4. The Business Pages
The information on the Business Page has been re-produced as a poster to be sent to
businesses in Merton. The poster is sponsored by the Environment Agency.
The facts and figures given are re-produced from a variety of published sources.
Energy (and Money!) Saving Tips
 Lights, Computers, Heating systems and Air Conditioning (if you
have it) are the main contributors to office energy bills.
 Turning your heating thermostat down by just 1C (or your air
conditioning thermostat up by 1C) will save 10% on your bill
 Every computer turned off at night saves £60-£100/year
 Every computer monitor switched off regularly over a one hour
lunch break saves approximately £2.50 per year
 Screen savers do not save electricity, they just protect the screen
 Substantial savings can be made by ensuring lights are turned
off when there is sufficient daylight and as soon as staff leave at
the end of the day. (Stickers for switches to encourage this can be ordered

from Eddy Taylor 8545 3457)
A simple electricity saving can be made by having a sticker on the kettle, asking staff
to boil only as much water as they need.
The energy consumed each year by UK commerce and industry releases about 60 million
tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere.
Grants for energy saving:Up to £3,000 for the replacement of inefficient lighting products by designated energy
saving products or for installing energy efficient measures recommended
following a survey
Up to £3,000 for lighting controls
Any SME in the UK is eligible. SMEs typically spend 30% of their electricity bill on lighting.
Telephone: 08705 133538
Web: www.lightswitch.co.uk.
Email: lightswitch@chaseresponse.com
For more free energy efficiency advice to businesses, call the National Energy Helpline:
0800 585794, or visit the Energy Saving Trust website: www.est.org.uk
Waste Management Tips
Could your company reduce its expenses and its waste?: Use double-sided copying more consistently, when copying multi-page documents
 Reduce the amount of paper used by avoiding unnecessary printing of emails and
drafts of documents
 Have a supply of scrap paper (used on one side) for note-taking and message taking
 Use the back of scrap paper for photo-copying, if for internal use. (Most copiers do not
jam up if the paper is not creased and it is fed in the external feed tray.)
 Do more to ensure efficient use of stationery
Could your company: Recycle waste paper? (contact: Cormac Stokes, Merton Recycling Officer, 8545 3225)
 Recycle spent toner and inkjet cartridges? (contact: Earl Marshall, 0800 279 1919)
 Buy recycled paper? (contact:- Kent County Supplies – 01622 605001)
 Register its interest in recycling waste other than paper, when Council resources
allow? (contact Cormac Stokes, Merton Recycling Officer, 8545 3225)
 Take surplus items to the Merton Scrap Scheme? TEL: 020 8640 9510
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Transport
 Car traffic is forecast to increase by 22% from the levels of 2000, by 2010
 58% of car trips are under 5 miles and 25% are less than 2 miles.
 A company Green Transport Plan can save time and money, improve staff health and
morale and improve general quality of life. If interested, contact Nick Greenwood,
Principal Transport Officer, London Borough of Merton, 8545 3058.
Water Use
By REDUCING your water usage you can help protect the water environment and at the
same time deliver financial savings for your business
 The average office uses 50 litres of water per person per day, of that 70% are actually
used in the washrooms. Usually with some practical water saving actions, substantial
water and financial savings can be made – a waterless urinal can save up to 46,800
litres of water and up to £170 per year.
 A 3 mm stream of water from a tap wastes 985 litres of water per day and £532 per
year.
Practical actions to help reduce your water use:
 When buying new products always think about whether they will increase or decrease
your water use.
 Turn taps off fully, but even better fit spray taps and/or tap controls.
 Fit urinal controls to flush only during office hours – this can save a minimum of 23,000
litres of water and up to £70 per urinal per year.
 Fit cistern dams or water displacement devices e.g. ‘hippo’ cistern bags, to reduce the
amount of water used to flush a toilet. (Free water-saving devices can be ordered from
TEL: 0845 786 8686)
 If refurbishing, consider waterless urinals and low and dual flush toilets – the urinals
can save up to 46,800 litres of water and up to £170 per urinal per year.
 For further information contact the National Water Demand Management Centre and
ask for the water conservation buildings cards: email: paula.wood@environmentagency.gov.uk ; Telephone: 01903 832073 or go to www.environmentagency.gov.uk/savewater
Water quality
To help protect the animals and plants living in our rivers and lakes, think about adopting
relevant Pollution Prevention Measures in your work place.
The Environment Agency can provide free advice and accompanying literature on a wide
range of environmental issues including; pollution prevention measures, waste disposal
options, recycling, producer responsibility, so please call the Environment Agency general
enquiry line on 0645 333111, and for Pollution Prevention Guidance there is a fax back
service: 01276 454666
Please report any pollution or environmental incident on the Environment Agency
Emergency Hotline: Freephone 0800 80 70 60
Green Seeds Project
For information and support to set up or expand businesses which specialise in providing
services which improve the environment, please phone 020 8545 3457.
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Company Environmental Policy
An effective Internal Company Environmental Policy works best if it is agreed by as many
staff as possible. The benefits of such a policy can include:


Financial savings on energy, resources and/or waste disposal
Improved staff morale, improved communication and shared purpose, greater staff
retention
Improved customer relations and positive publicity
The Council can support local businesses to help realise these benefits through improved
environmental performance. A 40 minute session with staff could be sufficient to agree and
secure commitment to an environmental policy. For free advice and support, please call
Eddy Taylor, Principal Environment Officer, London Borough of Merton, 020 8545 3457.
Sample Policy:- (To be effective, it is important that environmental policies are worked out
and agreed by each individual company, according to their own circumstances.)
Company Environmental Policy
Staff have agreed they want to: Turn off lights when they leave and when there is sufficient daylight
 Turn off computers at night
 Turn off computer monitors at lunch and when unused for more than 20
minutes during the day
 Use scrap paper for note-taking and messages
 Avoid unnecessary printing of emails and other documents
 Photo-copy on both sides of paper for multi-page documents
 Avoid over-heating and over-cooling the office
 Keep windows and doors closed when heating is on
Management have agreed they want to: Support and encourage staff to follow the environmental policy
 Monitor and report the changes in sizes of energy, paper and water
bills
 Explore avenues for further environmental improvements. (E.g: recycling
waste, using recycled products, looking to develop opportunities for
staff to work from home, reducing water consumption)
For external support and grant schemes for reducing energy and water use, see Further
Contacts, page 38.
The Green Mark Scheme allows even greater business benefits to be realised. An external
consultant can help you to ‘green’ your business cost effectively in order to meet
increasing supply chain pressures to demonstrate environmental performance. This leads
to the award of a Green Mark which is a starting point for achieving environmental
management system status such as EMAS or ISO14001. TEL: 020 8545 3457
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