Go Zero

UK worst in Europe - in first European Energy Wasters' League (23 October 2006)

The UK has come out worst in a European Energy Wasters' league, according to a survey of the energy habits of some 5,000 Europeans. The Germans are the most efficient in their energy use, followed by the Spanish. The Brits' most wasteful energy habit is leaving appliances on standby - hich most of us do every day, our best habit is to reach for a jumper rather than turning the thermostat up - 78% claim to always do this. The Energy Saving Trust, the independent consumer advisory body on energy efficiency, predicts that by 2010 unless we curb our energy wasting habits we will have wasted £11bn and around 43m tonnes of carbon dioxide - one of the main causes of climate change. This is equivalent to the annual carbon dioxide emissions of over 7 million homes.

The Habits of a Lifetime report was commissioned to mark the start of Energy Saving Week 23-29th October. The week looks to encourage consumers to take action and be aware of the impact of their energy use. The four most common energy wasting habits in the UK, which cost us £2bn a year are:

1.  Leaving appliances on standby (71% of UK consumers admit to doing this at least once a week) UK households leave appliances on standby twice as often as German ones. If we switched things off like the Germans do, we could save enough electricity each year to power 1.2 million homes. Leaving appliances on standby costs the average household £37 a year.

2.  Leaving chargers plugged in (65% of UK consumers claim to do this at least once a week) UK households leave their chargers plugged in almost three times as often as German ones, but slightly less than the Italians. If we unplugged our chargers like the Germans do, we could save enough electricity each year to power 115,000 homes. Across the UK, mobile phone chargers left plugged in waste over £60 million and are responsible for a quarter of a million tonnes of CO2 every year.

3.  Forgetting to switch lights off when leaving the room (63% of UK consumers admit to doing this at least once per week) UK households forget to switch off unneeded lights almost four times as often as the Germans, and nearly twice as often as the French. UK households use £1.9 billion worth of electricity every year on lighting.

4.  Using the car for short journeys rather than public transport, walking or cycling (Almost half - 48% - of Brits admit to doing this at least once a week) French households use their cars for short journeys a third less than we do., If we used our cars like the French we would drive three billion less miles each year, which is equivalent to driving around the earth 110,000 times. In the UK, commuters drive around 85 billion miles per year.

If all commuters left the car at home one day a week this would save enough miles to drive to the moon and back 35,000 times and would reduce CO2 emissions by over 5 million tonnes.

This is the equivalent emissions reduction of taking over 1.7 million cars off the road and would reduce the UK's total CO2 emissions by almost 1%.

Key findings from the Habits of a Lifetime Report research also included:

Men vs. Women - UK men care less for the environment - both men and women owned up to around 32 energy wasting actions per week. However, when asked about how guilty they felt about their energy using habits 1 in 5 men felt no guilt whatsoever about the impact their energy use is having on the environment, compared to only 9% of women. When asked to explain their habits men said that it was because they don't like to feel restricted in what they can and can't do.

Age - grey matters aren't green matters- 27% of those aged 65+ feel no guilt at all about the energy they use and its impact on the local environment. This age group is the most likely to form these habits because they don't consider the environmental impact of their actions. So changing our energy habits is down to young people then? Apparently not - according to their parents 72% of children aged 16 and under regularly leave the lights on when they leave a room, and almost two-thirds always leave computers, TVs and stereos on standby. However, around a quarter of 18 to 24 year olds do feel moderately guilty about the impact their energy use has on the environment  more than the other age brackets so there is hope.

Britons do however believe that there are things which could be done to help curb their energy habits. Over half of those surveyed (57%) said they would support Government introducing 'Environmental Health' warnings on products that are not energy efficient and cause a high level of carbon dioxide emissions and 49% believe that more advice and information about the way we use energy affects our bills and the environment as a whole is needed to help curb their energy using habits.

Philip Sellwood, Chief Executive of the Energy Saving Trust, comments,
'As a result of this research, we are calling on the nation to undertake a series of daily habit changing actions during Energy Saving Week (see below). It is clear from the study we can't band everyone as 'a consumer', differences in age and gender need to be taken into account in terms of how we reach individuals to change the way in which we use energy. We are embodying the messages in everyday actions and brands this week, calling on the nation to undertake five simple daily measures. The aim will be to galvanise the nation into breaking their energy habits one by one:

Monday - Buy Better Day - buy the most energy efficient option
Tuesday - Boil Better Day - only boil the water you need
Wednesday - Green Wheels Day - leave the car at home and use an alternative, or if you have to drive, do it in the most efficient way you can
Thursday - Turn to 30 degrees; wash laundry at lower temperatures to save energy
Friday -  Light Savers Day - switch to energy saving light bulbs



Notes:


Notes to Editors
- *A full media report summarising key findings of the pan-European study is available on request

1. UK householders are undertaking a total of 32 actions that needlessly waste energy every single week. By comparison, Germany has a weekly average of 14 wasteful actions, followed by Spain at 16 ¿ full list of actions available on request

Available to media
Energy Saving Trust spokespeople and ¿Green Ambassadors¿ - a series of consumers who have actively contacted EST and asked to tell their story about what they are doling that has worked, or any challenges they have in breaking their habits.

For further information, please contact Abigail Gibson, Sara Neame or Ellie Springett on 0207 227 0398 or abigail.gibson@est.org.uk; sara.neame@est.org.uk or ellie.springett@est.org.uk

About the report
The research was undertaken by ICM Research on behalf of the Energy Saving Trust between the 7th and 12th September 2006. Questions were asked to a nationally representative sample of the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy

Commit to Save your 20% campaign
Energy Saving Week 2006 is the tenth annual campaign run by the Energy Saving Trust to encourage individuals to save energy and help prevent climate change. This year, the Energy Saving Trust is launching a 'Commit to Save your 20%' campaign, encouraging UK householders to commit to a series of simple measures to save at least 20% of the carbon dioxide emissions their homes and lifestyles are responsible for