On the tenth day of Christmas UK offices waste enough energy to roast 4.4m turkeys

Canon UK has unveiled startling research that shows the true environmental and cost impact of not completely turning off office equipment over the Christmas period.

With many offices closing (or with skeleton staff) for up to 10 days this year, Canon research shows that the amount of energy used by office equipment PCs, printers, photocopiers and fax machines left on standby is enough to roast an astonishing 4.4m turkeys, which is also enough power to microwave 268m mince pies or more than 350,000 standard Christmas tree lights for 10 days.
 
Canons research is broken down by device and highlights the percentage of time that each is left on in standby mode and the resulting environmental (energy wastage) and business (electricity bill) costs 

  
(Sources: Office equipment figures from National Energy Foundation & Infosource. Canon research shows % left on and energy cost figures calculated using The Carbon Trusts Calculating energy use of office equipment report)
 
In addition, the research shows that almost 19,000 tonnes of C02 emissions would also be produced by these machines, enough to fill the same number of standard sized (25m) swimming pools. Canon warns that it is not just the environmental damage that businesses should be concerned with as the electricity bill to UK PLC this Xmas could also reach up to 8.66m
 
David Smith, marketing director, Canon Business Solutions, Canon UK commented, Its clear that some equipment needs to be left on over the Christmas period for security reasons but these amazing figures show that businesses that dont turn off their PCs and printers are literally throwing money away as well as damaging the environment over the festive period. We have only looked at office equipment that is left in standby mode so imagine how much higher these figures could be if devices are left completely on.
 
Canon believes that energy consumption is a key area where businesses can help promote a greener office environment. In addition to recommending that businesses turn off devices overnight and at weekends, Canon also provides customers with new on-demand fusing technology in its latest multifunctional printers, which provides a fast warm up time and only 3 watts of energy used in standby mode. This equates to more than 99% reduction in energy usage compared to many other printers on the market and saving the equivalent energy required to power 137 energy-efficient light bulbs.
 
Smith continued, It is the responsibility of manufacturers such as Canon to provide the solutions to support a greener workplace in addition to offering simple advice on energy saving.  At Canon, we practice what we preach and have one of the most environmentally-friendly buildings in the UK. We also work closely with our customers to help them to not only reduce office waste but also their business costs.
 
Canons top tips for when you leave the office for Christmas

• Switch off PCs completely, dont just log off.
  
• Power down office peripherals (such as printers and fax machines), dont just turn to standby mode.
  
• Turn off the lights.
  
• Write yourself a note to talk to the IT manager about replacing old energy wasting equipment in the New Year.
  
• Enjoy your Christmas break! 
   

Did you know?
A Giant Xmas card larger than the surface area of Greater London (1579 km squared) could be produced with paper wasted by UK businesses annually (33bn sheets of A4) Canon estimates that companies can save up to 40% of paper through double-side printing.