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Coventry Airport and Warwick Castle support Switch it Off

Both Coventry Airport and Warwick Castle have this week pledged their support to this year’s Warwickshire County Council Switch it Off campaign.

Warwick Castle is going to hold its own switch off to coincide with the campaign’s Big Switch Off on Friday between 4.30pm and 6.30pm.

And Coventry Airport is notifying all staff about the campaign, erecting displays and providing information about the benefits of switching off, as well as reminding staff about the Big Switch Off on Friday.

Coventry Airport and Warwick Castle are among a number of organisations to join this year’s campaign, including the Chamber of Commerce and Heart of England Co-op.

Warwickshire County Council, Coventry City Council, Worcestershire County Council, and the Warwickshire Energy Efficiency Advice Centre, are leading the way and co-ordinating this year’s ‘Switch it Off’ campaign.

If everyone in Warwickshire, Coventry and Worcestershire stopped leaving appliances on stand by it would prevent 86,322 tonnes of carbon dioxide being emitted into the atmosphere through wasted electricity and save more than £20m (enough to pay the annual electricity bill for 71,953 homes).

Carbon dioxide is the main climate change causing gas. In the UK, the energy we use to heat and power our homes accounts for 27 per cent of our total carbon dioxide emissions and this continues to rise.

Cllr Martin Heatley, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for the Environment, said: “It’s great to see so many parts of the community supporting this year’s campaign and the extra backing from Warwick Castle and Coventry Airport is great to see.

“It really doesn’t take a lot to think about saving energy. You are not only saving the planet from the comfort of your own home, but also cutting your own energy bill by up to 25 per cent.

”It’s interesting to see how people behave towards energy. Prices have gone up massively in recent years, yet the vast majority of people remain unaware of what they are spending on their energy.

"People will drive out of their way to get a penny off a litre of petrol, yet ask them what a kilowatt hour of electricity costs them and they won’t have a clue.”