UK Consumers pull together to save a million tonnes of CO2

Posted in May 2009

UK consumers have achieved a saving of a million tonnes of CO2 whilst cutting household bills by £200 million, reports the Together campaign today.

The Together campaign makes it easier for consumers to fight climate change in their daily lives by providing affordable products and services in partnership with some of the biggest names on the UK high street. Launched two years ago by independent NGO The Climate Group, Together is the UK’s leading climate campaign, run in partnership with well known brands including B&Q, Barclaycard, British Gas, Coca-Cola, M&S, More Th>n, National Express, O2, Sky and Tesco.

The million tonne saving – equivalent to taking 390,000 cars off the road for a year - has been achieved through millions of small, individual actions by people across the UK including insulating lofts, changing light bulbs and washing clothes at lower temperatures. The savings achieved are explained in a short viral film How to Save A Million Tonnes of CO2.

At a time when many UK consumers are feeling the pinch, these actions have also helped households save money: £11 a year by washing clothes at lower temperatures, £49 from using energy efficient light bulbs and over £200 from insulating lofts.

Welcoming the milestone, Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change said: “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. Efforts to build on this momentum will be vital if we are to achieve a successful global climate deal at Copenhagen, and build a truly low-carbon Britain in the longer-term.”

Ian Cheshire, CEO of Kingfisher, owners of B&Q said: “Helping our customers save money and fight climate change is a core part of our business and we’ve been working hard with the Together campaign to help households across the country insulate their homes.”

David Hall, Campaign Director of Together, 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

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