London, 21 December 2009: Turning off office equipment over the Christmas period could save UK business £70 million in costs and slash over 450 thousand tonnes of carbon.
Figures released by the Carbon Trust today show switching off non-essential kit over the festive period could make a big impact on businesses’ bottom lines: saving around nine million pounds and stopping over 50 thousand tonnes of carbon being pumped into the atmosphere every day.
While the next weeks will see the UK’s high streets benefiting from the year’s busiest shopping days, many other businesses will shut or open for fewer hours over the festive season.
These companies could cut their seasonal energy costs, as well as help fight climate change, by following the Carbon Trust’s five-step Christmas checklist.
Hugh Jones, Director of Solutions at the Carbon Trust, said: “This has been one of the toughest years on record for business so it’s vital that companies reduce their overheads wherever possible. Christmas is a great opportunity to reduce energy bills by turning down the heating when the office is empty or switching off equipment that’s not being used, such as lights, lifts and computers.
"The steps recommended by the Carbon Trust are straightforward and take very little time to carry out. This seasonal advice will give businesses a simple check-list which should help them look after their bottom-line over Christmas and put them in a strong position for 2010."
Carbon Trust’s five-step Christmas checklist for businesses:
- Don’t heat unused space - reduce heating over the festive holidays if staff are on leave. Reduce the thermostat to a level which just provides frost protection.
- Lights off – turn off all Christmas lights and non-essential lighting out of hours and install timers. Lighting an average small office overnight wastes enough energy to heat water for 1,000 cups of coffee.
- Switch off equipment when you’re not using it – many offices close over Christmas. Always switch monitors off when not in use as they can account for almost half of a computer’s energy use. Failing to turn a single computer off overnight could cost around £50 per year. Photocopiers should also be turned off when the office is closed. In factories, ensure motors, pumps and air compressors are safely turned off.
- Get insulated – huge costs are generated by heating during winter and 25 per cent of a building's heat will escape via an un-insulated roof. Roof insulation is inexpensive and easy to install.
- Replace bulbs – Compact Fluorescent (CFL) bulbs last eight times longer than tungsten and use 20-25 per cent of the energy.
Notes to editors
- National savings have been calculated from Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) energy use statistics and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs emissions factors, combined with AEA estimates of achievable savings.
- The Christmas period describes a duration of eight days.
- The Carbon Trust is an independent company set up in 2001 by Government in response to the threat of climate change, to accelerate the move to a low carbon economy by working with organisations to reduce carbon emissions and develop commercial low carbon technologies.
- We cut carbon emissions now by giving business and the public sector expert advice, finance and accreditation to help them reduce their carbon footprint and to stimulate demand for low carbon products and services.
- Since 2001 we’ve helped UK business save over 23 million tonnes of CO2, and more than £1.4billion. We aim to help our customers, across the private and public sectors, to cut a further 17 million tonnes of CO2 in the next three years
- In 2008 alone the Carbon Trust supported half a million UK businesses, saving companies up to £227 million from their annual energy bills and cutting up to 2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from their annual emissions.
- We cut future carbon emissions by developing new low carbon technologies through project funding and management, investment and collaboration. We also identify market failures and provide practical ways to overcome them.
- We are helping the UK become a global hub for low carbon innovation. We do this through funding and managing projects, investing and collaborating on low carbon technologies and by identifying market barriers and practical ways to overcome them. Our work on commercialising new technologies will save over 24 million tonnes of carbon a year by 2050.
- The Carbon Trust is undertaking world leading projects in the offshore wind, marine energy, biomass, CHP, algae and advanced solar power sectors.