We are endlessly reminded to conserve energy in the home to help tackle climate change, but have you stopped to think what shops are doing? Cambridge University research has shown that closing a shop door in winter can save up to 50% of energy and carbon emissions, yet very few shops actually do. The Close the Door campaign aims to encourage shops to shut their doors and stop wasting energy that heats or cools our streets rather than their premises.

The Research

The research has found that not only does closing a shop door reduce energy usage by up to 50%, but it can cut a shop’s annual CO₂ emissions by up to 10 tonnes of CO₂ – which is the equivalent to 3 return London to Hong Kong flights. Consequently, this small action can help to meet the mandatory national 34% reduction in carbon emissions and maintain energy use at a standard low level. The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) provides recommended temperature levels for shops and closing the door helps to maintain these, thereby increasing the comfort of staff and customers even when the temperatures outside plummet. As well as allowing the heating to be shut off long before the end of the day it stops the need for “air curtains” over the door, as these are one of the greatest wasters of energy consuming 24kWh each per day. This adds up to 91kg of CO₂ per week, equivalent to more emissions than a return Glasgow to London coach trip. With a lack of custom being the main opposition to shutting shop doors, further research found that there was no conclusive evidence that footfall or transactions were affected by this.

The Close the Door Campaign

Although originally based in Cambridge, the Close the Door campaign has now gone national in an attempt to get all retailers to save energy. To do this, shops, restaurants and national chains are directly approached and invited to join the campaign. The individual retailers, branch managers and head offices are given the necessary information to help support their decision, including information on environmental impact and advice to ensure footfall is not reduced. The campaign provides stickers for doors or windows which allow customers to easily recognise and support participating retailers, as well as monitoring the shops and restaurants throughout the year. Finally the campaign hopes to raise awareness of the issue and provide positive publicity for participating retailers through the internet, local and national media campaigns. It is a non-profit organisation with all central campaign office work being contributed voluntarily.

What You Can Do

If wish to support the campaign, make sure you support shops and restaurants that display the Close the Door logo. Always close doors behind you and if you can’t, speak to the staff or the manager if possible. If a shop will not Close the Door, then shop somewhere else. Continuing to use shops that insist on keeping their doors open means that you are encouraging energy waste and contributing to climate change.