Big Christmas Switch Off Results: Your Impact

Thanks to your combined effort, we were able to switch off fridges, microwaves, lights, mics, projectors, monitors, lab equipment, ventialtion and heating, hurrah! No switch was left behind.

We saved 284 tonnes of carbon this Christmas - 37 tonnes more than last year - which is enough carbon to fill 63 Olympic-sized swimming pools! This is a phenomenal result as we move towards zero carbon buildings by 2024. You can read more about this in our Sustainability Strategy 2019-2024.

Competition Winners:

But the department which switched the most off was (drumroll please) ... the Careers Team! Congratualtions for gaining the highest proportion of Switch Off pledges! The commitment of the Green Champions in this small team led them to achieve an Excellence Award at the 2018 UCL Sustainability Awards.

A huge congratulations also to the Division of Psychiatry for coming a very close second and the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering for coming third.

Without all of you pledging, this result would not have been possible, so thank you.

Which departments saved the most energy?

Wondering how much energy your department saved? See the highest savers to see if you made it to the leaderboard:

What Now?

If we switched off like this every weekend, UCL could reduce its carbon emissions by around 2,600 tonnes and shave nearly £1 million off the energy bill every year.

Whilst there are certain appliances that must be kept running to ensure UCL remains a world-leading research university, we hope that we've shown how small changes can add up to a huge impact. Simple changes in our everyday behaviours, like switching off non-essential equipment, will help to tackle the climate crisis, so get ready for the Big Easter Switch Off!

Get Involved:

For energy saving tips and resources for your department, check out our website.

Or, see how you can help UCL transition to a zero carbon institute on our Get Involved page. Get in touch if you are interested in becoming a Green Champion.

*On average, one tree can consume approximately 60kg of CO2 from the atmosphere.

**Savings Calculations:

• The holiday period is from 21.12.2019 - 01.01.2020.
• Electricity used during this time = 2,134,419kWh. Gas used during this time = 2,128,650kWh. 
• The control period is from 05.12.2019 - 19.12.2019.
• Average electricity used during this time = 2,843,116kWh. Average gas used during this time = 2,687,055kWh.
• Figures based on DEFRA carbon factors that state that consuming 1kWh of electricity produces 0.26kg CO2 and costs £0.13 and consuming 1kWh of gas produces 0.18 kg CO2 and costs £0.03.