Close the Door in Kings Heath has been pretty successful and we’ve had a very positive response from shopkeepers. We have managed to get 24 independent shops to sign up to the campaign so far. There are a further 18 that are undecided, so we left them with leaflets to mull over and will follow these up at a later date.
The remaining shops in Kings Heath are the ubiquitous chain stores that have national policies from head offices which deem from on high that all doors must be left open regardless of energy consumption, regardless of CO2 emissions and regardless of the comfort of shopkeepers and shoppers alike. Issues like whether these stores can keep their doors closed are far too important to leave to the discretion of store managers, so we have to deal with the big boys differently.
Fortunately some great work is being done by the campaign’s founders at Cambridge Close the Door. They have more or less got the independent shops in the town sown up so are able to now focus on nationwide high street shops. So far they have persuaded the likes of M&S, Tesco, John Lewis, Vodaphone, Wickes and Boots to support the campaign. This process is ongoing and hopefully the more stores that sign up, the more unacceptable it will become for stores to leave doors open when using heating or air conditioning.
Costa is the first coffee shop to come into the campaign nationwide – they are putting up their own customised Close the Door stickers now, and are implementing the policy wholeheartedly. This is what they have to say:
“Having the door closed saves on carbon emissions as well as providing cost savings that we can pass on to our customers. It is also fundamental to the warm and welcoming environment which our customers love, as well as ensuring our staff are kept comfortable.” It appears that the penny is starting to drop!
The next step for Birmingham Close the Door is to generate some positive publicity around the campaign to raise awareness of CtD in the city. We will also be spreading the word in Moseley, so if you live in the area, or have a couple of hours to spare on Saturday mornings please do get involved!
Contact Robert Pass: birmingham@closethedoor.org.uk
