From audit to action: building a practical roadmap to energy efficiency

With energy costs rising by an average of 14% annually across Australia and New Zealand and increasing climate regulations pressuring businesses to reduce their carbon footprint, energy efficiency has quickly shifted from a nice-to-have to a business-critical priority. Yet many organisations struggle to move beyond identifying problems to implementing practical solutions.

Energy audits, when done properly, provide more than just a snapshot of current consumption - they deliver a strategic blueprint for tangible improvements. DETA, a leading energy consultancy in NZ and Australia, approaches energy audits not as isolated exercises but as the foundation of comprehensive energy transformation. The key to success lies not just in conducting the audit itself, but in building and executing a practical roadmap that translates findings into measurable results.

Understanding the energy audit process

DETA's energy audit and management methodology follows a structured five-step approach designed to maximise value and ensure realistic and achievable actionable outcomes:

1.    The process begins with Project Kick-Off where objectives, scope, and deliverables are clearly established. This crucial first step ensures alignment between the audit team and the organisation's goals, whether they're focused on cost reduction, carbon abatement, or regulatory compliance.

2.    Next comes Understanding Your Situation, where DETA's team conducts a thorough review of available energy data, performs detailed site visits, and engages with key stakeholders. This comprehensive approach helps identify not just current energy usage patterns but also operational contexts that influence consumption.

3.    The Analysis Phase represents the technical core of the audit, evaluating how sites can reduce costs, energy consumption, and carbon emissions. DETA examines both energy efficiency (demand-side) opportunities and fuel transition (supply-side) possibilities, providing a holistic view of potential improvements.

4.    During The Report stage, information is collated into clear, accessible documentation for each site, detailing specific recommendations, next steps, and suggested priorities. These reports comply with AS/NZ 3598:2014 standards while remaining practical and accessible to stakeholders.

5.    Finally, the Close Out phase supports clients in interpreting and presenting energy audit findings to key decision-makers, ensuring that technical information is translated into business language that drives action.



Turning audit findings into actionable insights

What sets effective energy efficiency services apart is their ability to generate tailored, implementable solutions rather than generic recommendations. DETA explicitly avoids a one-size-fits-all approach, recognising that energy challenges and opportunities vary dramatically across the industry sectors DETA works with.

The findings emerging from comprehensive energy audit services typically fall into several categories:

• Operational improvements with minimal capital investment

• Equipment upgrades or replacements with quantifiable returns

• Process optimisation opportunities specific to the industry

• Renewable energy integration possibilities

• Longer-term fuel transition pathways

These opportunities are prioritised on multiple factors: implementation cost, potential savings, carbon reduction impact, and operational disruption. The most effective roadmaps balance quick wins that build momentum with strategic initiatives that deliver substantial long-term benefits.

Case studies: successful roadmaps in action

The Victoria Health Building Authority (VHBA) partnered with DETA's energy management Australia team to conduct Type 2 energy audits across seven health service areas in the Grampians region, encompassing 84 sites. Through methodical data collection, stakeholder consultations, equipment inspections, and benchmarking analysis, DETA identified Energy Management Opportunities (EMOs) with potential carbon abatement of 4,844 tCO2e. This comprehensive approach aligned VHBA with Victoria's emission reduction goals while creating a practical pathway toward their net-zero future initiatives. Click here to learn more.

For Cheetham Salt, Australia's largest salt producer, DETA's carbon management strategy expertise formed the backbone of their carbon transition planning. The resulting roadmap combined immediate demand reduction priorities with process optimisation for energy-intensive assets and technology adjustments. Importantly, the plan addressed both operational improvements and renewable supply arrangements, establishing clear short-term and long-term business objectives for forward planning.



In New Zealand's wine industry, Indevin Group sought DETA's decarbonisation services to improve efficiency while planning for future expansion. Starting with their 15th Valley Winery, DETA developed a carbon reduction management pathway focused particularly on eliminating fossil fuels from the wine-making process heating requirements. The targeted approach is anticipated to reduce carbon emissions by approximately 300 tCO2e annually at this facility alone, with learnings now being expanded into a group-wide roadmap that balances energy efficiency with production quality requirements.

Beyond the audit - implementation support

An energy audit's true value emerges during implementation, which is why DETA, as leading sustainability consultants in NZ and Australia, offers multiple support streams to bridge the gap between recommendations and results:

• Strategy and transition services help organisations develop sequenced roadmaps that enable effective capital planning and project prioritisation. This strategic approach ensures that energy improvements align with broader business objectives and ESG commitments.

• For promising opportunities, feasibility studies provide detailed analysis and business case development tailored to meet specific financial and operational requirements, building the case for investment.

• When projects move forward, DETA offers process engineering services to transform concepts into implementation-ready plans, focusing on seamless site integration and operational continuity.

• For organisations requiring more comprehensive assistance, industrial project management provides end-to-end support from design plans and contractor management through to commissioning and performance verification.



• Throughout implementation, process optimisation ensures that technical solutions deliver their full potential, whether in small pilot plants, scaled-up processes, or established operations.

The journey from energy audit to meaningful efficiency improvements requires more than just identifying problems - it demands a practical, prioritised roadmap and the capability to implement it effectively. Organisations that approach energy audits as the beginning of a transformation process rather than a compliance exercise unlock significant benefits: reduced operational costs, enhanced business resilience, and measurable progress toward sustainability goals.

By combining technical expertise with implementation support, DETA's sustainability consulting services help businesses across Australasia turn energy challenges into opportunities, delivering tangible outcomes that impact both financial and environmental bottom lines.

Ready to start your energy efficiency journey? The first step is understanding where you stand today—and where your greatest opportunities lie tomorrow. We have teams currently delivering projects across Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia, and the Pacific, click here to contact your local team, or email us about your project – we’re always happy to talk sustainability.