Hewlett Packard aims to encourage green behaviour

Office supplies manufacturer Hewlett Packard has launched a campaign to encourage businesses to become more eco-friendly.

The Power To Change initiative has been set up to encourage computer users to change their behaviour in order to help protect the environment.
This includes turning off idle PCs when they are not being used, as leaving them on wastes energy and pushes up utility bills.

Estimates from Hewlett Packard suggest that if 100,000 computer users turned off their work PCs at the end of each day, the energy savings would be equivalent to taking more than 100 cars off the road. John Frey, spokesperson for the firm, commented: "Individuals and organisations can make a small environmental commitment that has the potential for a large impact on addressing sustainability challenges today." Hewlett Packard has also created a desktop widget which will show users how much energy could be saved if they act on this advice and turn off idle PCs.

The launch of the campaign comes after John Stocks of Carbon Trust Scotland said improving energy efficiency would be a "key way" of achieving financial savings.