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Here at Utility Helpline, the only thing we love more than Christmas is the office Christmas party. Well, that and saving energy. This year we have found a way to merge those two passions – so here are our five top tips for having a kind-to-the-environment Christmas party.

Make Christmas jumpers mandatory and turn down the thermostat

Christmas jumpers have been in high demand over the last few years coming in lots of cool (and some trashy) designs. It’s easy to forget that they have a useful function too though. Heating accounts for 20-40% of an office’s total energy costs and reducing the temperature by just 1ºC can cut fuel consumption by 8%. As my mother would say, there’s no such thing as bad weather there’s only poor choices of clothing, and wearing Christmas jumpers is a way of injecting some fun into energy efficiency. You could add even more fun by offering prizes for the trashiest jumper.

Throw out your old Christmas lights and get some LED ones

LED technology is here to stay. They are cheap to buy (and getting cheaper), cheap to run and have a very long lifespan which means that the payback time of LED bulbs is short. The most energy efficient businesses will already have LED bulbs installed throughout their premises, but if you are looking for an easy place to start then why not replace bulbs around your Christmas tree. Switching from conventional Christmas bulbs to festive LED lights can reduce your tree’s energy consumption by up to 90%.

Switch off the photocopier!

For reasons which are obvious to anyone who watched television in the 1990’s, switching off the office photocopier during the Christmas party is a must. And as it happens, switching off your photocopier is a good way of saving energy too. Leaving a photocopier on standby overnight wastes enough energy to make 30 cups of tea.

Make an energy efficient Christmas dinner

If you run a pub or restaurant like many of our clients, then you might want to cook the staff Christmas dinner yourself. If you’re cooking the traditional full turkey roast then you could turn down the thermostat by a degree or two and let the excess heat from the kitchen warm your premises. You could also have employees invite their nearest and dearest and bask in the warmth of family and friendship all night long (as well as the warmth provided by lots of wine).

Let your inner Scrooge shine through

Managers might often find themselves identifying with one of Dickens’ most well-known and little-loved characters. This is especially true at Christmas time when the costs of doing business seem to mount up very quickly. We are definitely not suggesting that you force your workforce to come in on Christmas Day, but a little penny pinching here and there is useful, especially when it comes to energy. The little energy costs all add up very quickly, so once the Christmas party is over and done with you should make sure you switch absolutely everything off before shutting up shop for the festive period. Fridges, kettles, microwaves, printers, chargers and any other non-essential equipment should all be turned off and you’ll be able to say Humbug to your energy bills. Utility Helpline are committed to helping their clients reduce waste and cut their energy bills. They recently produced a guide aimed at helping small and medium sized businesses cut waste using smart energy meters.