On average offices waste £6,000 each year by leaving equipment on over weekends and bank holidays. Encourage your employees to switch off equipment when they are away from their desks or before they go home. Furthermore, make sure that any cleaners or security staff are responsible for switching off unnecessary equipment after hours.

You need to lead by example, but it’s also important to make it a team effort. Ask employees where they think energy is being wasted, and encourage them to think about how they can all use less.

By switching off lights in unused rooms and corridors, you could cut your lighting costs by as much as 15%. In addition, don’t use more light than you need. Make the most of natural light by keeping your windows clean and clear and ensure that your employees only light the areas they need to work. Make it easier for employees by labelling light switches so they know which to switch off.

Unless it’s just too cold for comfort, try to keep your thermostat at 19°C. Your heating costs will go up by 8% each time you increase the temperature by just one degree. Encourage your employees to wear warmer clothing, if they are feeling the cold.

Putting furniture in front of a radiator means it will need to work harder to heat the room.

Storerooms or corridors don’t need to be kept as warm as areas in which people spend long periods of time. Equally, if people are doing a lot of physical work in a particular area, the heating can be turned down.

You can also turn off or reduce the heating over the weekend, providing no one is in the building.

If employees are too hot, try turning the heat down first. In warmer weather, when the heating is off anyway, you can let more air in.

These will all affect the thermostat and automatically increase your heating costs.

The cooling system will need to work harder to cool an area that is constantly being heated.

If you don’t regularly check your heating equipment, you could be adding as much as 10% to your heating bill without knowing it.