Get Set for Positive Energy Challenge
published 24th March 2025
Tom Daley goes back to school for energy saving tips
When it comes to energy-saving tips the next generation has plenty to say. So, as part of the Get Set for Positive Energy scheme, we asked kids from across the UK to put their heads together to come up with the best ways to help us all save energy and do our bit for a greener, fairer future.
To make sure we adults are listening and to help spread the word, we called in someone who knows how to learn new skills and rise to a challenge, Olympic champion and British Gas ambassador Tom Daley. He learned a bit more than he bargained for, but more on that later.
Learning about energy habits from Gen Alpha
Get Set for Positive Energy is an education programme, in partnership with Team GB and ParalympicsGB, that aims to educate children and communities on the importance of energy habits for a sustainable future.
We wanted to find out how much adults are learning from young people on all things sustainable, so we interviewed 2,000 parents of 5-17-year-olds to see who rules the green roost in their homes. We found that:
- 70% still need to make improvements when it comes to being energy efficient
- 21% think their children keep them in check with sustainability habits
- 56% get called out by their children for habits such as leaving taps running
- A fifth of parents said sustainability habits in their home were driven by their kids aged as young as five.
Every day’s a school day for saving energy
To get right to the heart of the matter, we sent Tom back to school for a crash course in energy-saving, taught by the real experts - the kids! From easy-to-incorporate actions to some brutal honesty about adult habits, they didn’t hold back.
We caught the day on film so you can learn from them too.
Gen Alpha’s top green energy issues
After a full day back at school, Tom learned one important thing: kids know how to save energy, and they’ve got plenty to say about it.
From simple everyday swaps to imaginative solutions, here are the top 10 non-green habits that parents get called out on by their children.
- Leaving lights on
- Throwing recyclable items in the bin
- Leaving taps running
- Wasting food
- Taking long showers
- Eating too much meat
- Leaving chargers plugged in
- Leaving appliances on standby
- Excessive use of single-use plastics
- Washing laundry on a high temperature
Cut the yap, turn off the tap
Gen Alpha's top energy saving tips
Tom showed us how to ‘slay’ the day when he went back to school, and learned that only ‘true rizzlers’ save energy! From fridge gazing to fanum tax, here are some of the tips Tom learned from his classmates, proving that every day really is a school day.
- Don't fridgegaze, my guy
- Jumper first, thermostat second - don't roast yourself
- Keep showers short, to stand tall
- Real queens turn the lights off when they leave their castle
- Slay waste, recycle
- Only boil water you need when making tea
- Unplug your phone when you're done charging
- Don't fanum tax the planet of energy, be mindful of what you use
Get Set for Positive Energy: Join the fun
Would you like your child’s school to be involved in Get Set for Positive Energy? We’re asking schools across the UK to join Olympic and Paralympic legends Tom Daley and Ellie Simmonds in pledging to make simple daily changes to save energy and join in with the Everyday Energy Competition.
Unleash their creativity to design a banner which inspires their communities to make small energy-saving changes and you could win a £5,000 British Gas Positive Energy Grant for their school. There are also 25 runners-up prizes of £500 British Gas Positive Energy Grants for their schools.