Open Credo
Key facts on Open Credo
| Building type | Commercial office |
| Built | 1960s |
| Size | 386 sqm |
| Total employees | 29 |
| Tenure | Leasehold |
| Sector | Information technology |
Based in London’s Bankside and founded in 2009, Open Credo offers technical consulting services, focusing on the cloud, data engineering, and platform engineering.
The Better Bankside Business Improvement District (BID) connected Open Credo with the Business Climate Challenge (BCC), which they saw as an opportunity to pursue their environmental goals in a data-driven way and better reflect their climate-conscious employees’ values. “When the BCC came up, it was a perfect marriage,” James Bowkett, Open Credo’s Technical Delivery Director, said.
Business Climate Challenge journey
Open Credo had previously taken steps to implement environmentally-friendly practices.
In 2022, the company published a Carbon Reduction Plan, breaking down its emissions across business travel, employee commuting, distribution, and operational waste; and setting an ambitious 21 per cent emissions reduction target by 2026.
The team’s actions included increasing recycling, partnering with environmentally-friendly businesses on catering and deliveries, and launching supplier audits to ensure environmentally-friendly purchases.
Energy and building improvements
Open Credo highlighted the BCC’s data-rich energy audit and trainings as particularly valuable. The programme’s behaviour change training in particular helped to boost momentum for climate initiatives company-wide.
The BCC created a non-competitive community where every participant could benefit.
Open Credo’s audit recommendation report has already driven action. Particularly compelling was the finding that no- and low-cost actions could provide significant energy savings.
Now, Open Credo has increased the temperature setpoint in their on-site server room, adjusted HVAC controls, and installed timer controls on its boiling water machine and water cooler. And, while the business had already converted to LED lighting across the office, it has implemented sensors in all meeting rooms to reduce lighting use when the spaces are unoccupied.
Open Credo values being able to view detailed data on their workplace energy use through the IO-Gen energy management dashboard available to BCC participants. Now, the company relies on the dashboard to see and diagnose unusual spikes in energy use. Emily O’Brien, Open Credo’s Office Manager and HR Executive, also regularly publishes energy consumption data to get employees engaged.
Business Climate Challenge priority recommendations
- Increase server room temperature point.
- Adjust settings on heating/cooling controllers.
- Install timer controls on boiling tap and water cooler.
- Install passive, infrared sensors on lighting system.
Total Potential Energy Savings: 23 per cent per annum.
Energy efficiency isn’t core to what we do, so it’s hard to know where to start if you don’t have the expertise…having the BCC give us a list of steps we could then shake down into a strategy was huge.
Next steps
- Continuing conversations with building management about potential building-wide upgrades, like installing rooftop solar panels, reviewing the energy supplier, and shifting to a low carbon heating source.
- Developing policies to ensure sustainability is considered in all aspects of procurement. (Open Credo recently changed its soft drinks supplier to secure more ethically sourced products).
- Encouraging staff to adopt sustainable energy practices through lunch-and-learn events, and a new Slack channel for staff to share climate topics.
- Exploring carbon offsetting as a tool to address the business’s unavoidable energy use from computers.
The BCC has been a real catalyst to elevate the importance of energy efficiency internally…It’s been eye-opening to see just how involved employees want to be, which makes it a lot easier to then justify spending money on initiatives going forward.