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Employees who believe climate change either doesn't exist, is someone else's problem or who talk the talk but won't walk the walk, are wasting Britain's businesses £12.7bn in unnecessary energy bills, according to an E.ON survey into employees' energy conservation behaviour.
Pollsters ICM asked 1,216 employees in companies of various sizes about energy use at home and whether it correlates to practices at work. ICM found that 65 per cent of staff admits to ignoring company policy on environmental initiatives, particularly those working for small- and medium-sized enterprises.
Analysis of the survey results by Dr Peter Clough of Hull University found two distinct types of mentalities. The good news is that 87 per cent of people behave like HEROs (Home Efficient, Recycles, Offsets) at home: 85 per cent recycle, 76 per cent switch off devices when not in use, and 68 per cent use low-energy bulbs.
It all goes wrong when they go into work and a different mindset takes over: the WIMP (Work Inefficient, Minimises Power Savings). Over 78 per cent struggle to replicate the energy efficiency they display at home when they get into the office. Fifty-six per cent are afraid to ask permission to make changes, 55 per cent want a financial incentive and 26 per cent are worried about being ridiculed by colleagues.
The survey also looked at regional differences. Those in the East Midlands, for instance, are worst for thinking that it's the boss' job to reduce emissions in the office, with the Welsh least likely to pass the buck.
Those who think the bosses should be doing more and that a lack of employee education is to blame may also be interested in a Carbon Trust survey we reported on in March. It found that 70 per cent of employees surveyed said they wanted to cut their carbon emissions but wanted more guidance and empowerment. Two-thirds said their employer had made no attempt to encourage them to consider ways of reducing their emissions by taking alternative methods of transport to work.
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