74 local authorities set to save GBP 50 million by joining Carbon Trust scheme

Print Email to a friend
Print Printer friendly
 
 
 
 
08 May 2008
Carbon Trust now working with more than 200 Local Authorities to cut carbon and slash energy bills


Seventy four more local authorities from across England, Scotland and Wales are set to collectively cut their carbon footprints by 518,000 tonnes and energy costs by £50 million by joining the sixth year of the Carbon Trust’s Local Authority Carbon Management Programme (LACM) which launches today.

The Carbon Trust is now working with 215 of the UK’s 468 local authorities – around 45 per cent - to assess the risks and opportunities posed by climate change and develop a robust strategy to drastically reduce their carbon footprints over a five to ten year period.

Through the previous five years of the LACM programme, the Carbon Trust worked with 141 local authorities, identifying annual savings of more than £70 million and 861,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide across all sites involved. Many of the new participants can expect to reduce their energy bills by up to 20 per cent.

Tom Cumberlege, Public Sector Manager at the Carbon Trust, said,
“The financial and environmental incentives to cut carbon are clear. Local authorities in the UK are responsible for spend in the region of £1.4 billion every year1 on energy and through their own operations alone collectively emit nearly seven million tonnes of carbon dioxide. When it comes to taking action on climate change, local authorities are in a unique position to be clear leaders and work together with local businesses and residents. The Carbon Trust is delighted to be supporting 74 more local authorities in these efforts.

“The good news is that energy is one of the largest controllable overheads for councils and implementing good carbon management can lead to significant cash savings on bills. As well as releasing funds which can be better spent on resources and services for local residents, this will also enable councils to cut carbon emissions and improve their reputation in the community. 

Launched in 2003, the LACM programme is designed to deliver improved energy management of vehicle fleets and academic, accommodation and leisure buildings. The programme is supported by a bespoke toolkit – a web-based manual that gives detailed guidance on the programme’s process and technical advice. It also facilitates the sharing of best practice between participants, enabling them to learn from each other’s experience, thereby optimising results.

The sixth phase of the Carbon Trust’s Local Authority Carbon Management programme will run until March 2009.

 
 
Footnotes
 

Notes to editors

• Phase six participants are as follows: Harborough District Council, East Lindsey District Council, Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Leicestershire County Council, Norwich City Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, Ipswich Borough Council, Surrey County Council, West Berkshire Council, Bracknell Forest Borough Council, Swale Borough Council, London Borough of Waltham Forest, London Borough of Hounslow, The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London Borough of Hackney, London Borough of Ealing, Tower Hamlets Council, London Borough of Hillingdon, Gateshead Council, Lancashire County Council, Bolton Council, Burnley Borough Council, Salford City Council, South Somerset District Council, Bath and North East Somerset Council, Coventry City Council, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, North East Lincolnshire Council, Birmingham City Council, Powys County Council, Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council, The Isle of Anglesey County Council, Monmouthshire County Council, Corby Borough Council, Wellingborough Borough Council, Nottingham City Council, Erewash Borough Council, Fenland District Council, Huntingdonshire District Council, Thurrock Council, Dartford Borough Council, Portsmouth City Council, Gosport Borough Council, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, Test Valley Borough Council, South Hams District Council, East Devon Council, Vale of White Horse District Council, Aylesbury Vale District Council, South Oxfordshire District Council, Forest of Dean District Council, Stroud District Council, Cotswold District Council, Borough of Poole Council, Purbeck District Council, West Dorset District Council, Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service, Greater Manchester County Fire Service, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service, Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service, Cumbria County Council, South Lakeland District Council, Carlisle City Council, Lake District National Park Authority, Argyll and Bute Council, Comhairle nan Eilian Siar, Dumfries and Galloway, Dundee City Council, East Lothian Council, Moray Council, North Lanarkshire Council, The Scottish Executive, West Dumbartonshire Council and West Lothian Council.

The Carbon Trust

• The Carbon Trust is an independent company set up by government in response to the threat of climate change, to accelerate the move to a low carbon economy by working with organisations to reduce carbon emissions and develop commercial low carbon technologies. The Carbon Trust works with UK business and the public sector through its work in five complementary areas: insights, solutions, innovations, enterprises and investments. Together these help to explain, deliver, develop, create and finance low carbon enterprise.

• The Carbon Trust is funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), the Scottish Government, the Welsh Assembly Government and Invest Northern Ireland.