Did you know?

During Holidays...

Did you know that forgetful employees have cost the economy over £5 million in wasted electricity by leaving on office appliances during holidays.  

Almost a quarter (24%) of workers polled revealed they failed to ensure electrical items were turned off, meaning that an estimated 708,480 computers are left on when people are on holiday each year.

Make sure your staff turn off their PC, monitor and printer before leaving for the Christmas break - a two week holiday can produce an unnecessary 27kg of CO2.

Some like it hot while others feel the heat

Workplace disputes over office temperature are common according to new research commissioned by E.ON  The majority of women, unhappy about the temperature in their workplace, felt cold, while men were twice as likely to ask for the heating to be turned down.

The ideal temperature in the office is around 19 to 20˚C, growing personal choice in office dress can lead to people turning up the thermostat.  The impact of your workers failing to match their office wardrobe to the seasons can be costly for your business and the environment.

By simply turning the heating down or switching machines off after use, businesses can make real savings on their energy bills. Reducing room temperatures by 1˚C can cut heating bills by around 8%.

• Aim for your office temperature to vary between 18˚C in the winter and 20˚C in the summer. Remember every degree of heating and cooling can boost energy consumption by 10%;
   

Staff Attitudes...

E.ON’s research shows that the right training and incentives can help change behaviour. According to the poll, the majority (82%) of small business owners believe energy efficiency is the joint responsibility of the company and employees, but, despite this, only a minority (14%) currently invest in the training of staff to achieve this.*

This is in contrast to two thirds (66%) of employees admitting they were more likely to change their behaviour towards their personal energy consumption if this training was in place.

Lighting...

Inefficient and out of date ligthing is costing UK public and business sector organisations up to £1 billion per year and resulting in 1 million tonnes of avoidable CO2 emissions.+

 

 

 

 

# = Based on ICM poll of 1,216 people in June 2008. Consumption based on a computer left on for 24 hours a day over two weeks at a unit cost of 10.92kW this results in a bill of £7.17, multiplied by 24% of workers. Nationally 2,952,000 work in finance and business services - Office of National Statistics March 2008

* = SME employee and decision maker fieldwork undertaken by ICM Research, April 2008.

+ = Institute of Directors Energy Efficiency Policy Paper, July 2008