UK businesses waste £7 million every day due to energy inefficiency, much of which is through individual staff behaviour.Our challenge was to motivate employees to save energy – a difficult task considering the busy work environment and that staff are not paying the bills.

The objective was to deliver on our corporate value to "do more good," by developing an initiative to reduce employee’s energy consumption, in our workplace and beyond.The pilot goal was to reduce electricity consumption by 5%. We developed an incentive that would resonate with staff on an emotive level, asking little of their time or moral energy. The solution was simple: every penny saved turning off appliances, was invested in "turning on" a developing world community through the purchase of solar panels.It established a symbiotic relationship between switching off in the UK and switching on in Africa. The execution was OFF-ON, a PR initiative bringing this binary relationship to life using screensavers, LED displays and simple communications, that others may adopt. The project received positive feedback internally and externally, enabling us to deliver on our corporate value. Despite a 35% staff increase, energy usage has dropped 9% over the first quarter of our pilot.

The pilot was launched on 4th November, for 3 months.Targeting employees at decision-making points was key.

Simple interventions like stickers at light switches, computers and kettles, featured a reminder of the binary relationship between turning off here and on in Nairobi.An OFF-ON screensaver was featured on plasma screens in reception and meeting rooms, and on staff computers. We created bespoke software in-house in order to do this. It was connected to a real-time energy monitor, showing staff and visitors how much electricity they were consuming, the amount of money we had saved and how much of the orphanage we had lit up. Bespoke energy efficient LED floor displays were also erected in areas without screens, demonstrating real-time electricity consumption. Our progress and films from the orphanage were presented in monthly staff meetings, whilst emails and blog posts kept onlookers engaged in the campaign’s development.

Results are measured through monthly energy bills.Each month’s consumption is compared with that month the previous year.Last year saw a staff increase of 35% in our London office. Despite this, total energy consumption over the quarter decreased 9%, almost double our 5% goal, with a peak reduction of 12% in January. MA tech anthropology students examined workplace behaviour and interviewed a representative section of staff. The majority of respondents were conscious of turning more lights off, in the workplace and at home.Staff also felt a greater affinity with the company value of "doing more good."We received much PR after the launch, helping to inspire companies and improving our CSR credentials. We were pick-of-the day for Creativity Online, a full-page feature in Metro paper, plus were covered by the likes PSFK, Treehugger, Creative Review, Environment & Energy Management, and presented at the M&S Plan A Sustainability.