Energy Saving Tips

3 really obvious steps to take

If you regularly drive to work, try a different method of transport and commit to it for 1 day a week, or 2 if you can.
Take a bike for short trips or walk, not only will you be healthier but you will reduce your CO2 emissions drastically, you might actually enjoy it.
Work out your travel time by plane and see if you could take another method of transport that would be cheaper and produce less CO2. By the time you’ve parked 5 miles from the airport, checked in, gone through security, shopped for a couple of hours and experienced the obligatory delay, could you have taken a train, or ferry to your destination faster. It’s worth looking at.
Share your car. Offer someone a lift. If we all did it, we’d not only cut CO2 but also have less cars on the roads so we would get to where we wanted to go faster. Imagine a future with no traffic jams. Brilliant!
Drive within the speed limit. The faster you propel yourself down the road the more energy it takes to do it. Drive carefully and safely within the speed limits, it will be safer for you, safer for others around you, and you will burn less petrol and so travel for less.

Turn your TV, DVD, and any other electrical equipment off at the plug. Do you really need your TV on standby? Standing by for what exactly?
When your ipods, mobiles and laptops are fully charged, unplug them. This will reduce your electricity bills and prolong battery life.
Turn your heating and water thermostats down by 1 or 2 degrees. You probably wont notice, but if you do, wear a jumper. Jumpers come in lots of colours and can be very stylish.
Wash your clothes on a lower temperature, less hot water means less energy used which means less CO2. 30 degrees is fine for most washes. If you can avoid it, try not to use the dryer. Hang your clothes out to dry they will smell fresher and it will save you money.
Next time you buy an electrical product check out its energy rating. Is it going push your energy bills up or down? If it’s up don’t buy it look for a more efficient model.

Turn you computers off when you go home. Turn off your monitors when you go home. Turn out the lights if you are the last to leave the room. If we all did this in the UK we could save enough energy to power a small country.
Paper has 2 sides, please use them both.
Can you work from home 1 day a week or 1 day a month even? Do this 12 x a year and it could reduce your commuting miles by 5%
Don’t print emails if you don’t need to.
Work out a way your company could save money and reduce CO2 emissions. Tell your boss, and whilst you’re at it, ask him/her for a pay rise, after all you have just saved them money.

The manufacture of all products contributes CO2 to the atmosphere. We’re not asking you to revert to subsistence farming or never buy presents for people again, just be aware of cutting down on the waste produced by what you buy.
Nice as they are a typical Kiwi fruit from New Zealand has flown 12,000 miles to get to your door, is this really worth it when you consider the impact? We’re not saying don’t buy Kiwis, but we are saying take a look at where the products you buy come from. If there’s a choice between an Apple from South Africa and an Apple from the UK, choose the UK one. It just makes sense.
Avoid buying products with excessive packaging. Packaging is wasteful and in a lot of cases just designed to make you notice the product on the store shelf. Leave unwanted packaging in the shop. If enough of us did this, you can be sure that stores will start specifying to their suppliers they want products with less packaging.
Only buy food that you need and will eat. Too many of us throw too much food away. It all impacts on the planet. There is a lot of energy and CO2 production that goes into food production. Try not to waste food.
Buy products that last. It’s not just electrical products that create CO2. It is better to buy a product which will last you for years than one that you will be throwing away in a couple of months.