The German Legoland Park in Günzburg, Bavaria opened its gates in 2002 and recently welcomed their 5 millionth visitor.  It is one of four worldwide Legoland Group amusement parks. 

The site itself covers 13 hectares; some of the attractions include high-speed rides, accurate replicas of buildings, animals and figures made from over 50 million Lego bricks. In Miniland at the heart of the park, the Lego inhabitants move along the streets of Berlin, gondoliers sing in Venice, King Ludwig II dances on Neuschwanstein Castle, and ferries make their way though the port of Hamburg.

In order to ensure that the park was being run as efficiently as possible in terms of utilities usage, Legoland contacted the international specialists at M&C Energy Group to carry out an audit of their energy and water usage.

M&C Energy Group’s initial audit in 2003 found potential for cost savings in both areas of expenditure: 

• M&C Energy Group identified that the charging mechanism being used for the site’s electricity usage was incorrect; upon correction of this a refund amounting to
  €24,000 was pursued on behalf of Legoland and an additional ongoing saving of €12,000 per annum was secured.
• M&C Energy Group recommended that water consumption be cut in one particular area – this resulted in a reduction of costs of €3,000 and also reduced wastewater costs by €6,000 per annum.

Martin Neumeister, Financial Controller for Legoland commented, “We have a very large site in Germany and were concerned that this was making it difficult to monitor efficiency of utilities.  M&C Energy Group’s audit not only helped us to identify areas we could tighten up on – they also provided assurance of the areas that were already optimising efficiency”.

Ralph Hauser, an Analyst for M&C Energy Group responded, “Our team take the time to familiarize themselves with the way our clients operate; this familiarity enables us to recognize areas that can be improved upon, whether this is related to purchasing costs or efficiency of usage. Our recommendations to the client represent true, measurable savings, reducing the impact that utiltities costs have on profitability.