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Dark January
24 January, 2025
January is a pretty dark month – this year, both in terms of weather and news. So a campaign named ‘Dark January’ may not be the most appealing.
But the idea behind property data company Metrikus’ campaign was to reduce the 30% of energy in commercial buildings in the UK that’s wasted. The campaign’s relatively humble aims were to get us to turn the lights off in office spaces in unoccupied areas this month, reducing emissions and money in the process, as well as light pollution. And even though we’re nearly at the end of January, there’s no reason to not continue doing this.
The simplicity of the campaign is part of the appeal. it recognises that lighting is only part of the energy challenge, but it’s an easy, tangible starting point. And January is a time of year when people are considering changing their behaviour, which may lead to more sustained behaviour and savings.
That said, it may not always be that simple in practice. It may be that lighting and energy is automated, controlled by someone else like a building manager or landlord, or is required to be kept on for other reasons like safety. It may not be as simple as flicking a switch, but this could be a good chance to start a conversation around office energy – and a lightbulb moment may well follow.
By Patrick Bapty