Standby Saturday

IT started as one ordinary woman determined to make a difference. Eight months on, and Sally Radford’s passionate mission to reduce carbon emissions beginning with a symbolic Standby Saturday ‘launch’ now has the backing of various city councils and two of the country’s largest retailers, to name but a few.

Standby Saturday, October 20, will see the first nationwide overnight switch-off of non-essential electrical appliances such as TVs, home computers and mobile phone chargers, with the aim of significantly reducing the UK’s carbon emissions.

Whilst ‘Standby Sally’, as she has affectionately become know, remains the driving force behind the initiative, Marks & Spencer and Currys have thrown their considerable weight behind the campaign.

Birmingham City Council is one of many councils to have also pledged their support while schoolchildren the length and breadth of the country have been galvanised into action, with many schools appointing pupils as energy managers, responsible for ensuring their school does its bit to reduce carbon emissions.

The momentum gathered by the campaign is testimony to the boundless energy of a woman who describes herself as “just an ordinary person who wanted to do something to make a difference”.
Just how big a difference will be seen come October 20 but Sally is determined this date will mark the start, not the finish, of her campaign.

“This campaign is not just about one night. Standby Saturday aims to help people right across the UK get into the habit of taking simple steps to stop wasting significant amounts of energy every night. We want to encourage everyone who cares about climate change to start by taking part in the Standby Saturday event. This will be a great chance for individuals and all sorts of groups and communities to feel they are joining together in a really worthwhile national initiative.

“I’ve been really delighted with the support the initiative has received, particularly from schools. I’ve written to 30,000 schools and the response has been very pleasing. Many have appointed an ‘energy manager’ which is an excellent way of encouraging the next generation of the importance of protecting what will become their planet.

“Once we have had a chance to monitor the success of this launch event, we will plan further specific events to remind people of the message. However, what we really want is for people, in their home and offices, to get in the habit of switching off appliances every night,” she said.

The UK government estimates that electrical devices left on standby waste 7000 million kWh (7TWh) of energy and account for nearly 800,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year. Standby Saturday highlights a simple but important step to reduce unnecessary energy wastage – switch off appliances properly every night, instead of leaving them on standby.

People registering their commitment to the campaign on the recently launched Standby Saturday website will be able to see their contribution to energy saving added to a UK total, updated regularly to show how the environment will benefit. Anyone who occupies a building containing electrical equipment is eligible to register, so families, schools, businesses and organisations of any size can all participate. Standby Saturday is also encouraging everyone who already switches off overnight to sign up, as well as new ‘converts’.

By registering and pledging to switch off on the night of October 20 via their website, Standby Saturday will be able to estimate the positive impact our collective actions are having on the environment and publicise regularly updated results. The Standby Saturday website, www.StandbySaturday.com, also gives advice on looking for energy-saving appliances and highlights some innovative products which make switching off even simpler.