Save energy, say no to neckties!

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/c51e9b56-2d79-11dc-939b-0000779fd2ac.html

The was recently a surprisingly unsurprising comment from those in Brussels about a way to cut carbon emissions in the EU. European Commission is known for being anal and ultra-detail oriented when it comes to the EU... Anyone remember their famous list of measurements on what qualifies for a "button mushroom" sold in RU member states? Probably not, good for you.

They want to encourage (or force) offices to have a casual business attire policy to discourage the use of neckties, so that offices can raise the temperature of their A/C therefore use less energy during summer months and therefore create less carbon emissions.

Of course the EC offices don't intend to have the same policy apply to their offices, but who knows maybe they'll join their own bandwagon.

I'm not sure what I think about business casual for all offices. I'm a bit of a traditionalist, I prefer man in an office with a tie or jacket on. (Women, too!) I think dressing more formally naturally creates a work environment of stuffy professionalism. If, however, dropping the social and business custom of the necktie means less energy use during the summer -- I'm in favor of it. I suppose the necktie (a distant descendant of the napkin/bib anyway) could be replaced with something else fashionable... like saving money on your energy bills!