Liberal Democrat environment spokesman in the European Parliament
"I wholeheartedly support the Close the Door campaign and the work it is doing to persuade retailers to close their doors against energy waste. Estimates suggest that shops waste around £300 million each year because their doors are left open. Many could slash their energy bills by 20-25% if they closed them. The excess use of energy is also contributing to climate change but could be solved by simply shutting the door and keeping the heat or air conditioning in. I have heard both shop staff and customers complaining on windy days about icy air whistling in through open doors. The policy is madness and I hope retailers will wake up to the waste.
Open doors are intended to entice customers to step inside. But with the United Nations predicting that billions will suffer from the effects of global warming it is morally indefensible to waste energy in this way."
