A report to the Council’s Audit and Best Value Scrutiny Committee has revealed that the Council has already reduced its CO2 emissions by over 11% (4,200 tonnes) in the last four years and is well on course to reduce CO2 levels by 14% by 2009/10.
Initiatives in the Council’s Carbon Management Action Plan that have helped to reduce emissions include:
- better heating control systems in council buildings
- green electricity supplied to all council buildings including schools
- green electricity now supplied to 6% of street lighting
- an award-winning scheme to heat a school extension at Upper Dicker near Hailsham using a ground source heat pump.
Councillor Tony Reid, Deputy Leader of Cabinet with responsibility for this area said: "Everyone has a responsibility to do their bit to improve the environment. For the County Council we also have a responsibility to our council tax payers. I am delighted that we have found an approach that saves money as well as helping the environment. A real ‘win: win’!”
Councillor David Tutt, Chairman of the Audit and Best Value Scrutiny Committee, said: "The County Council agreed its Carbon Plan last year and decided to report to the Audit Committee on an annual basis so that we can check progress. This first report makes very good reading. The Council has improved in this area of work and its Carbon Plan has been used as an example of good practice by the Carbon Trust. We look forward to seeing further progress in the months and years ahead.”
The County Council is now looking ahead with further initiatives to reduce emissions, including the use of energy-saving biomass heating boilers to be trialled at Beacon Community College in Crowborough this summer.
Other initiatives under consideration include the use of wind turbines and solar panels to generate electricity, and further ground source heat pumps to heat buildings.
The Council gained £50,000 of INTERREG funding for the period June 2005 – June 2007 to support the implementation of green initiatives and a key challenge for the authority will be to seek out further additional funding for future schemes.
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