Gipsy Hill Brewing Company

Industry: Food manufacturing

Service: Energy purchasing and invoice validation

Result: 43% energy savings in the first three years

About Gipsy Hill Brewing Company

Gipsy Hill is a small brewery based near Crystal Palace, London. Established in 2014, the company is growing rapidly, supplying specialist bottle shops, bars and restaurants as well as selling directly to consumers via their website and web partners.

The project brief

As Gipsy Hill is a small, young company, the procurement of energy contracts was initially low on its list of priorities. However, like all small, growing businesses, cost management is essential, and the team realised it needed help to reduce its energy expenditure.

The solution

Innovative Energy Consultancy (IEC) visited the premises to learn more about the challenges and then sought cheaper energy contracts through a tender process.

In gaining a better understanding of energy use at Gipsy Hill Brewery, IEC quickly identified that the company was paying excessive wastewater charges. Water suppliers charge companies for the amount of water they discharge – and may assume, unless told otherwise, that most of the water consumed will leave as waste. However, as a brewery, more than 20% of water was being used in the end product. This meant that the wastewater disposal charges were too high. IEC negotiated with suppliers on Gipsy Hill’s behalf to realise an ongoing reduction in their water bills.

IEC is now supporting Gipsy Hill in managing its energy procurement and validating energy invoices on a monthly basis, in order to challenge inaccuracies and inconsistencies. IEC has identified a number of other ways in which Gipsy Hill can reduce its energy cost via efficiency measures. In the first three years Gipsy Hill realised savings in the region of 43%.

“I realised we weren’t in control of our energy costs but in setting up a new business it was way down my priority list. I didn’t know where to begin or how to tackle the tendering process, so I called Mike and liked his approach to small businesses like ours.

“Working with Mike has been great; the process is efficient and hassle free for me. He has saved us money and I can rest assured that I am not overpaying for gas, electricity and water wastage too. I also like the fact that I can tell all the power companies that frequently call me to go away as I have an energy consultant who deals with everything!”

Sam McMeekin, co-founder and managing director, Gipsy Hill Brewing Company