Personal Blog of Ellen MacArthur

Today felt incredibly positive as it was not only fantastic to launch CIBSE and e.on’s 100 day challenge, but to speak to other businesses about their experiences of energy management.

The challenge is about not only encouraging companies to reduce the amount of energy they use, but to be conscious overall of the resources that we so often get through in our places of work.

It’s wonderful to actually see some answers, advice and positive thinking in this area which can so often be seen as being quite depressing. So many times, I have heard people saying ‘we know we have to do something, but what can actually be done!’ Well this project is about actually telling people that, and helping them to understand the changes that they can make, usually simple, and which often don’t have to cost a penny. I’ve started doing simple things like printing 2 pages on 1 sheet of A4, always printing on the back…. Some people say that the text is too small, but I rarely hear people complaining about the size of text in a newspaper. It not only saves paper, but you carry less around with you, you use less printer ink, it prints more quickly – just seems sensible to me!

The other reassuring thing is that those who learn at work, shall not just help reduce the energy usage of the business, but if those same techniques are taken home they will save themselves money. The simple fact is that as soon as you switch off a light, you are saving money. I feel that it is so un-complicated that it cannot be so hard for every one to take it on board. I learnt in a different way from having to manage my resources at sea, and having no choice about saving every drop of energy as it was so precious, but I was also creating it myself, and therefore aware of where it came from…
In life we used to be so much more careful of our resources, we used to collect wood in the forests for the fire, or water from a nearby stream. Because it was hard work to collect it, we never wasted it, and made it last. Now it’s so easy we become disconnected from this, we don’t have to worry whether the light will come on or not… of course it will, it always does….

SO I believe that the campaign can have a huge impact – it just needs the word to get out, and a few habits to change. There are 2.5 million businesses in this country, if just 1 percent took on this challenge then that would be 25,000 businesses. Last year CIBSE had 570 entries to the 100 Day Challenge. I find it hard to criticise – it’s one of those rare, but really good things going on right now.

Let’s be sensible – and get on with it! You can sign up now for the 100 Day Challenge at www.eonenergy.com/business by clicking on the link to the 100 Days of Carbon Clean Up campaign.