Worcestershire County Council

[Tristan_Parker]

Worcestershire County Council is shortly to begin developing a new Carbon Management Plan in partnership with the Carbon Trust, as part of phase 8 of the Trust’s Local Authority Carbon Management Programme, which provides strategic support, technical advice, design advice on delivering sustainable buildings, and carbon surveys, as well as advice on achieving the renowned Carbon Trust Standard and how this can help in CRC (the Carbon Reduction Commitment) compliance.

The council first partnered with the Carbon Trust in 2004, during phase 2 of its Local Authority Programme, when it was developing the first incarnation of its Carbon Management Plan, which is now due for renewal. Katie Morrow, Senior Sustainability Officer at Worcestershire County Council, explains that the council’s current carbon reduction targets relate to the popular nationwide 10:10 Campaign, a voluntary commitment for individuals, businesses, organisations and government to reduce their carbon emissions by 10% during 2010.

A cross-directorate working group has been established at the council to steer its projects and operations towards meeting the 10:10 commitments, which – for local authorities – are being measured through council NI185 data. A detailed project plan, with estimated carbon savings, target completion dates, project status updates and leading department teams, has been created by the council, detailing how the carbon emissions will be cut (and there will also be regular progress reports on the campaign from the council throughout the year).

Measures set out in the plan include the following: conversion of street lighting to more energy efficient technology – expected to save 106 tonnes of CO2 per year; improving energy management practices through monitoring, targeting and awareness raising – expected to save 109 tonnes of CO2 annually; review and reducing the electricity baseload, after installation of sub-meters at County Hall servers – an expected saving of 142 tonnes annually; improving energy efficiency of IT data centres – expected to save 308 tonnes annually; and more efficient use of IT equipment (such as trialled shorter timings before machines power down) – expected to save 157 tonnes of CO2 annually. Morrow says that new annual carbon reduction targets will be agreed as part of the council’s new Carbon Management Programme, for April 2011 onwards, which will be in-line with national targets set out in the Climate Change Act.

Other separate measures are also being taken to improve the council’s overall sustainability and minimise its environmental impact, as Morrow explains: “We have launched our Sustainability Champions scheme. This will act as a working group that will ensure the delivery of the council’s Sustainability Policy and Action Plan, and as a network which enables key members of staff in each of the directorates, across all council properties, to encourage other colleagues to be more environmentally aware in the workplace and make more informed decisions when purchasing or using materials and resources at work.”

The group will provide support and advice to colleagues in the council about maximising sustainable practices, becoming more resource efficient, and ensuring that good practice is shared throughout the organisation. It is hoped that these measures will not only create a more sustainable working environment and help the council meet various environmental targets, but also save the council money.

The council also has a successful history of tackling climate change, officially recognised when Worcestershire was awarded Beacon status for its work in this area in 2008/09. The Beacon scheme – replaced last month by the Local Innovation Awards Scheme – recognises excellence within local government organisations, particularly in services, projects and ideas that are seen to be genuinely beneficial to citizens.

Worcestershire County Council’s work in this area was set out in a document detailing its commitment to tackling climate change. Some of the wide-ranging measures and work undertaken by the council, as set out in the document, included the following: leading the development of one of the first Local Strategic Partnership Climate Change Strategies in the country; becoming the first council in the UK to establish an ‘Education for Sustainable Development’ service, which focused on engaging residents via schools to tackle climate change; developing a corporate energy management service and systems to achieve improvements in energy efficiency; becoming the first local authority in the UK to utilise wood energy on a large-scale basis; and securing a decline in household waste production and increased bus usage throughout the county.