Creative concepts for cutting carbon: the Vivid Consultancy blaze a trail for 10:10 in Gloucestershire

Since signing up for 10:10 and pledging up to cut their emissions by 10% this year, PR & Communications consultancy Vivid have been racking their brains to find innovative solutions for cutting carbon at work. They have launched 2 creative new initiatives and hope that other companies across the county will follow their lead.

The team decided that a significant reduction in road miles would be a great place to begin. The all-girl team of 4 each have a car, and with only one living in Tewkesbury that meant on a day when everyone was in the office they were racking up 70 miles between them. Add this to daily trips into town for lunch (a 3.5 mile round trip) and the team realised that there was significant room for improvement.

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Initiative one: the Office Bike Plan: Adopt a bike for the Vivid office. Result: 3.5 miles a day not driven and a healthier lifestyle! Mike Payton from Tap Business Development in Cheltenham responded to a request put out on Twitter by the Vivid team, asking if anyone could donate a bike. He has agreed to share 2 of his wheels with the Vivid team to allow them to cycle into Tewkesbury town centre for their lunchtime excursions.Vivids plan coincides with the building of a new cycle track which links their offices on the Tewkesbury Business Park with the town centre.
Initiative two: Stay at Home Friday Plan: The whole team works from home one day a week whenever possible. Result: 70 miles a day not driven and a chance to work in pyjamas! Vivid has rechristened Friday as #StayAtHomeFriday when the whole team will spend the same day working from home to reduce their road miles. They are hoping that other businesses will sign up for the scheme and have been promoting the idea using Twitter and their blog.
About 10:10 10:10 is an ambitious project to unite every sector of British society behind one simple idea: that by working together we can achieve a 10% cut in the UKs carbon emissions in 2010. By signing up to a 10% target were not just supporting 10:10 were making it happen. In our homes, in our workplaces, our schools and our hospitals, our galleries and football clubs and universities, well be backing each other up as we take the first steps on the road to becoming a zero-carbon society. (From www.tentenuk.org)

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There are loads of ways to cut carbon emissions which will make you better off, healthier and happier. Vivid's 'Office Bike' is what 10:10 is all about: cutting carbon and having fun at the same time.

Eugenie Harvey: Director, 10:10

Wed already taken our first steps towards becoming a greener office by recycling and trying to keep things like printing to a minimum but since signing up for 10:10 we wanted to go even further. We found ourselves in a position that I think is true of lots of organisations we wanted to do more but werent sure where to start.

Caroline Rawlinson: Director, The Vivid Consultancy

Working from home saves most of our team a trip down the motorway to reach the office. Wed love it if Stay At Home Friday became a movement that was adopted by other businesses. By working in a new location one day a week youre presented with new networking opportunities, increased productivity sparked by a change of scenery and a chance for pyjama working if you feel the need so there are loads of benefits aside from helping the environment!

Holly Knowlman: Account Executive, The Vivid Consultancy