Leading the way

City Council selected for 'green' audit

Carlisle City Council has taken up the opportunity to have a 'green audit' by leading energy saving experts after being selected for one-to-one support to help reduce carbon emissions.

The City Council signed up to a review by the Energy Saving Trust today (Friday, 12 October). The free expert advice and support will include a comprehensive and tailored report that assesses the areas where the City Council is performing well and will also pinpoint areas where there are opportunities to do even more. These recommendations will then be considered by the council and implemented where practical and possible.

Maggie Mooney, Town Clerk and Chief Executive signed the accord on behalf of the City Council. Lewis Morrison, Head of Community Advice for the UK signed on behalf of the Energy Saving Trust.

The assessment is expected to take between seven and nine months. It will focus around the council and its activities with the wider community. The City Council is one of few local authorities to be singled out for the expert advice after 'demonstrating a dedication to tackling sustainable energy issues'. The programme is funded by Defra and has no cost to the City Council. Cllr Ray Bloxham, Portfolio holder for Environment and Infrastructure said:

We are committed to making Carlisle cleaner, greener and safer. We want to take the lead and look forward to working alongside the Energy Saving Trust. We already have put in place a series of 'green' actions and hope to build on these for the future.

A recent range of energy efficiency measures already introduced by the City Council include:

• a review of their vehicle fleet with the Energy Saving Trust, to receive advice about reducing mileage, fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions;
• following green design schemes incorporating sustainable materials, environmentally friendly practices and energy-saving measures as part of its new build, refurbishment and maintenance of Council amenities. This includes installing solar thermal water heating systems (sun heats water for washing etc) in hostels and other council maintained buildings;
• reducing carbon dioxide emissions from the Bousteads Grassing depot buildings by 10% through better energy management
• fitting power saving devices to appliances and stand alone printers and encouraging staff to switch equipment off when not in use;
• introducing a target to reduce our paper consumption by 10%;
• replacing bottle water coolers with plumbed in water coolers on four sites to reduce the environmental impact associated with production and distribution of bottled water;
• improving office recycling facilities for staff and phasing out the use of disposable plastic cups by office based staff.

Carlisle City Council signed up to the Nottingham Declaration this year. The declaration is voluntary and is designed to show a council's commitment to tackling the issue of climate change.

The City Council's commitment to the pledge followed on from the launch of their Environmental Policy in 2006. As part of the policy, the City Council pledged to: introduce actions to manage and reduce the Council's greenhouse gas emissions, through energy conservation, greater use of renewable energy and sustainable transport; reduce consumption of resources whilst endeavouring to re-use or recycle where practicable; and; conserve the natural environment and enhance the bio-diversity of the Council's assets.

The Council's efforts so far have resulted in them receiving a Bronze Cumbria Business Environment Network Award (CBEN) for environmental management. The Council is now working towards achieving CBEN's Silver Award.