B&Q Launches 'Body Warming Not Global Warming' Limited Edition Sweatshirts

B&Q has teamed up with British designer Wayne Hemingway and HemingwayDesign to help raise awareness of the impact we are having on our planet.  As part of its commitment to One Planet Living[1], B&Q is launching 'Body Warming Not Global Warming'. As 2008 is set to be colder than recent years[2], people will be leaving their heating on longer this Spring, which is why B&Q is asking everyone to save energy by turning down their heating by 1°C, and keep warm by pulling on a jumper instead.

To launch 'Body Warming Not Global Warming', HemingwayDesign has created a range of limited edition sweatshirts exclusively for B&Q.  To find out how to get one of HemingwayDesign's must-have slogan sweatshirts, consumers can log onto www.diy.com/oneplanetliving between 4th - 26th April 2008.

As part of 'Body Warming Not Global Warming', B&Q has commissioned new research[3] looking at society's attitude to the environment.  The research reveals that Brits fall into four distinct shades of green, from passionately environmentally conscious 'Green Bloods' to 'Green-a-bees', who don't believe the hype.  However, the results demonstrate that each group wants to take steps towards living more sustainable lives, with nearly two thirds (64%) of homeowners already changing to energy efficiency light bulbs, and one in five (20%) willing to spend over a week making energy efficient improvements to their homes.

If every household in the UK turned down their heating by 1°C, they would not only reduce their heating bills by 10% but also save 7.6 million tones of CO2 emissions in one year - enough greenhouse gas to fill Wembley Stadium a staggering 970 times[4]. The HemingwayDesign sweatshirts feature a number of other energy efficiency hints and tips such as 'insulate your loft' and 'share a bath or shower to show how easy it is to make a difference.

Jo Kenrick from B&Q says "With our homes responsible for over a quarter of the UK's total carbon dioxide emissions, it is essential to increase sustainability in the home. B&Q is proud to be working with Wayne Hemingway to encourage people to turn down their heating this Spring and make small and affordable sustainable updates to their homes.  As part of its commitment to One Planet Living, B&Q offers a huge range of sustainable products, with everything from eco-wool insulation to solar panels and FSC flooring, making it easy and affordable for everyone to make a difference".
Wayne Hemingway says: "It's interesting to see such diverse attitudes to sustainability and the environment amongst British society - what's reassuring is that the majority of people do want to make changes to help the environment.  People who wear our 'Body Warming Not Global Warming' sweatshirt are showing their commitment to do their bit towards saving our planet and keeping the chill off to boot!"

The UK's four distinct shades of green:

Hippy Greeners
'Hippy Greeners' represent the biggest tribe, at 45% of British homeowners. Like Lily Allen, Denise Van Outen or Tracy Emin this group is creative and arty to the core, and are always creating new things out of old. They see themselves as moderately environmentally conscious and feel they could do more, even though 69% have insulated their lofts, 57% have replaced all their lightbulbs with energy efficient bulbs, and 51% have a water butt in their garden. This group ranges broadly in age, and is just as likely to be male as female.  One in five is considering micro generation for their homes, and one in five is planning to replace their boiler.  The energy efficiency rating of a property is very important to this group, and over half would pay up to £6,000 extra for an energy efficient home.
- Members of this tribe love recycling and are likely to make new cushions out of old curtains and will mix and match products to create their own bespoke designs.
- Hippy Greeners may also collect their rainwater via water butts in the garden, recycle their food leftovers with a compost bin and insulate their loft with eco wool (made from recycled bottles), all of which are available at B&Q.

Green-Bloods
'Green-Bloods' represent the second biggest group at 30% of British homeowners.  Like Kevin McCloud, Jamie Oliver and KT Tunstall, being green is a way of life for this group: nine out of ten have already insulated their lofts, a third are considering micro generation solutions for their homes, and over half have one or no car in their household.  Green-Bloods are predominantly female and tend to be older and based in the Midlands and North. They have the best understanding of the cost and value of a sustainable home, with 68% saying they would spend less than £1,000 to make green improvements, and 69% actively looking for a high energy efficiency rating when buying a new home.

