BT Smarter Living Challenge uncovers steps to sustainable living

BT has announced the results of its Smarter Living Challenge, which highlights the powerful impact UK households can have on their carbon emissions by using technology to support simple sustainable lifestyle changes.

Run in partnership with environmental charity Hubbub, the Smarter Living Challenge invited consumers and BT colleagues from 61 diverse households to take part in a three-month pilot to trial different approaches to living more sustainably at home.

Participants were set regular challenges and supported with help and advice from experts to help them reduce their heating and hot water usage; manage their power and lighting; and to reduce food waste. The project also looked to identify where technology could be used to improve these actions or make them easier to carry out.

55 households completed the challenge, taking a total of 448 actions to reduce their environmental impact, including switching to new renewable energy providers, turning the thermostat down one degree and repairing old technology items.

Based on the participants’ progress, seven high-impact actions were identified which included

Switching to a renewable energy provider/ tariff
Turning thermostat down one degree
Turning appliances you don’t use from ‘standby’ to ‘off’
Cycling or walking for shorter journeys
Reducing food waste
Repairing old tech items
Having shorter showers

If these seven actions were adopted on a sustained basis, an average household could save £9381 on their bills and up to 1.7 tonnes of CO2e per year1, helping to support the carbon reduction required of households in line with the UK Government’s commitment for the country to become net-zero on carbon emissions by 20502.

As part of plans to reach net zero by 2045, BT is already using 100% renewable electricity worldwide, which means consumers who buy mobile or broadband from EE, BT or Plusnet are already supplied by networks that are powered by 100% clean power.

Andy Wales, Chief Digital Impact & Sustainability Officer at BT said: “With a customer base of 30 million households, BT is well placed to help consumers cut their carbon footprint, and through our technology and networks, we’ll help to underpin the innovative solutions needed to become a net zero carbon economy.

“The Smarter Living Challenge has shown that UK households have an important part to play in fighting climate change, and when combined, small sustainable lifestyle changes can make a big difference.

“Over the coming months we’ll be stepping up our efforts to help support, educate and empower our customers to take action.”

The results of the Smarter Living Challenge revealed the important role technology has in making the household shift to sustainability easier. The study found technology helped participants to better visualise and cut energy usage and costs; prompted them to manage their food and water use, and online forums helped households to share tips, ask questions and celebrate one another’s successes.

Gavin Ellis, Director and Co-Founder of Hubbub, said: “The trial showed that tech alone isn’t the silver bullet to household carbon emissions, but when applied alongside more conventional non-tech actions and behaviours it proved to be highly effective and more than three quarters of participants say they plan to stick with the changes they’ve made.

“Technology was often the enabler for people to make changes, and while some of the available technology is expensive, we found many free or entry-level options which every household could benefit from. Taking part helped households to save time and money, as well as gaining greater control of their homes.”

In the run up to climate talks later this year, BT is calling on other companies to meaningfully engage with their customers, colleagues and suppliers about climate change and has developed a seven step guide to help steer the conversation.