24 Nov 2010 12:11:09
Open shop doors 'waste 10 tonnes of carbon emissions'
British retailers could save up to ten tonnes of carbon each year if they were to shut their doors, a new study suggests.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge suggested shops are wasting a significant amount of energy generating heat, which then escapes through open doors.
It was estimated that shops could slash their energy bills by up to 50 percent if they were to close their doors during the winter months.
The ten tonnes of carbon is equivalent to that produced by three flights between London and Hong Kong.
Commenting on the findings, Jeannie Dawkins, director of the Close the Doors Campaign, which commissioned the research, said: "It's time for retailers to acknowledge the massive contribution they are making to energy waste and carbon emissions if they heat the street."
The findings are based on the emissions of the independent Cambridge Toy shop and the branch of Ryman stationary shop in the city.
Foreign secretary William Hague and Professor Sir David King, a former government chief scientific adviser and director of Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, Oxford, have both pledged support for the Close the Doors campaign.
