We are always so proud and lucky to have partners like Stratcon, an energy consulting company in the Philippines, who through their work, envision and work towards creating a good impact in the world. We decided to have a sit-down interview (online, of course) with Stratcon's Mark Joseph Lacaste earlier this month to gather some inspiration on what motivates their company.
Amidst the global pandemic, companies everywhere have struggled to maintain or re-gain a lost sense of sustainability. Mark reminded us, however, that issues like energy efficiency and conservation are subjects that still need to be addressed, as it provides a more stable investment not just for the company, but for the world.
Here's how our interview with Mark went.
What is the business of Stratcon?
Stratcon Philippines is basically an energy consulting company. We are in the energy space trying to address the energy efficiency in the Philippine market. If you're familiar with energy efficiency and conservation law or the RA 1135, this is what the government is mandating all the commercial establishments to compile this with starting April 15, 2021.
Businesses are unfamiliar with its energy consumption, only the distribution utilities know their consumption real time. So, this is something that we are trying to address. For them not only to comply with the regulatory requirements of the government, but also to make them conscious and informed. That as they reduce their energy consumption, it could definitely save a lot of power bill and a lot of operational savings in their business.
I think this story is from my boss, my director, Colin Steley. He started it, the vision of energy efficiency. He understands all parts of it. Currently, he does consultation work at the Asian Development Bank where he does a lot of off-grid and micro-grid projects. [Globally], we are in the forthcoming of artificial intelligence and machine learning. But the sad thing about the Filipino market is that the industries or the market is not too receptive when it comes to innovation or technological innovation. So, most of the businesses are still practice traditional ways. But because of my boss’ experiences, knowledge, and expertise, that gave him the push to start the businesses.
What are the services being offered?
I think maybe we can base this from the standard that was set by the Department of Energy. This was all mentioned in the in the law, in the RA135, or energy efficiency and conservation law. There are two types of designated establishments: Type 1 has an annual energy consumption of 500,000 to 4,000,000 kilowatt hours. Whenever we assess the clients, we always look at their power billing, not only the price but also the level of consumption. When we determine that this company is consuming ~500,000 kilowatt hours, it means that this company is required to comply to this law. They are required to submit an energy reporting. But how can they do that if their energy consumption does not meet the guidelines of the law? This is something that we provide. Our bottomline approach when we enter the business is [that] we want the businesses to become aware of their consumption. Once they start to become aware of it, that's the time that they get to decide or strategize.
A real case example was when we had this site visit in one of the BPOs here in the Philippines and their biggest site is somewhere outside Luzon. So when we visited the area, we noticed (in the midst of pandemic) that in one large room, the aircon was blasted on high but there were only one or two in the room. There were also empty rooms with the aircon and lights kept on. When we are addressing energy efficiency, do you think that's efficient? Do you think we are using the energy efficiently? Definitely not. I think one of the challenges really is that the businesses do not have this sense of automation or sense of smart technologies that could allow them to control their usage anywhere, anytime. That's where we come in.
Through our smart meter devices & technology solutions, this allows the company to track their energy consumption real time. So for example, if I am the facility manager and I am also based in Makati. Let’s say I’m also working from home and I can’t report to the facility area every day. Through this kind of technology, it would allow me to at least monitor the energy consumption of facility area outside Luzon. I just need to coordinate with someone in the site to check if no one is really using [the lights/aircon] and then you as a manager you can be the one to turn them off. At least, this would save you a lot of power and at the same time operational expense.
What value is Stratcon bringing to the sector it is serving?
I think I'd like to emphasize, especially in this pandemic, as much as we want for the business really engaged in energy efficiency services, at the end of the day, it's an investment. So that's something we can’t really push to the businesses especially that we are in a state where everyone is having financial struggle with their business. [Many these days would want to] hold on to their cash than become compliant with the law or become energy efficient. It continues to be a challenge [of course] but looking at the bigger picture and long-term objectives, the energy efficiency and also the conservation programs have emphasized greater economic, social, and environmental values. Based on my cases earlier, it's more of how the businesses can really benefit from being energy efficient. I think apart from that, looking at the bigger picture, when you engage with energy efficiency service, these really boost our economic growth as well. This could also provide jobs and livelihoods as there are increases in energy efficiency [in] businesses.
The important part is really the environmental values because at the end of the day, we are also taking part in the bigger picture of trying to limit the energy emission coming from the energy sector since we know that energy is the number one contributor of climate change. Although there are a lot of talks in renewable energy like having to transition to clean and renewable energy. But in our case, as a developing country per se, we need to start with what we have now. Why not me become energy efficient first and then we go into renewable energy. I believe energy renewables are more expensive in terms of investment while with energy efficiency, you just need to integrate some smart technologies to be able to turn off or control your power consumption. I think that's pretty much it, those three things: economic, social, and environmental values are the things that we take part in.
How can Hubspot further empower businesses like Stratcon? What value does Hubspot bring?
That’s a good question. In this pandemic, most of the businesses are shifting to digital and are also doing the remote or work from home set up. Of course, there are many marketing strategies now but because of the limited physical mobility, we cannot execute or implement any kind of events or person-to-person campaigns. So, [businesses] use Hubspot as a marketing platform. It’s really a great tool software you know that could really help empower the businesses because we’re shifting into digital. These businesses would definitely use a lot of features that HubSpot can offer to their business especially in terms of inbound marketing.
In our case, there are two ways we use Hubspot. First is inbound marketing, that’s number one. That’s where we get to automate, schedule or organize the kind of content that we would want to send to our contacts. The second one is project management. That's really important because all your contacts could be your potential business partners. Definitely they could add a lot of value to your company not only in terms of revenue. But having Hubspot in project management makes it easier for you to control, monitor, track all the things in your pipeline or all of your contacts. I think if others could also realize that Hubspot can help you with those two things, then Hubspot is really worth it as a partner as a marketing partner in this new normal. There are a lot of other features [in Hubspot] but those two things are really helping us a lot.
How can potential customers reach out to you?
We have a website, www.stratcon.ph. The businesses could really look into what we offer, the comprehensive services that we offer in terms of energy efficiency. We also have Facebook and LinkedIn [pages], “Stratcon Philippines”. There, they could also see and check our partners and all the articles we also share on energy efficiency tips. These three platforms have our contact information that they could reach out to in case they'd like to schedule a meeting with us. If they want a direct contact, I think it's going to be me. So, feel free to display my contact information to your website.
Why is your business essential to your target sector?
Let me just answer it in a very very short way. Energy efficiency is no longer just an environmental imperative. Energy efficiency is now also a business-critical activity.
Anything else you would like to say before we end the interview?
Yeah, I think when the Philippine market gets to understand the value of energy efficiency, it will no longer be a question to them. Rather, it will be something that will really be part of their business process not only to save operational savings but would also take part in the bigger picture which is also saving the environment, protecting the future generations, and having a livable planet. I think that's pretty much it.
Feeling inspired? Watch out for more #PartnerStories soon!
