Close the Door Blog

Close the Door in the Guardian and on "You and Yours" Radio 4

2010-01-08T12:38:00.004Z

See Leo Hickman on Close the Door in The Guardian on 23 December 2009.

On the same day, "You and Yours" Radio 4 also broadcast a piece on CtD.

CtD Twitter campaign please do your bit

2010-01-08T12:12:00.009Z

Our Twitter campaign has taken off and has been taken up by the 10:10 campaign, the Guardian and other environmental commentators. Join the debate at www.twitter.com to spread the word or re-tweet (RT) existing messages that can be found by searching on #closethedoor. Anyone not already using twitter can go to Youtube and the short Twitter in Plain English clip. We also have a Close the Door group on Facebook that you can join to show your support and where you can add photos of offending retailers.

Photos of open doors in the snow please

2009-12-20T21:12:00.003Z

Please send in any really good pictures of open store doors with snow on the ground outside to info@closethedoor.org.uk Featuring the store sign if possible.

Your input needed

2009-12-20T21:06:00.002Z

Please, please politely ask store staff - or even better the manager - to close their doors where you find them open. In this incredibly cold weather there is just no excuse for keeping them open and requests of this sort do get taken seriously and are often reported to Head Offices. Best of all, close doors where you find them open.

Radio 4, You and Yours, interview

2009-12-20T21:01:00.004Z

Sian recorded an interview in Cambridge last week for Radio 4, You and Yours. Watch this blog for timing of the broadcast.

Carbon Trust in collaboration with CtD

2009-12-20T20:55:00.003Z

The Carbon Trust and CtD are now collaborating. This will be hugely useful for both parties we hope!

Carbon Trust and British Retail Consortium join project steering group

2009-12-20T20:51:00.004Z

The Carbon Trust and BRC are to be represented on the steering group for the CtD independent research project in Cambridge University.

Independent Research Project for CtD with University of Cambridge

2009-12-20T20:39:00.007Z

In the late summer the Esmee Fairburn Foundation agreed to fund Close the Door to run an independent research project with the University of Cambridge Engineering Department on quantitative hard data gathering on energy lost through open doors - a huge step forward with potentially very wide application. The research has now begun - it looks very exciting, using cutting edge technology. We've had requests for the data from Europe, Canada and the States as well as the UK.

York City takes off

2009-12-20T20:34:00.004Z

Ann Petherick and Dr David Medio won a grant from York City Council this autumn to start work in earnest on Close the Door in York.

CEN Environment Agency sponsored Award for Close the Door.

2008-12-09T16:29:00.000Z

on Dec 8th 2008 Close the Door won the Environmental Achievement Award at the Cambridge News Community Awards evening . This award was sponsored by the Environment Agency and came with an offer of help and support from Dr Geoff Brighty and his team, who kindly came to Cambridge for the presentation. We are just delighted and our very great thanks go to them, and to Tom Bircham, Colin Grant and all those at the Cambridge News who made this splendid event possible.

More publicity at Christmas

2008-12-04T17:35:00.000Z

Cambridge C C publications 'Love Shopping' and 'Cambridge Matters' carried articles on Close the Door for the Christmas Editions. Distributed throughout the City these are a great way of getting the message to shops and customers alike. Thanks so much to Helen Witherington, Emma Thornton and Helen Green.

Peter Hanson on BBC Radio Devon 2/12/08

2008-12-02T17:29:00.000Z

Peter Hanson for Close the Door for Exeter gave a long interview for the campaign for BBC Radio Devon Countywide Breakfast Show. Sterling work for spreading the word!

Close the Door starts in York on Nov 17

2008-11-17T17:02:00.000Z

Sian and Jeannie visited York at the invitation of Ann Petherick and Dr David Medio to launch the campaign there. The Leader of York City Council, Andrew Waller, has given his support and the City Council has been very helpful. The campaign was covered by articles in the Yorkshire Post and York Press. It's looking good.

Three Counties Radio

2008-11-16T12:45:00.001Z

Three Counties Radio (covering Beds, Herts and Bucks) did a long phone interview on their breakfast show on the 11th. Listen to it below...

National publicity on Radio 5 Live

2008-11-16T12:38:00.002Z

On Monday 10th, Jeannie was interviewed on Radio 5 Live's breakfast show, which you can listen to by clicking play below...

The campaign starts in Westminster 6/11/08

2008-11-09T18:44:00.002Z

Margaret and Jeannie joined Julia Boyd in Westminster to start work on the campaign on Thursday 6th November.

Daily Telegraph letters to the editor Nov 5th

2008-11-09T18:12:00.005Z

We were in the Daily Telegraph Letters to the Editor on November 5th, of all days! In the words of the President Elect 'change is coming'.

Read it here - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/11/05/nosplit/dt0501.xml#head7

Country Casuals are closing their doors!

