The policy, which will be implemented for all new council and school buildings, extensions, refurbishments and maintenance works in the Council's capital and revenue programmes from 2009, was agreed by the County Council this week. It sets out tough targets on how the council will be greener in the way it constructs and maintains its buildings.
Deputy Leader and Lead Member for Corporate Resources, Tony Reid says the policy is another piece of good news for the Council in its response to concerns about climate change.
“Since 2001, we have reduced our carbon footprint by almost 20%, easily beating the target that was set and last year we won a South East Low Carbon Award”, said Councillor Reid. “Now we are building on these achievements by adopting this new green policy which will cover schools, social care centres and offices.”
The Council has set out targets in the plan covering energy, materials, transport and design.
- Energy supply and use – looking at reducing emissions with energy efficient solutions such as the biomass fuel project successfully implemented at Beacon Community College in Crowborough.
- Materials – reducing the environmental impact of materials in building design and maintenance, and using and promoting local materials and labour, reducing transport and boosting the local economy.
- Transport – integrate green travel planning to all schemes and ensure they support green methods of travel by design of facilities to encourage walking and cycling.
- Internal environment – using the highest design standards for the inside of buildings recognising the benefits this brings and using wherever possible natural ventilation and daylight.
The Council will be adopting the industry benchmark standard – the Building Research Establishment's Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) ‘Good' rating – in all its new builds, extensions and refurbishments from 2009. The ‘Good' rating is the minimum standard. However, in addition, the Council is setting aside £350,000 per year for projects that have the potential of achieving a higher BREEAM rating. This is on top of the £125,000 per year that the Council has already provided for carbon management initiatives.
Reference:
2040
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