After an interval approaching 22 years, in October last year I resumed biking to work for a variety of sensible reasons. I confess that it took a little adjusting to.

Your biggest energy saving opportunity is likely to come in a very small package. I occasionally hear people say that "we are not going to change the world by changing a few light bulbs". Indeed it's not the only answer, but as well as changing the world, changing your light bulb will reduce your electricity costs and may have other benefits too. The Energy Efficiency Conservation Authority says that most businesses can reduce their energy bills by at least 20% through energy efficiency improvements. One of the areas almost always noted on an energy audit, is lighting. To give an example, in 2008 the Ascot Park Hotel in Invercargill had an energy audit completed, where it was identified they could save $11,000-$16,000 per year through changes to their lighting alone. You can read more, or even listen to Peter Ridsdale talk about the Ascot Park Hotels energy audit on their case study on www.sustainablesouthland.co.nz.

Last month I attended what felt like the social event of the year - the Environment Awards. Such a positive buzz of enthusiasm from young school kids right through to some of our region's older pioneering tourism operators. There were a number of businesses nominated for awards. However, I felt there should have been a greater number of nominations because there are so many more businesses doing wonderful things that I am aware of.

Energy ratings on appliances are great, they help communicate with us, the buyer, about something very important when we are comparing different models – the running costs. By having ratings, this also helps encourage the manufacturers to keep making more efficient models. However, when comparing different models, it’s not quite as simple as assuming those with the highest ratings are going to cost less to run. Buying a 5-star rated large fridge may actually consume more energy than a 2-star small fridge, even though the larger one is more “energy efficient”. Confused? Read on before you make a purchasing decision, or go writing anything specific into your company purchasing policy.

Venture Southland, in partnership with SolarCity, this week announced the launch of the Southland Solar Pilot project. The pilot which is New Zealand’s first regional solar pilot scheme has been launched with the support of all three Councils in the Southland region; Southland District Council, Gore District Council and Invercargill City Council. The goal is to install monitored solar hot water systems on 20 homes and five businesses across the region to show how solar can help reduce electricity costs and help offset climate change. It will also assess options for the establishment of suitable loan schemes to support the funding of installations.

Ideas Shop founding partner, and regular contributor to Venture Southland’s former Enterprise Training programme, Dan Ormond attended the COP16 climate change talks in Cancún, México from 29 November to 10 December.

The introduction of greenhouse gas emitting businesses such as fuel, electricity and large industry into the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ-ETS) has received considerable coverage in recent weeks. Mike Mitchell from IFS Growth shares his views on the opportunities this presents.

Read the response to the question: What indications have there been that individual farms would be willing to take responsibility as the source of emissions for that industry?