Omitting emissions

The Carbon Trust is helping local authorities reduce their emissions across the UK, says its head of public sector Richard Rugg.

The amount of legislation currently forcing carbon reduction, as well as demand from a concerned public, means that it’s more important than ever for authorities to look long and hard at their carbon footprint. As Rugg points out: “The modern public sector is sensitive to brand image, just the same as the private sector is. With the likes of Display Energy Certificates making the public more aware of carbon emissions, the pressure to act is overwhelming. We’re trying to encourage customers to work with the trust to meet carbon reduction commitments and the national indicator framework for local
authorities. The big point we’re trying to push is the money saving angle. If you reduce your carbon, chances are you’re reducing your energy usage, and less energy used means less money spent, quite simply.”

Buildings are a massive part of carbon emissions for authorities, and although Rugg is sensitive to the effects of waste, travel, procurement and street lighting, among others, it is a council’s estate that is a huge, and hugely visible, source of emissions. To this end the Carbon Trust offers a design advice service for councils looking at new build or refurbishment so that they can get the very best advice in order to create the most energy efficient projects possible.

Rugg adds: “We’re lucky to have some real standard bearers out there. Authorities like Coventry and Kensington and Chelsea, who are keen not only to improve their own carbon efficiency, but also to share their targets and methods with other councils. It’s impossible to underestimate the value of raising awareness, and it’s great that leaders like these are able and willing to share achievable targets, and to demonstrate the year-on-year savings they’re making from achieving these energy efficiency targets.

Kensington and Chelsea, for example, are committed to reducing carbon emissions by 40 per cent by 2015, and this sends out a powerful signal to the rest of the sector that such reductions are possible.”

Kensington and Chelsea is achieving this massive cut through a major review of its street lighting, a refurbishment programme across its estate and a campaign to raise energy efficiency awareness among staff. It is also investing in a combined heat and power plant which will bring far more efficient use of energy to the borough. Coventry, meanwhile, is looking into many of the same areas, as well as trialling the use of electric vehicles in its fleet, and hopes to cut its own emissions by 30 per cent over the next five years.

The trust has been around for eight years now, and clearly there have been some major changes, even over such a relatively short period. Government regulation is making it much clearer what the sector should be doing, while the public is more aware of environmental issues than ever before. Whereas in the past a household, or authority, driving to cut its emissions and waste, recycle more or invest in energy efficient generation technologies would more than likely be viewed as a card-carrying member of the sandal-clad Guardianista set, such aims are increasingly the norm. Rugg notes that just four years ago the average local authority reduction target was 12 per cent. Today this has more than doubled to a 25 per cent average.

Communities are demanding more and authorities are keen to show leadership.For those authorities that need advice, the Carbon Trust is more than happy to provide it. It recently set up Partnerships for Renewables to help local authorities develop large scale renewable energy generation facilities on their land, while its Biomass Heating Accelerator programme is pushing the benefits of biomass heating where appropriate. Salix Finance is another trust-sponsored body which Rugg is keen to bring to the notice of authorities – it currently has £51.5M of loans available, with no match funding required, to enable authorities to fund 100 per cent of new energy technology projects, with about 80 different technologies covered by the programme. The trust is doing its own bit too, having recently moved into brand new BREAM-rated excellent offices.

Rugg concludes: “We’re currently recruiting the next phase of our local authority carbon management programme, and would encourage authorities to get in touch. 270 authorities have already completed the programme, but that still leaves around half who haven’t. Under it, the trust offers technical and strategic support to develop a five-year carbon reduction strategy. We work with authorities for a year to measure baselines, organise governance on how carbon is managed in the organisation, and identify projects that can deliver robust reduction targets on schedule and on budget. It’s a big opportunity for ambitious organisations, and in many cases those partaking can see a reduction immediately – we’re keen to encourage early implementation”.

A big opportunity indeed. Find out more at the Carbon Trust’s website- www. carbontrust.co.uk