Hyosung encourages ‘cool-biz attire’ for employees, breaking free from ‘office looks’ usually associated with ties and jackets, in an effort to reduce power consumption by air-conditioning and enhance work performance, starting in early June. Considering global warming and the prolonged summer period, the company dramatically extended the period of ‘cool-biz attire’ which was limited to July and August last year, to the end of September. The idea behind the casual dress code is to improve work efficiency and save energy by restricting use of air-conditioning and cooling systems, by allowing employees to wear casual and cool dress at work.
As employees started to wear shorts and short-sleeve shirts, the office atmosphere has brightened. Kim Bo-rim of the Support Division Organization Management Team who joined the ‘cool-biz attire’ campaign for the first time as a new employee said, “Since not just the employees but also the executives work with no tie and in short-sleeve shirts, the communication between superior and subordinate officers has become much more vibrant. The casual dress code offers the effect of killing two birds with one stone, given that we can beat the heat and save electricity.”
In the same vein, the company also introduced ‘calorie stairs,’ indicating calories consumed while ascending and descending stairs. Walking up five floors using the stairs can burn about 40kcal. Since the ‘calorie stairs’ were installed in the company, many female employees started to use them. With this measure, the company can reduce electricity consumption arising from to the use of elevators.
Also, the company is making efforts to reduce power consumption in daily living by implementing collectively turning off lights during lunch time, turning off lights in non-business areas including corridors and shifting computers to low power mode. It will further expand the consensus of the employees regarding the power saving campaign through an in-house open competition for ‘ideas to save energy.’
