For the first time today, consumers across the UK are being urged to switch off all gadgets in a concerted effort to stop wasting electricity.

It comes after research revealed "digitally dependent" Britons are wasting 14.1 billion energy hours every year by needlessly charging mobile phones.

Environment leaders have today called on city residents to set down a marker which will bolster Peterborough's credentials as a green trailblazer.

An Environment City since 1992 and already home to the largest concentration of green businesses in the country, Peterborough is now striving to be the UK's environment capital.

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Chief executive of Peterborough Environment City Trust, Hugh Cripps said: "It is a chance to show that Peterborough, as a city, is aware of the environment.

"On a wider scale, it is about saving mankind.

"Individual efforts may only be small increments, but if millions of people make small changes, much can be achieved."

As part of "E-day", residents are being encouraged to only charge electronic gadgets, such as mobile phones, MP3 players and laptop computers, when necessary.

In one glaring indication of 21st century society, research has revealed that although a typical mobile phone requires no more than two hours of charging, 29 per cent of people admit to charging phones for between three and 24 hours a day.

Paul Keymer, from the Greater Peterborough Partnership – the organisation behind the city's environment capital bid – added: "Reducing needless energy consumption will make sure that our aspiration to become an environmental capital becomes a reality, rather than a dream.

"There is a responsibility within the council, statutory bodies and businesses, but people can also make a difference."

Director of Consumer Policy at uSwitch.com Ann Robinson, who came up with the figures, said: "We are increasingly dependent on technology, and this is coming at a high cost to ourselves and the planet.

"If we become more aware of the electricity we use, we can work towards reducing our bills and our impact on the environment.

"Our behaviour has yet to catch up with technology. We need to understand how to use our gadgets in a responsible and energy efficient way, and learn to avoid wasting energy by needlessly charging up or leaving things on stand-by."

ET Comment: Lazy behaviour is draining the planet's resources

We live in a gadget-crazy era, where we all enjoy having a welter of electronic gizmos – whether they are essential or not.

Some might say we've gone digitally daft. But, there are few homes without laptop computers, mobile phones, MP3 players, games consoles, and televisions that are constantly on stand-by, when not actually on. And we just can't live without them. Apparently.

If pressed, most people would probably own up to leaving their laptop plugged in with the battery constantly charging, and to leaving their mobile phone on charge for hours, or even all night. The point is, however, that these casual habits are all adding to a thirst for power, and a drain on resources. It just isn't helping the planet.

Today, we've had a reminder from the "E-day" campaign that we need to stop wasting electricity in this way. We should not take energy for granted and start treating it as the precious resource that is, and remember to switch-off.