The 2023 Mayor’s Business Climate Challenge (BCC) – Final Part

We’re back with the Final 2023 Mayor’s Business Climate Challenge update! Since our last blog we have been continuing to build sustainable business practices. In this final update, we’ll give a rundown of our experiences and growth in 2023.

What The BCC Is All About

The Mayor of London launched the BCC as a way to encourage energy efficiency in businesses. Over 250 dynamic companies based in London have rallied behind this initiative, a movement designed not only to boost workplace morale and employee wellbeing but also to catapult us into a new era of environmental efficiency. Our specific target was to reduce our energy consumption by 10% throughout 2023 and to help London towards its Net Zero vision by 2030! 

In November 2023, we were one of the 12 businesses that met the 10% energy savings target, as per the Better Bankside update. 

OpenCredo was recognised for an 11.8% reduction in energy usage at the celebration event in November. Saving over £600 in costs and a reduction of over 1,000 KwH. 

James Bowkett, OpenCredo’s Technical Delivery Director, recently gave an interview to Better Bankside Business Improvement District (BID) 

“Energy efficiency isn’t core to what we do, so it’s hard to know where to start if you don’t have the expertise…having the BCC give us a list of steps we could then shake down into a strategy was huge. The BCC has been a real catalyst to elevate the importance of energy efficiency internally…It’s been eye-opening to see just how involved employees want to be, which makes it a lot easier to then justify spending money on initiatives going forward.” 

You can read the full case study HERE

OC’s Efforts for a Greener Future – From the Top

OpenCredo has undertaken a series of measures to reduce our environmental footprint. As part of this transformative journey:

Ditching Single-Use Plastics: Taking a stand against single-use plastics, we have removed standalone plastic water bottle fountains, encouraging employees to embrace reusable alternatives. There’s no more polystyrene crockery and cutlery in the office either! In addition to this, we’ve got some pretty cool OC sustainable swag: keep cups, and tote bags, to name a few. 

Implementing PIR Sensors for Meeting Rooms: As part of our commitment to being environmentally responsible, we have installed Passive Infrared (PIR) sensors in our meeting rooms. This has resulted in a shift in the way we use energy and illuminate our spaces. PIR sensors ensure that lights turn on only when a room is being used for meetings, which optimises energy consumption and enhances our efficiency.

Supplier Evaluation for Office Food and Snacks: We have evaluated our suppliers to ensure that each office food purchase is consistent with our core environmental principles. We use ethical consumer.org, which is one of the few places where you can find transparent and reliable ethical ratings of companies and products. 

Enhanced Recycling Practices: In our Breakout Room, we’ve established a comprehensive bank of six recycling bins clearly labelled for easy use.

Timers and Controls: We have timer controls installed on our fridges and electric water cooler. The heating / air-con combined units are set to switch off automatically, and energy-efficient temperatures are communicated company-wide and are noted on the panels for everyone to see.  

2023 in Review

Europoint, our landlord, have also been busy doing their own environmental work with the BCC. They impressively achieved an A EPC rating in September. 

2023 was an amazing year for OpenCredo. The Mayor’s Business Climate Challenge helped us put our intentions into action.  

Everyone at the company contributed, collaborated and went the extra mile to exceed the target. We are chuffed with the team effort!

This blog is written exclusively by the OpenCredo team. We do not accept external contributions.