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People matter

Our People are leading the way

Whether it's by switching off lights that are not in use, turning their electrical equipment off at the power point at the end of the work day or by using a thermos to reduce the need for constant reheating of water for a cuppa, our staff are leading the way.

Many of our energy efficiency gains have come about as a result of staff suggestions and it is their enthusiasm that keeps us on track towards our target of becoming carbon neutral by 2010.

The Big Switch

One of the most enlightening in-house activities we have had is The Big Switch - which had a competitive edge as well! It was a bid to see staff engage their families on simple energy efficiency measures at home and to see who could lose the most off their utility bill as a result.

Needless to say, our people really got into the spirit of it - with some going so far as to ban television viewing for the entire month the program was on just to see what impact that would have. Apart from significant savings generated from switching lights off, those who went for a TV-free month also reported much more time spent talking to family members and doing other activities such as going to the park, for a stroll or just playing something as simple as card games.

• Bir Singh of The Fiji Times Mailroom was crowned the winner of The Big Switch, which was held from August to October 2008. He and his family put in a major effort to reduce their energy consumption over the competition period making changes to their home and lifestyle, including:

• Switching from regular light bulbs to CFL bulbs
• Changing other lights to fluorescent tube lights
• Focusing on using less power daily
• Turning off all indoor lights when sitting on the porch in the evening.
• Only using lights that were necessary at any given time. Some nights they used just three lights and others just one - and they surprised themselves when they found that to be sufficient.
• Walking more and only catching the bus when absolutely necessary.
• At times the only electrical item running in their home was their fridge

“My electricity bill used to be $35, with our effort it then went down to $30, then $28 and once went down to $5, so we’re very happy when we see our effort makes a difference.”

The Singh family won a fabulous dinner at the trendy Maya Daba Restaurant and movie tickets to the value of $100, as well as shopping vouchers. He is currently on leave and travelling around the world.