- Members of this tribe will now be looking to make bigger changes to their homes, generating energy from renewable sources by installing solar panels or wind turbines, both available at B&Q.

Eco Chic-ers
15% of British homeowners are 'Eco Chic-ers'. Like Lily Cole and Keira Knightly, this group is known for wearing high fashion, and takes interior design just as seriously.  This group is young, predominantly based in London and the South-East, and tends to be more concerned about the outward appearance of a home than its environmental impact.   A third of Eco-Chicers are planning to make décor improvements to their home over the next year, while only 13% are considering installing insulation. Equally, when buying a new home this group is more likely to be put off by shabby décor (17%) than a poor energy efficiency rating (6%). 

- Eco Chic-ers will seek to combine fashion with sustainability, and will add stylish touches such as a fashionable lamp with an energy efficient bulb, eco Divine Motif Wallpaper Green or FSC flooring, all available at B&Q.

Green-a-bees
One in ten UK homeowners are 'Green-a-bees'. Like Jeremy Clarkson this group is the least environmentally friendly but is beginning to aspire to being green.  More likely to be male than female, 14% don't believe the hype about the environment, and 14% have three or more cars in their household.  Perceived expense is a major issue for this group, with 64% put off making energy efficiency changes to their homes due to cost, and one in five thinking they would need to spend up to £10,000 to improve their home's energy rating.   In fact, one in five Green-a-bees admit to having made no energy efficiency improvements at all to their home. This group is most likely to take small steps, with one in four agreeing that if they had to do one thing they would change all their bulbs to energy efficient bulbs. 

 Members of this tribe may be considering making small updates to their home, either using VOC free paints, Energy Efficient Light Bulbs or purchasing a draught excluder, all available at B&Q.

For advice on how to make your home more sustainable and to watch Hannah Sandling enter the homes of our eco tribe case studies, visit www.diy.com/oneplanetliving.

-ENDS-

For further information contact Hill and Knowlton:
Jacqueline Tolland:  020 7973 5930 / jacqueline.tolland@hillandknowlton.com
Vicky Atkins:   020 7973 5910 / vicky.atkins@hillandknowlton.com

About B&Q

 B&Q is the largest home improvement and garden centre retailer in the UK and Europe employing over 40,500 people nation-wide, 25% of whom are over 50 years of age. Across the UK, B&Q has 322 stores, including 118 B&Q Warehouses. B&Q is part of Kingfisher plc, the world's third largest home improvement retailer with over 680 stores in 11 markets in Europe and Asia. These include over 50 B&Q stores in China, including B&Q Beijing, which is now the largest B&Q store in the world.

 For more information about B&Q please go to www.diy.com/aboutus.

About Energy Saving Trust

 The Energy Saving Trust is one of the UK's leading organisations set up to mitigate the damaging effects of climate change.  It aims to cut carbon dioxide emissions - the main greenhouse gas causing climate change - by promoting the sustainable and efficient use of energy. It is the independent organisation providing advice for people to help reduce their energy use and acts as a bridge between government, consumers, trade, businesses, local authorities and the energy market.  It provides impartial information and advice and has a network of advice centres in the UK specifically designed to help consumers take action to save energy. For further advice, contact the Energy Saving Trust's network of advice centres, which offer consumers advice and information on energy efficiency. For details of your nearest centre, contact 0800 512012 or visit www.energysavingtrust.org.uk.

 [1] *B&Q has signed a three-year partnership with BioRegional to move towards being a One Planet Living business in order to reduce its impact on the world's resources.  One Planet Living is a global initiative of ten guiding principles of sustainability developed by BioRegional and WWF. The principles include: zero carbon, zero waste, sustainable transport, local and sustainable materials, local and sustainable food, sustainable water, natural habitats and wildlife, culture and heritage, equity and fair trade and health and happiness.

 [2] Source: Met Office

 [3]  The research was undertaken by ICM Research on behalf of B&Q between 22nd - 24th February 2008.  Questions were asked of a nationally representative sample of 1,503 homeowners, aged 18+.

 [4] Source: Energy Saving Trust

 

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Tags: Environment

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