Staff at Friends Provident International (FPI) have been making their workplace more environmentally friendly through a series of energy saving initiatives that have significantly reduced C02 emissions at the Company's Castletown headquarters.
Since July 2009, FPI has been cutting down on its energy consumption through several measures, including installing energy efficient lighting, encouraging recycling and cutting back on the use of paper.
Statistics used to measure the project's success have shown that the Company is now using 16.7% less electricity than before the scheme started.
In figures corroborated by The Carbon Trust, the UK's leading promoter of the low carbon society, that equates to a saving of 41.9 tonnes of CO2 being released into the atmosphere over the course of a year.
By taking simple measures, FPI's staff have collectively played a major part in the campaign, a workforce survey revealed. As an example, far more employees are now switching off PCs and monitors before leaving the office.
The number of PCs being left on fell from 51% to 19% whilst less than a quarter of staff admitted leaving their monitors running compared to nearly twice that number prior to the emissions project.
The energy saving initiative has also had a positive impact on home life. Half of those questioned said that their domestic electricity consumption had decreased, whilst 46% are now actively trying to be more aware of recycling waste.
It has also made staff think twice before using the car, with one in five saying they were now walking, cycling or taking public transport more frequently.
And 43% agreed that their awareness of and interest in environmental issues has increased since the programme.
The efforts of the Company's Isle of Man staff has been a major factor in securing Carbon Trust accreditation for its entire UK business operation with FPI appointing a number of GAP (Global Action Plan) Champions to promote environmental friendly initiatives in the local area.
Carbon Trust was set up by the UK Government in 2001 providing specialist support for businesses and the public sector to help cut carbon emissions, save energy and commercialise low carbon technologies.
To gain accreditation, a company has to demonstrate it has made an absolute reduction in CO2 emissions for at least a 3-year period.
John Owen, training and development manager at Friends Provident International, said, "It is encouraging to see so many members of staff adopting more environmentally friendly practices.
"It just goes to show that with a little effort to start remembering to turn off computers, or lights or making less journeys in the car how much energy can be saved.
"At FPI, we see this aspart and parcel of how we go about our daily lives so that we change our behaviour for the long term good of the environment."
