AS IPSWICH basks in the accolade of being one of the greenest towns in Britain, an energy oasis appeared in the town centre. Power giant E-ON visited the Cornhill in Ipswich to give the town's workers an opportunity to change the way they think about energy, and what they can do to help reduce the wastage by pledging to do something energy saving on a day to day basis.

AS IPSWICH basks in the accolade of being one of the greenest towns in Britain, an energy oasis appeared in the town centre.

Power giant E-ON visited the Cornhill in Ipswich to give the town's workers an opportunity to change the way they think about energy, and what they can do to help reduce the wastage by pledging to do something energy saving on a day to day basis.

As a reward for making the pledge, workers could enter the E-ON Energy Oasis, a garden chill-out zone, which was set up for the day, entitling them to relax in beanbags, have an Indian head massage and have some cool energising water or refreshing fruit to enjoy.

E-ON spokesman Nick Sandham said: “The event has definitely been a success. We have had a large number of people come into the Oasis and pledge to save energy in one way or another. People are more aware of trying to save energy in the workplace as well as at home.”

He also said: “We have recently completed some research which was taken from all over the UK. The results showed that Ipswich and Norwich have the smallest carbon footprint in the whole of the UK. However, there are several steps that can still be taken to save even more energy.”

Kye Harman, the event manager, said: “We are in Norwich tomorrow and are going to be travelling all over the country in the next two weeks. We are aiming to achieve the same success we have achieved here.”

Office workers in Ipswich admit to having more than six pens on their desk and getting through over 50 sheets of paper a day.

The town's workers also admit to driving to work despite living less than two miles away from their work place.

E-ON, the company that runs Powergen, carried out a nationwide telephone survey of 800 people, across ten UK towns and cities, including, Ipswich, Norwich and Birmingham.

The results show that in Ipswich alone, almost a quarter of workers admit to leaving lights switched on in an empty room, and one in twelve leaves their computers and monitors on standby overnight.

It also revealed that one in twenty people use more than four plastic cups a day and only a mere 14 per cent recycle them.

VOXPOP

Roz Culham, 23, of Rapier Street, Ipswich, works for Call Connection. She said: “I'm a very energy aware person. I studied Geography at the University of Liverpool and hope to have a career in the environmental field.

“I'm energy conscious in that we don't leave any appliances on standby at work. Our boss has drummed into us how we can be more energy efficient.”

Jeremy Essex, 37, of Ivry Street, Ipswich, works for Samskip. He said: “I'm not the most energy efficient person in the world, but I do take some steps to reduce the energy I waste.

“I admit to leaving my computer on when I go to lunch rather than switching it off. However, I do walk to work rather than driving. I also make sure I don't leave any lights on when I'm not in the room.”

Lindsay Mason, 22, of Gascoigne Drive, Ipswich, works for Suffolk County Council. She said: “I am very energy efficient at work; we all make sure we turn off the lights when we're finished.

“At home, I use energy efficient saving bulbs rather than standard bulbs. I also have double glazing and insulation throughout the house to stop me from using oil in the heating system.”

Brenda Larke, 52, of Bredfield Close, Felixstowe, works for Hanjin Shipping. She said: “At home, I am fairly energy aware. Whenever I go out or go to work, I always make sure that I unplug the appliances in my house.

“I never leave things on standby. I also use low energy light bulbs. The only thing I could do to save more energy is to have the outside of my house insulated. At work, we use air conditioning rather than opening the windows.”

Kenneth Macro, 69, is retired and lives on Bramford Road, Ipswich. He said: “I am an energy conscious person. As I live alone, I always make sure that I switch off lights that I'm not using and turn the TV off when I've finished with it.

“I don't have any form of insulation on the house; I don't use a central heating system either. I don't think there is anything else I could do to make me anymore energy aware.”

Sean Clements, 37, of Digby Road, Ipswich is a self employed builder. He said: “I think I am a very energy efficient person. As a builder, I work manually outside the majority of the time.

“At home, I'm forever clearing up behind my young children, turning off the lights and TV after they've finished with them. We have double glazing and insulation in the house. The only extra thing we could do is change to using energy efficient light bulbs.”

Shantell Haynes, 25, of Downside Road, Ipswich is a stay at home mum. She said: “I'm probably not as energy efficient as I think I am. I do have double glazing and insulation throughout my house, but I always leave the televisions on standby rather than switching them off. I could switch over to using low energy bulbs.”

Simon Atwood, of Bixley Farm, Ipswich works for Ipswich Borough Council. He said: “While I'm at work, I use my own mug rather than using plastic cups once and throwing them away.

“I do admit to leaving my computer on standby when I'm on my lunch break. At home, I turn lights off once I've finished with them, but I do leave things on standby. There are probably several everyday things that I could do to stop wasting energy. It's just difficult to get out of the routine that I live my day to day life in.”

Beryl Grunbaum is retired and lives in Days Green, Capel St. Mary. She said: “I consider myself to be very energy conscious. I use energy efficient light bulbs and always turn the lights off when I'm not using them.

“When I boil the kettle, I only boil the amount of water that I need to use. I could be even greener by getting my loft insulated.”