Climate change also brings
opportunities. All customers, from consumers to governments and large
corporations, will require ICT products and services that help them reduce
energy consumption. BT is responding to this growing demand by providing
innovative products and services.
BT’s climate strategy
covers their global business and has four elements:
- Reducing the impact of their operations
- Empowering customers to reduce their impacts by offering innovative
products and services.
- Influencing their suppliers to provide more energy efficient
products and services; and
- Encouraging their employees to reduce their carbon footprint at
home and at work.
For several years they have
been working to reduce their UK greenhouse gas emissions by 80% from 1997
levels, by 2016. (This year they
introduced a new Climate Stabilisation Intensity (CSI) target: to reduce their
worldwide CO2 emissions per unit of contribution to GDP by 80% from
1997 levels, by 2020. This target is in line with the required reductions in
global emissions reductions outlined in the Stern Report and reports by the UN
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
What they did and are
doing
Due to the present economic climate, they’re giving
top priority to projects that bring emissions reductions by changing behaviour.
They believe that engaging their employees to reduce energy use is one of the
most effective ways to cut emissions whilst reducing operational costs. They
also use rigorous criteria to assess the payback period and emissions benefits
of using new technology.
Changing behaviour is key to tackling climate change. As a major employer
they are well placed to influence the behaviour of over 100,000 people directly
and reach many more through our employees’ families and communities.
As members of the CBI Task Force, BT have committed to work in partnership
with their employees to achieve major cuts in their emissions both at work and
at home. Their target is for 20% of their employees to be actively engaged in
reducing their carbon footprint at work and at home by 2012.
BT’s Energy Saving Campaign and their Carbon Clubs programme are two of
their key programmes for engaging employees in tackling climate change:
Energy saving campaign
In August 2008, they launched a campaign to save 75,000 tonnes of CO2
and £15 million by March 2011. They will achieve this by adopting five
commitments for BT and encouraging employees to adopt five energy saving
actions.
The company commitments will save 70% of the targeted reductions, and the
employee actions will make up the remaining 30%.
Carbon clubs
BT encourage employees to join Carbon Clubs, where they can come together
with colleagues to develop ideas and take action to reduce our footprint. The clubs were
launched based on feedback from BT people and are now supporting up to 1000
club members.
Being part of a BT carbon club is a great way to share
knowledge and ideas with colleagues and take action together, having fun along
the way. Their people also have the satisfaction of knowing they are doing
their bit to protect the environment and help tackle climate change. Club members are volunteers and there’s no
set time commitment – many even use BT conferencing to connect with colleagues
and contacts.
By the end of March 2009, there were 120 clubs (compared to 67 the year
before) with over 400 members. A number
of clubs have been established in BT buildings, both in NI and RoI and linked
to their wider environment strategy on the island.
