21/08/2018 (Agence Europe) – According to the latest report of the European Patent Office (EPO), published on Friday 17 August, the agency cut its electricity consumption by 3.1% across its four sites during 2017, its CO2 emissions by 3.8% and its water consumption by 5.6%. The report states that the organisation has fitted electric charging stations to reduce its carbon footprint and continues to lay emphasis on patents for technologies aiming to mitigate and adapt to climate change. In the foreword to the report, the former president of the EPO explains that the agency is implementing an action programme for the years 2018 and 2019 to reduce its ecological footprint, for instance by means of its new building in The Hague, which was inaugurated in June of this year (see EUROPE 12051). The report is available in full at https://bit.ly/2MS8KW5 . (PH)