National Sweater Day success! How one company took it above and beyond

National Sweater Day was a success!
Based on the response we got from hundreds of participants and supporters, we know that we as a group lowered our thermostats, turned up our sweaters and raised awareness about energy conservation.  Thank you to everyone who participated – whether it was by donning a funky sweater at your office or school or mobilizing a group of people to take action – every bit helps.
One exceptionally noteworthy participant that we would like to tell you about was Accenture, whose efforts blew us away. Across North America, Accenture employees were asked to participate by modifying office temperature settings by 3 degrees Celsius / 5 degrees Fahrenheit. Those offices in milder climates were asked to work with their building management to modify temperature settings to reduce air conditioning.
“We did the first Sweater Day last year as part of WWF’s Living Planet @ Work program and it was just a really fun event,” said Alicia Nixon, Canadian Environmental Lead at Accenture. “ It was  well-received by our employees and an interesting way to get people involved, rather than the typical things you do in an office. It had a different feel to it and people got really big kick out of it.”

The WWF-Toronto Staff on National Sweater Day, February 9. (c) Robert Poulton, WWF-Canada

The majority of the offices contacted this year confirmed their participation, while some locations could not take part due to complexities in their building temperature management equipment.In addition to that, employees had the opportunity to submit their Sweater Day photo into their North America Sweater Day Photo Contest, for a chance to win prizes based on employee votes. Some offices even set up photo booths for those who forgot to bring a camera. An added bonus? Their Toronto West office employees were able to wear jeans on Sweater Day for a small donation to World Wildlife Fund Canada. Needless to say, they did Sweater Day in a big way.
“The best part about all this is that while it is a fun event, people really appreciate that we are doing this because it is for a good cause and for good reason – the environment, said Nixon. “People are proud to be part of a company that is doing this kind of initiative.”
And we at WWF loved hearing about it!
Did your school or office participate? Tell us how in the comment section below.