Product category:
Building Energy Efficiency and Sustainability
News Release from: Low Carbon Innovation Network | Subject: Scheme for saving energy
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 25 July 2007
Council scheme for saving energy taken
seriously
When it comes to reducing carbon and saving energy, Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, takes a holistic approach.
Case study - Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council The Council's reward scheme for suggestions for saving energy is always taken very seriously
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 16 May 2007 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
Collaborating to reduce carbon emissions
UK organisations are leading the way in taking a collaborative approach to reducing carbon emissions, according to membership figures released by the Low Carbon Innovation Network.
Helping NHS Trusts reduce carbon emissions
Survey to discuss NHS Trusts opinions on government targets of a 15% reduction in carbon emissions by 2010.
When it comes to reducing carbon and saving energy, Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, takes a holistic approach.
Across most Council functions for example, teams carry out reviews of energy consumption activity.
But this means the Environmental team must be even more on guard than usual to not duplicate work, according to the Council's Corporate Environmental Manager David Rhodes.
Further reading
Staff awareness at forefront in tackling climate
Low Carbon Innovation Network provide an eight-step guide on raising staff awareness, based upon experience from members of this unique best practice network.
Ford reports reduction in global energy use
Car manufacturer Ford reports a reduction in global energy use by 27 percent and water use by more than 25 percent since 2000.
Simple ways of reducing office carbon footprint
The Environmental team at Legal and General's Birmingham site have experienced recent success in reducing energy use by working with their staff.
Much of his time currently is occupied with awareness-raising in schools.
The Environment team is operating a pilot project involving three schools for which Rhodes and his team regularly make presentations, or "education sessions" to pupils, teachers and governors at schools.
And as part of the pilot, pupils are now beginning to identify their own carbon footprint and develop a programme of improvement as part of the curriculum.
Last year the Council ran 3,000 awareness raising sessions in total.
But there is a fine balance to be struck when raising awareness of environmental issues.
"People seem to be getting sick of having climate change shoved down their throat".
"We're changing tact and promoting it through resource efficiencies," says Rhodes.
The Council has a reward scheme, promoted via newsletters and the intranet, for the best suggestions for saving energy and offers financial incentives from GBP25 to GBP500.
Ideas are reviewed by a panel including the Chief Executive and employees.
"It's always taken very seriously," says Rhodes.
But there are many changes afoot that may present challenges to the Council's Environment Team.
Many of Rotherham's buildings are soon to be demolished to make way for new developments and other council properties such as the crematorium and the leisure centre are to be swallowed up by a Private Finance Initiative (PFI).
For this reason, says Rhodes, when it comes to creating energy efficiencies from Council buildings one of the barriers is "finding an area to improve energy efficiency and get a decent payback," he says.
"It's got to be financially viable" Added to this, two key pieces of regulation are soon set to change or to expand to include local authorities.
The new Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) from Defra - formerly called the Energy Performance Commitment - suggests five new members of staff should be appointed to carry out CRC targets.
Rhodes says this boost to staff numbers will be extremely welcome.
The Commitment, which is under consultation until October 2007, was announced in the Energy White Paper 2007 and will apply mandatory emissions trading to cut carbon emissions from large commercial and public sector organisations by 1.1 Million tonnes of Carbon per year by 2020.
And Councils' Comprehensive Performance Assessments (CPA), an Audit Office compulsory scheme to increase accountability of local authority budget spending, is set to expand to include environmental management assessment, says Rhodes.
"This will identify where people are non-compliant," he says.
In the near future, Rotherham plans to publish a Climate Change Action Plan to be overseen by the Chief Executive's office and will expand the Council's environmental remit to include waste management, fleet and will even look at emergency planning.
Meanwhile, Rotherham's Carbon Trust Carbon Management Plan which has bolstered carbon reduction initiatives such as street lighting efficiency and is soon to include fleet and private transport has been put on hold while Rhodes concentrates on compiling a report to the Carbon Management Trust.
His team is preparing to sign up to the Energy Saving Trust's Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change which allows local authorities to declare their commitment to the environment.
"Previously we looked at the Nottingham Declaration and thought it didn't mean a great deal".
"But we've looked into it more and now we're pushing at the highest level - not just looking at our own buildings but to the community.".
• Low Carbon Innovation Network: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Buildingtalk email newsletter
• Buildingtalk Home Page
Search the Pro-Talk network of sites
