For the British Trade and Culture Office (BTCO) in Taiwan, tacking climate change is not just an issue on which it has worked over the past few years, it is something that touches on the everyday life of its staff.
“We have been doing a lot of work in BTCO to ensure that we meet the targets we sign up to,” director of the de facto British embassy in Taiwan, David Campbell, said recently, referring to the “10:10” initiative.
The “10:10” target, launched last year by Franny Armstrong, director of a British film on climate change, The Age of Stupid, is a campaign that seeks to persuade individuals, businesses, organizations and the UK government to reduce their CO2 emissions by 10 percent this year.
In response to increasing concern about the impact of climate change and in support of the UK government’s commitments, the BTCO in Taiwan is one of nearly 70 British embassies, high commissions and consulates taking part in the campaign this year.
Saying the BTCO will have an announcement on emission reduction work in the office this week, Campbell said: “I can say at this stage that we are certainly on track to meet our 10:10 target.”
Campbell said his office has taken many practical steps to realize the target: “We have rewired the office to ensure that we don’t have to use all the lights at once, only when they are needed. We have also altered the air conditioning ... to reduce unnecessary consumption.”
To achieve the target, the BTCO has established a “Green Team” to deliver low carbon initiatives, including: setting air conditioner temperature at 26oC, regrouping lighting in the office and switching off lights in areas where staff are out of the office or working from home and switching off lights when there is sufficient natural light.
Guided by the initiatives, the BTCO has installed motion detectors in kitchen areas and toilets to reduce electricity use, purchased green products from cleansers to hybrid cars, while making sure to switch off unused computers, printers, photocopies and appliances at the end of the day. BTCO staff are also required to cut back on -unnecessary air travel and take public transport for domestic journeys, while reducing the use of paper cups and disposable chopsticks for meetings and functions.
The BTCO in Taiwan has undertaken a systematic Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission audit, establishing a GHG emission inventory for last year, guided by the Foundation of Taiwan Industry Service and certified by the British Standards Institution in Taiwan.
The BTCO’s GHG emission inventory investigation for last year received ISO 14064-1:2006 certification on Sept. 30. Campbell said this demonstrated a joint effort by BTCO staff to record and assess data on information such as electricity and gasoline usage and personnel work hours.
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