Give Your Workplace A 'Generous' Makeover

Why not encourage your workplace to live a bit more generously? You don’t have to be an eco-bore to drop into the odd conversation with colleagues the benefits of turning off computers, monitors, lights and printers overnight. It’ll save lots of energy, your company will save money, and the planet will last longer. A ‘win win win’ situation!

  • Turning your thermostat down by just 1°C can knock 10% off the cost of heating your office.
  • Switching off a typical fluorescent light for one hour in each working day will save 30kg of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
  • Lighting an empty office overnight wastes enough energy to heat water for 1000 cups of coffee.
  • Switching off all non-essential office equipment (computers, printers, faxes, photocopiers and lights) overnight will save enough energy to drive a small car 100 miles.
  • A PC monitor left on overnight wastes enough energy to laser print 800 pages.
  • A PC left running for 24 hours per day will use £70 worth of electricity over 12 months.
  • A photocopier left on overnight wastes enough energy to print 1500 A4 copies.
  • A window left open overnight wastes enough energy to drive a small car 35 miles.

Back to actions listing

Discuss

  1. harmsy harmsy
    Thrapston, GB , 13 Oct 2007

    The Carbon Trust are also worth inviting to your workplace. This costs nothing as businesses already pay for the Carbon Trust through the Climate Change Levy on their energy bill. http://www.carbontrust.co.uk/ is their website – they provide very useful, detailed, surveys and suggestions for action.

  2. Lizzie Green Lizzie Green
    18 Oct 2007

    I’m all for these actions but I find some of the facts a bit weak when they don’t give the whole fact! Does anyone know the timescale for any of them? Two of them state ‘annually’ but what about the others? Are they all annual?

    So if a PC monitor is left on overnight does it waste enough energy to laser print 800 pages after one night, week, month or year of being left on??