Thinking Green Part 4: Saving energy at work

It’s been seven months since you joined the Thinking Green campaign to make the optical world more sustainable. If you have managed to do just a few of the activities in these articles, you are making a big difference already.

This month we’re looking at how to save energy – with quick wins including:

  • Changing light bulbs/light fittings to light bulbs etc that minimise energy use
  • Using timers, switching off appliances to save energy
  • Programming computers to switch to energy saving mode after a period of inactivity
  • Installing a 7-day time switch to match heating to occupancy

Do all or any of these activities and you will save energy and cut your bills too.

Another key activity is to switch to a green energy supplier or tariff. If you are responsible for arranging the utilities for your practice, find out if you need to change your current supplier. If someone else is responsible for utilities, or you are located in a shopping centre for example, find out who you need to talk to and ask them if they have considered a more sustainable energy supply.

Stay in touch

Tell us what you’ve done this month; we’d love to see a photo of your lightbulbs or timers. Sharing on social media will help inspire others. Use the hashtag #thinkinggreen and we’ll reshare it.

Making great progress? Why not submit a case study about your journey to sustainability? And remember to pick one activity to work on this month, and watch out for another article next month with more inspiring sustainable ideas.

This article includes some of the tips that you can get after you complete the Sustainability Self Assessment Tool, which you can find here.  If you haven’t yet done the questionnaire, it is a great place to start your journey to a more sustainable practice in 2022. You can also opt in to get tips to your inbox each week.