How we reduced our electricity usage by 10% from 2006 to 2007

Here at The Consortium we reduced our electricity usage from 2006 to 2007 by 10%, while our business output remained on the increase. How did we do this? We simply made a point of it. Although most people, if not everybody, wants to reduce C02 emissions and the other negative side effects of producing electricity, most of us get caught up doing what we’re doing and forget or neglect our conservational aspirations.

We made a point of helping people remember by spelling it out in front of our faces. Wherever there is a potential energy waste point that is easy to neglect when work is on the mind, we put up a poster.

We illustrated how leaving a monitor on overnight wastes a specific amount of energy, or how not turning the lights off wastes a particular amount of energy. Not just energy but enough energy to do something like cook a microwavable meal. By turning the amount of energy wasted into a measurable amount people can relate to, we helped people remember to conserve, despite being busy and pre-occupied.

See if you can do it too

Identify areas in your office where you can observe regular energy wastage. For example monitors being left on during long lunch breaks. Calculate how much energy this is wasting. Turn that kilowatt figure into something easy to remember and instantly identify with, such us the equivalent energy usage in terms of TV watching time or something. Design a poster, and pin it up over the monitor in concern.

Now this message should infiltrate the perpetrators mind with any luck, causing them to pay more attention to their conservational duties.

Give it a try. You could reduce your electricity usage by 10% like we did, while at the same time observing and determining ways in which you can improve your offices efficiency.