2008-10-29T19:48:00.003Z

Country Casuals stores are now to close store doors when using heating or air con. Please support them! The Cambridge store used to be unpleasantly cold and drafty with an overhead heating inside the store working overtime in winter - the clothes near the door were clammy! Not any more.

private members bill for CtD

2008-10-29T19:44:00.002Z

David Howarth MP is putting forward a private members bill for CtD at the end of the year to raise the profile further. This follows new legislation by Mayor Bloomberg in New York on closing doors in the retail sector to save energy - we hope to go one step more.

Northallerton joins up

2008-10-29T19:24:00.003Z

Really fantastic news that Peter Hale of Climate Concern, www.climateconcern.com, and Northallerton Climate Action has taken on Northallerton for Close the Door - he's a great contributor of ideas to the main campaign and big help with an impressive long term involvement in sustainability issues. The Northallerton page will be up soon, along with Norwich, St Albans, Chelmsford and Exeter.

2008-10-29T19:06:00.005Z

Hi everybody, despite the long misleading silence a lot has gone on over the summer. Prof Sir David King has endorsed the campaign with:

I fully support Close the Door as there is an urgent need to do everything we can to reduce carbon emissions. UK business is in many ways prepared to lead the way and in asking retailers to close their door while using heating or air conditioning, this campaign addresses an area of waste that we often overlook. It is an easy and effective way to cut energy waste and I encourage both retailers and customers to support it.

and cross party support has continued - see these:

"I am delighted that this initiative represents one of many good and innovative ideas coming out of the region I represent. It is absolutely critical that we all pay attention to reducing energy use
and emissions. Retailers who keep their doors open while heating or cooling the store are wasting significant amounts of energy. Whether retailers or customers, we can stop this by simply closing the shop door. It is that easy. Excuses based on tempting customers into shops through open doors are not acceptable or sensible in this time of global warming and fuel crisis. The campaign started in Cambridge which now has over 250 stores of all sizes keeping the door closed, and other cities are following. Keeping the door closed against energy waste clearly need
not cause retail hardship.
Please join me in supporting the Close the Door campaign "
Andrew Lansley MP

" It is crucial that we all act to prevent energy waste wherever possible. No one heats their home and leaves the doors and windows wide open and yet we tend to overlook what happens in shops. Keeping the door closed while energy is being used to heat or cool a shop is
easy, effective and common sense. Not doing so is wholly irresponsible. We all have a part to play in this whether working in the retail sector or as customers. I encourage everyone to join me in lending support to the Close the Door Campaign "
Charles Clarke MP

"I fully support the Close the Door Campaign, and am very pleased to see Exeter at the forefront of another good campaign. I hope this will encourage the retail sector and customers alike to act responsibly in keeping doors closed while energy is being used to heat/cool a store. Preventing energy waste is critical to us all, and this is an easy and effective step at very little inconvenience. Please support those shops which close their doors to conserve energy"
Ben Bradshaw MP

Statement from David Howarth MP

2008-04-23T09:28:00.003Z

And more support! David Howarth MP for Cambridge states:

I thoroughly support the aims and objectives of the Close the Door campaign and their work to persuade retailers to keep their doors closed when using energy to heat or cool shops.

"We now live in a situation where energy waste is simply not acceptable. Climate change is no longer in question, and with major aid agencies and the UN predicting wide scale human suffering and food shortages from global warming, we have to pay urgent attention to avoiding energy waste.

"By closing doors while using energy, retailers will also reduce their bills. Many shops already do this. Concerns about enticing customers in should be met by means other than leaving the door open in all conditions. Close the Door is a simple idea that makes a very real difference.

"The Close the Door campaign started in Cambridge and is now rolling out to other cities. This is a good example of the many exciting new ideas of vision that come out of this region. Please follow me in supporting the campaign whether you use shops as a consumer, or work in the retail industry. It makes sense for all of us."

More coverage from the north of England

2008-04-18T08:41:00.001Z

Another article about close the door! Once again with thanks to the efforts of Chris Davies MEP:
<http://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/community/8377/euromp-in-appeal-to-shops-to-%E2%80%98shut-that-door%E2%80%99>

Manchester Evening News coverage

2008-04-17T08:29:00.000Z

The word is travelling north - take a look at this
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1045408_shops_urged_to_shut_that_door

support at MEP level

2008-04-16T08:25:00.001Z

"I wholeheartedly support the Close the Door campaign and the work it is doing to persuade retailers to close their doors against energy waste.

Estimates suggest that shops waste around £300 million each year because their doors are left open. Many could slash their energy bills by 20-25% if they closed them. The excess use of energy is also contributing to climate change but could be solved by simply shutting the door and keeping the heat or air conditioning in. I have heard both shop staff and customers complaining on windy days about icy air whistling in through open doors. The policy is madness and I hope retailers will wake up to the waste.

Open doors are intended to entice customers to step inside. But with the United Nations predicting that billions will suffer from the effects of global warming it is morally indefensible to waste energy in this way."

Euro-MP Chris Davies, Liberal Democrat environment spokesman in the European Parliament.