Office temperatures drop across Europe to cut bills and carbon emissions

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Offices across Europe are turning down their thermostats in a bid to save money and reduce carbon emissions.

In the UK, Deloitte is turning down temperatures by 2C across 22 sites to help reduce its energy consumption.

Deloitte told staff that its offices would now be heated to between 19 and 22C as part of the company’s plans to save energy.

The company revealed that the temperature range in its UK offices would still be more than the minimum 16C guideline required for those in desk jobs, as set by the Health and Safety Executive.

Offices across the country - in London, Cambridge, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Newcastle, Reading, Bristol, Cardiff, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Belfast - will see their thermostats lowered.

The news comes as energy bills continue to skyrocket following the Covid pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine - which has pushed up the cost of oil and gas.

Other UK consultancy firms including PwC and KPMG shut offices over the festive period to save on their energy bills.

Deloitte has also lowered temperatures in some of its other offices in Europe, the Financial Times reported.

Meanwhile, the European Union capped the temperature in its buildings in Brussels to 19C, resulting in several staff complaining and donning polo neck jumpers to overcome chilly office conditions.

Following the Paris Agreement on climate change, Deloitte has said that it aims to cut its emissions from business travel by 50 per cent per full-time employee by 2030, in comparison with 2019 levels.

The company has also pledged to power its office buildings with 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2030.