British consumers have saved a massive million tonnes of carbon in the past two years by making small changes to their homes and lifestyle, the Together campaign has announced.
Launched in 2007 by independent NGO The Climate Group, Together is run in partnership with high-profile brands including B&Q, Barclaycard, British Gas, Coca-Cola, M&S, More Th>n, National Express, O2, Sky and Tesco, as well as Defra, the Energy Saving Trust and other government and civil groups. The aim is to make it easier for ordinary consumers to ‘go green’ by providing affordable environmentally friendly products and services for everyday life.
In reaching the impressive million-tonne milestone in carbon savings, consumers have also slashed their household bills by £200 million. Average savings include £11 a year by washing clothes at lower temperatures, £49 by replacing lightbulbs with energy-efficient versions, and over £200 from insulating lofts.
Thirty million individual actions have added up to the total carbon saving so far, which is equivalent to taking 390,000 cars off the road for a year. Among them are the conversion of more than four million set-top boxes to auto-standby, the completion of 700,000 enegy-saving audits, the insulation of over 300,000 lofts and the removal from circulation of 1.3 million mobile phones.
Together has also helped launch the UK’s first green credit card, the country’s greenest energy tariff , and new nationwide on-the-go recycling facilities.
David Hall, Together’s campaign director, said: “In the current recession, greener choices are helping people save money and carbon. Lots of small actions add up to make a big difference both for the planet and for British pockets.”
Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, said of Together’s achievement: “The Together campaign has demonstrated the vital role that UK businesses can play in helping build public awareness of climate change and in encouraging their customers to cut their emissions while saving money.”
Tony Blair, who helped to launch the campaign as Prime Minister, stated this week: “Getting the public onside is essential if we are going to rise to the challenge of climate change.
“The coalition has helped ordinary people save a million tonnes of CO2. This work at the cutting edge of consumer mobilisation is inspiring, and will be key in helping us to save many million tonnes more.”
The Together campaign took its first steps towards becoming a global initiative last year, with launches in the US and Australia.
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