Behaviour Change: Haringey's Green Champions Programme

As an organisation, we're taking climate change seriously through implementing new technologies and devices across the organisation to help reduce our carbon emissions. This includes new energy efficient pool covers in our leisure centres and efficient lighting in our corporate buildings to name just two.

Although technology change will play a big part in reducing CO2, we also need to consider the behaviour and habits of our 6,000 staff. In 2008, the Green Champions Programme was established, building on the existing enthusiasm of some of our staff to consider the environment at work.

Around 60 members of staff volunteered to become Green Champions, and essentially encourage colleagues in their offices and buildings to not waste energy by leaving equipment on, promote the council’s recycling facilities and signpost them to more environmentally friendly ways to travel. This feeds into the council's environmental strategy – the Greenest Borough Strategy.

Our Green Champions were given a few simple tips to get started:

• always question whether you really have to print an email, document or web page
• shutdown your computer and switch your monitor off when you leave the office
• set your print option to print double-sided as default
• try to car share or use alternative transport as much as possible
• always question whether you can use the recycling facilities before you use the waste facilities.