14 DAY TRIAL // Researchers at Lancaster University in the United Kingdom have one really wacky theory concerning what your average Joe and Jane could do to help fight climate change and global warming, and it all boils down to dressing down for work.
These specialists argue that, according to their investigations into the matter at hand, quite a lot of energy is currently used to maintain comfortable room temperatures in office buildings across the world, Click Green informs.
Thus, in regions that are rather chilly heating systems are used to keep folks from freezing to death while at work. In warm climates, on the other hand, cooling systems such as air conditioning units are put to work on a regular basis, and serve to bring down indoor temperatures.
Provided that the energy that these systems need in order to keep up and running comes from burning fossil fuels, it can be argued that mere efforts to make offices comfortable for employees temperature-wise are responsible for putting quite a lot of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.
The Lancaster University specialists maintain that, by allowing casual office dress codes that would include jeans, hoodies, T-shirts and the like, it might be possible for office buildings to lower the amount of energy that they need to ensure comfortable room temperatures.
In doing so, office buildings would improve on their ecological footprint by reducing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that they are responsible for, and would therefore help fight ongoing climate change and global warming, the researchers add.
“There is no doubt that the move away from formal office wear towards jeans, hoodies and more casual clothes is reducing the need for workplaces to be heated to the same degree,” Professor Elizabeth Shove argued in a recent interview with the press.
“And in hot climates, why not change dress codes rather than cooling buildings to counter the effect of wearing a suit and tie? These are not entirely fanciful questions,” the Lancaster University specialist went on to say.
The researchers now saying that fighting climate change might be as simple as giving the thumbs up to casual office dress explain that, presently, normal room temperature is considered to be one of 22 degrees Celsius, and that some 50% of the energy that most buildings go through is used to keep them at this temperature.
“Standard room temperatures suppose standard clothing – and by default, buildings are designed for people wearing suits. From an environmental point of view and on a global scale, the massive energy demand that ensues is unsustainable,” Professor Elizabeth Shove explained.
Furthermore, “Much less energy would be needed, if room temperatures swung with the seasons and if people adjusted their clothing – and their daily routines – to suit.” Otherwise put, allowing temperatures documented inside office buildings to fluctuate with the season and have people adjust their clothing depending on these variations might help reduce energy consumption and, consequently, greenhouse gas emissions.