Accenture goes beyond the hour
By Megan McGillicuddy
I think about how our actions have impacted and continue to impact our planet, and I draw inspiration from the champions that I know who are committed to lightening their footprint by driving change, not just waiting for it to happen.
Alicia Nixon, Environmental Program Coordinator for Accenture, is one of these champions. Like the other Living Planet @ Work champions, Alicia does some fantastic work engaging stakeholders to advance their sustainability goals. This year, Accenture promoted Earth Hour in their offices in North America and encouraged all of their employees to take part, starting with a Friday “unplug” of their office electronics and turning out their external office signage for the weekend. But, thanks to Alicia, the hour hasn’t ended there.
By using sub metering equipment to monitor specific energy use in their Toronto West Mississauga office, Alicia identified an opportunity to conserve energy for one hour, twice a day, every day. Looking at the data Alicia saw that lighting and heating (or HVAC) was one of the biggest energy suckers. But what can you really do about that? You need lights and heat in your office to run a business, right? Not to mention that tenants don’t have the power to just adjust these utilities at will.
All true, but how much energy do we actually need, and how much are we wasting? Armed with her data (and her natural ability to charm the birds out of the trees!) Alicia approached their building management about the buildings set hours of operation for lighting and HVAC. Through collaborative discussions, they agreed to turn on the lights and HVAC one hour later in the morning and turn them off one hour earlier in the evening. This change wouldn’t have any negative impact on the tenants or on their ability to conduct business as usual (I’m guessing none of them even noticed!) so why not give it a try to please their primary tenant?
On the surface it may seem like a small, albeit noble gesture to shorten these schedules. How much of a difference could a couple of hours really make? Well, according to the numbers it makes 70,142 kilowatt-hours of difference per year for the floors occupied by Accenture alone! I know, I was surprised too, this is big. That is like recycling 17 tons of waste instead of sending it to landfill or the amount of carbon sequestered by more than 10 acres of pine forests. Not to mention the cost savings that also resulted – enough to light the whole 4th floor for an entire year. These numbers remind us that our energy decisions, big or small impact the planet. Alicia reminds us that we all have the power to lead change.
The power and importance of one should never be underestimated: one Earth Hour, one company, one person’s initiative, one planet. Thank you to everyone around the globe who participated in Earth Hour and especially to those like Alicia who keep thinking beyond the hour.
(c) WWF-Canada
