Practical tips to reduce your carbon footprint and save energy when closing your offices this Christmas

With Christmas only days away, many businesses will be closing their offices or premises for a period of time. In this update, our Head of Regulatory, Kathryn Gilbertson provides her practical tips to reduce your carbon footprint and save energy when closing your offices this Christmas

—  Switch off the lights – Christmas lighting will add to your normal energy consumption and lighting the office overnight wastes a considerable amount of energy. Turn off all non-essential lighting when there is low occupancy in the office to save energy and money.

—  Turn down the thermostat – Heating accounts for approx. 20-40% of your energy costs in a typical office.  Reducing your heating temperature by 1degree celcius will cut your fuel consumption by about 10%.  When everyone has left for Christmas, turn your office heating down to the frost setting.  Why heat the office if no-one is in?

—  Shut down non-essential equipment – A single monitor and computer left on 24 hours a day will cost around £45 a year.  How much could it be costing you if several employees leave their equipment turned on (not to mention the fire hazard risks of an unoccupied office)?  Make sure that all computers are switched off before leaving the office for the Christmas holidays. Switching printers off in the evenings and at weekends can also significantly reduce your general energy consumption.

—  The office kitchen – Fridges, water heaters/ boilers and microwaves can all be unplugged over Christmas if nobody is using them – but don’t forget to empty the fridge first!

—  Anything else – Do you have other non-essential electrical items that can be switched off. It could be worth walking the office floor and checking for those too?

Keep your Finance Director happy and proudly proclaim your green credentials in 2021.