Dear Member,
Welcome to the Low Carbon Innovation Bulletin and thank you for joining the Low Carbon Innovation Network.
The network has been a resounding success since its launch in January, with over 550 organisations joining up to share their experiences and discuss best practice in reducing carbon emissions and helping in the fight against climate change.
As a member of the network you will receive this bulletin on a monthly basis, have access to the online forum and be invited to attend two network meetings a year, at the Low Carbon Innovation Exchange.
This month's issue includes case studies from Gloucestershire County Council, Bristol City Council and the London Borough of Sutton. News this month also comes from Marks and Spencer, Parcelforce and the DTI.
Please start the discussions and networking today by visiting the Low Carbon Innovation forum.
Thank you and I hope you enjoy our first issue.
Best Regards
Dominic Matthews
Click on the links below to read the full stories
High Street is new frontline in carbon footprint struggle
www.scotsman.com published 15/01/2007
Wymondham pledges 60% carbon cut
www.eveningnews24.co.uk published 23/01/2007
M&S unveil carbon-neutral plan
www.bbc.co.uk published 15/01/2007
Applications for DTI's Low Carbon Building Programme now being accepted
www.azobuild.com published 09/01/2007
Parcelforce introduces carbon neutral delivery scheme
www.brandrepublic.com published 09/01/2007
The Low Carbon Innovation Network and Enterprise Events cannot be held liable for the content of external websites
To see more news and to add some of your own visit the forum here
The Low Carbon Innovation Forum provides network members with the opportunity to network and share views online via the network discussion board. The discussion board will be updated regularly with news and opinions and network members are invited to use the forum to discuss the important issues for their organisations.
To add your comments to the forum you will need to log in using your user name which is firstname_surname and your password is your original network password. These details will have already been emailed to you before you received your bulletin.
If you need a password reminder please email password@carbon-innovation.com
The forum can be accessed here
Network members will be invited to attend two network meetings a year. The first Low Carbon Innovation Exchange will be taking place on June 14th at the Olympia 2 Conference Centre in London. Delegates on the day will be able to choose from a range of roundtable discussion groups, case studies and presentations to attend as well as pre-arranging one-on-one meetings with other network members. To maximize network members time at the event, all delegates can personalise their agenda by going online and selecting the exact sessions that they wish to attend and the delegates that they wish to meet.
To find out more about the Low Carbon Innovation Exchange please click here
Gloucestershire Gets Green Fire Engines
Fire Service vehicles in Gloucestershire are now going green following he announcement that they will be running on environmentally friendly bio-diesel fuel. As part of the county council's commitment to a greener Gloucestershire, Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service will be running vehicles from its four wholetime stations in Gloucester, Cheltenham, Stroud and Cirencester, on bio- diesel. The new fuel will be used to reduce CO2 emissions produced by all fire and rescue vehicles, including the fleet of fire engines. No adaptation of the vehicles is needed to enable them to run on the new environmentally friendly fuel.
Read the full story on the forum here
Solar Energy Heats Water for Sutton Residents
The London Borough of Sutton has installed one of the largest vacuum tube solar powered domestic hot water systems in the UK at one of its housing estates, Killick House. Widely regarded as one of the 'greenest' boroughs in London, Sutton is now taking a big step towards becoming the leading local authority for environmental sustainability in the country. The new technology, which is more than 93 percent energy efficient, could save up to £3,000 on hot water bills and cut 36 tonnes of harmful carbon dioxide emissions each year. This is equivalent to a car driving five times round the planet. Colin Hall, lead councillor for the environment, said: "This is a significant environmental sustainability project for Sutton and for the UK as a whole.
Read the full story on the forum here
100% Renewable Energy for Bristol City Street Lighting
Bristol has taken a significant step towards tackling climate change by becoming one of the first major cities in the UK to power its street lights with 100% "green" energy. The city council has secured a contract with Eon Energy to purchase 22575063 KWH of energy a year generated through renewable sources such as wind, wave and solar power. The contract came into force in January 2007.
Read the full story on the forum here
The bigger the Network is, the more organisations there are to share best practice!
Please forward this bulletin on to anyone who you think would like to be part of the Low Carbon Innovation Network. This may be someone within your organisation or it may be someone in your supply chain or competitive organisation.
New members can register for the bulletin for free by clicking here
We are always grateful to receive any comments or feedback that you have with regards to the bulletin, the forum, the exchange or the network in general.
We would also like to hear from you if you have a case study for the bulletin or have a topic that you would like to discuss at the exchange.
Please send any comments or suggestions to Dominic Matthews, Editor, at dom@carbon-innovation.com or call +44 (0) 1883 344 799
Best Practice Ideas
Each month we will be taking the best advice from the Best Practice section of the forum and listing them in the bulletin. Please visit the forum here and share a tip that you have for organisations to reduce their carbon emissions. Often the very simplest ideas can have the greatest effect in reducing carbon emissions.
February Best Practice Ideas:
· Change all bulbs that are not dimmable to compact fluorescents. This could save up to 75% on your lighting costs, and the bulbs will last up to 10 times longer.
· Ask your electric company or local energy audit company for a blower door test. This test uses a giant fan to test buildings for air leaks. Air leaks are easy to fix with caulk and foam and account for up to 50% of your heating and/or cooling bill.
· Maximise daylight and save on lighting costs by ensuring that windows are regularly cleaned.
· New technology is enabling meetings to take place without carbon being produced through travel. Implement web conferencing as a means of communication in your business and see travel expenses dramatically reduce while increasing productivity.
· Increasing the temperature by 1 degree will see costs rise by 8%. Check that no unused rooms are heated and keep radiators clear of furniture. Heating and hot water can account for up to 60% of a buildings total energy costs.
· Fit water-saving devices to toilet cisterns and water saving taps. Also check for leaking internal pipes and dripping taps. Investigate opportunities to recycle water and fit pressure regulators to minimize water consumption. A dripping tap loses about 2 drops a second, which is around 90 litres a week.
To share your best practice ideas visit the forum here
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