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Print articleBlackpool is one of 45 new local authorities participating in this phase of the Carbon Trust's programme. In the first four phases of the programme annual savings of more than ?33 million and 500,000 tonnes of CO2 were identified.
The Carbon Trust is now working with 143 of the UK's 468 local authorities ? just under one third ? through the LACM programme, which provides councils with practical advice on cutting their carbon footprint and reducing energy costs. In the last phase of the programme, local authorities on average committed to reduce their identified carbon emissions by 20 per cent over the next five years.
Richard Rugg, Public Sector Programme Manager at the Carbon Trust, said:
?Climate change is the biggest environmental threat currently faced by the UK and the reduction of carbon emissions, the main cause of climate change, should now be a key priority for all organisations, including local authorities. Improving energy efficiency and therefore reducing energy bills is crucial if local authorities are to make best use of tax payer's money.
?Given the success of the first four phases of our local authority programme, we're hugely excited by the prospect of working with forty five more local authorities to establish good carbon management practise. The carbon and energy savings made so far as a result of the programme have been great, and we're looking forward to building on these achievements with the new participants.
Blackpool Council Deputy Leader Ian Fowler said:
?We must all shrink our carbon footprint both at home and at work. A review of Blackpool Council will be carried out to establish greener ways of going about our business. We will work with others to make everyone aware of the need to look after our planet. Residents will be encouraged to identify savings which will offset current carbon emissions and we plan to bring in a programme aimed at school children to make them aware of this vital issue. We will make war on waste and monitor stringent recycling options. Our simple aim is to build a reputation of being the fastest growing green town in the UK.?
The Local Authorities Carbon Management programme is designed to deliver improved energy management to reduce emissions under the direct control of the local authority such as buildings, vehicle fleets, street-lighting and landfill sites. It also provides practical support to organisations by helping them identify carbon saving opportunities, providing tools to analyse energy consumption and delivering workshop support for staff and senior managers to enable them to ?embed' carbon management into the day to day business of the council. The programme is supported by a bespoke toolkit ? a web-based manual that gives detailed guidance on the programme's process, technical advice and examples of best practice.
The fifth phase of the Carbon Trust's Local Authorities Carbon Management programme will run until March 2008.
If you want to learn more about the Carbon Trust's scheme, and who is taking part, click on the Carbon Trust link.
