This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: UK Businesses Waste 300 Million Per Year Powering Idle Computers.
If all the 17 million UK office workers turned off their computer at night the carbon saving is equivalent to removing 243,440 cars from UK roads
Wednesday 25th March will see the launch of the third annual PC Energy report; the international study examines the habits and attitudes of UK, US and German office workers towards the environment and workplace energy consumption.
1E and the Alliance to Save Energy commissioned the report to show how organisations can easily cut energy costs and reduce their carbon footprint by better understanding user behaviour in the workplace.
The report reveals that while cost control is high on the agenda, UK organisations are wasting 300 million per year powering idle computers. But UK workers lead their US counterparts in making the environment a priority
The headline statistics:
Workplace habits
The environment is the main reason why 27% of UK workers turn off their computers at night compared to only 10% in the US
The information and communications technology (ICT) industry generates 2% of the worlds carbon emissions, equivalent to aviation industry. Of this 2% up to 39% is created by PCs and monitors
Environmental Impact
If the 17 million workers in the UK who regularly use a computer turned it off at night, it would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1,329,182 metric tons, the equivalent of removing 243,440 cars from the road
If a UK business with 10,000 computers leaves them on all night for one year, it will cost 174,720 and emit 828 tonnes of CO2
UK vs. US
Asked why they turn off their computers at night:
UK employees were the most idealistic in their responses, with 27 percent saying they power down PCs to help the environment
The most common reason given by US employees (21 percent) was practical - to ensure that the PC works properly the next day
Asked whether their employers should be doing more, responses revealed:
Both US and UK employees believe their employers should be doing more to reduce power consumption (63% and 67% respectively)
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