

• Favor low-energy equipment

Optimize business travel

Favor active and low-impact modes of transport such as cycling, walking or public transportation. To do this, you can subsidize the purchase of bikes for your employees or encourage remote work, which eliminates the commute between home and office.  
For your vehicle fleet, consider electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles.  

Adopting a long-term energy sobriety approach

If you want to rethink the way you operate to adapt your needs to tomorrow's world, turn to Leasetic! We help you improve your environmental impact while sustaining your growth.  

Leasetic supports you through four main pillars:

• Financing eco-responsible and innovation projects  

• Leasing to preserve your cash flow and meet your short-term needs
• Revaluing your equipment and extending its lifespan  
• Consulting, based on more than 30 years of expertise, to help you find the solutions that match your needs and goals.  

Contact one of our experts now to discuss it!  

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