Case Study: Saving Energy in Argentina

The Walt Disney Company Argentina established a plan to reduce energy consumption as a response to Argentina's Energy Secretary's request for winter season energy reductions. The plan introduced many unique initiatives including the following examples:

• Employees were encouraged to voluntarily start work an hour earlier in order to make better use of day light; instead of working standard hours from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., employees could work from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Employees adjusted heating and air conditioning temperatures and reduced length of thermostat operating times.
• Email reminders were sent to employees to turn off lights in meeting rooms, offices and cubicles, in addition to turning off electric equipment when not in use.
• Two of four elevators were turned off.
• Water dispensers and boiling water tanks were set to automatically turn off and on at appropriate times.
• Sensors were installed to automatically turn off lights.

Via these initiatives, energy savings reached 10 percent from July to October. Due to the success of the initiative, employees decided to extend the length of the plan indefinitely.