'Casual day at the office' helps combat climate change, says Spanish president

DRESSING down at work is healthy for the planet – during heatwaves, at least – and Spain's president Pedro Sánchez hopes others will follow his own example.

Interviewed live during a political conference this week, Sánchez, 50, was shown on TV without his tie, and with the top buttons of his shirt undone – although he still wore a blue suit jacket, unbuttoned, over the top.

“I've asked ministers and other key public workers not to wear a tie unless they think it's necessary,” Sánchez explained, saying he would not be wearing one either for the rest of the summer.

“Because, that way, we'll be doing our bit towards saving energy.”

Sánchez urges private-sector companies to relax office dress codes, too, and allow workers to dispense with ties and undo their top buttons, take their jackets off and even roll their sleeves up.

This way, he argues, they will not get so hot, and do not need to have the air-conditioning on so high.

Spain has set itself the task – and is trying to convince the public to do so, too – of reducing its gas consumption by 7%.

The European Union has instructed member States to cut their gas use by 15%, but the south of the continent is largely exempt from this mandatory move – partly due to getting their gas from sources other than Russia, and partly due to summers in the region being habitually hot and humid, meaning it is difficult to save energy when the alternative would come at a cost to human health and productivity.

Taking off ties and unbuttoning shirt collars will ‘help reduce energy bills and dependence on Russian gas’, and 'flatten the curve' of the hyper-inflation seen throughout Europe, Sánchez says.

The idea, though, is not a 'Sánchez original': Back in 2005, Japan's environment minister launched a CO2-cutting campaign in order to meet 2010 Kyoto Protocol objectives, which included allowing indoor daytime temperatures in summer to creep up to 28ºC and dressing in a more casual style with lighter clothing.

Ditching ties for summer was specifically advocated by the Japanese minister, who pointed out that, although considered a formal dress accessory, these items were originally designed to keep workers' necks warm in winter.

The very idea of informal officewear sparked resistance and heated controversy, especially among the more conservative sectors, in Japan and worldwide – even within the same political parties.

In 2008, MP Miguel Sebastián, head of industry under socialist president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, attended a Council of Ministers in summer without a tie, and was reproached for doing so by Parliamentary chairman and fellow socialist José Bono, who said it was 'unprofessional' and made it look as though the Cabinet was affording itself special treatment not given to members of the Lower Chamber.

Miguel Sebastián tweeted this week, after Pedro Sánchez's tie-less appearance: “12 years on [sic – 2008 is 14 years ago] yes, you can save energy [through dressing down]. Good for the GDP, good for inflation, good for the environment.”