A NightOwl convenience store in Queensland’s North Mackay is striving to lower its energy usage after being selected as part of Ergon’s Energy Sense campaign.

The franchise, located in Mount Pleasant, has received a $7,000 Small Business Energy Audit package which includes up to $2,000 to spend on energy efficient improvements in their workplace.

The Energy Sense campaign aims to educate local business and the community about how small changes to the way they use electricity can make a big difference to their electricity bills and the environment.

“Operating a business can be costly, so it’s going to be very beneficial to see where we can make a saving on our energy bill,” said franchisee Kirsty Sivyer. “The flow-on effect will be a reduction of our carbon footprint, which we see as a contribution not just to the local community, but to our global community as a whole.”

The Energy Sense campaign will pinpoint the ways businesses can become more energy efficient in the short term and will also provide guidance on equipment upgrades and workplace design to improve efficiency in the long term.

The results of the energy audit will be released in October and the store will then implement a package of improvements designed to help reduce energy, worth up to $2,000.