Wolverhampton City Council
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Local Authority Carbon Management Programme Strategy and Implementation Plan (SIP) Local Authority Carbon Management Programme Carbon Management Strategy and Implementation Plan (SIP) Wolverhampton City Council Date: April 2008 Version number: 3 Owner: Katie Morrow Approval: Cabinet 9thApril 2008 Page 1 Local Authority Carbon Management Programme Strategy and Implementation Plan (SIP) Contents Foreword from the Carbon Trust 4 Foreword from Wolverhampton City Council 5 Management Summary 6 1 Introduction 7 2 Carbon Management Strategy 8 2.1 Context and Drivers 8 2.2 Vision 11 2.3 Objectives and Targets 11 2.4 Strategy 12 3 Emissions Baseline and Projections 13 3.1 Scope 13 3.2 Baseline 13 3.3 Projections 16 3.4 Past Actions and Achievements 20 3.4.1 Energy Management in Council Buildings 20 3.4.2 Vehicle Fleet and Business Travel 22 3.4.3 Staff Travel and Commuting 22 3.4.4 ICT 23 3.4.5 Other Achievements 23 4 Carbon Management Implementation Plan 24 4.1 Shortlisted Actions and Emission Reduction Opportunities 24 4.2 Implementation Plan Summary 31 5 Implementation Plan financing 32 6 Stakeholder Management and Communications 34 7 SIP Governance, Ownership and Management 35 7.1 Main Roles and Responsibilities 35 7.2 Risks and Issues Management 37 7.3 Benefits Management 37 7.4 Reporting and Evaluation 37 Page 2 Local Authority Carbon Management Programme Strategy and Implementation Plan (SIP) 8 Appendices 38 Appendix 1: Hierarchy of Strategies 38 Appendix 2: WCC Carbon Management Group 39 Appendix 3: Salix Schemes 41 Appendix 4: Energy Saving Regeneration and Development Scheme 2006-2007 42 Appendix 5: WCC Car Share Campaign Artwork 43 Appendix 6: Internal Energy Awareness Campaign 44 Appendix 7: Stakeholder Communications 46 Appendix A: Proposed Carbon Management Actions 48 Appendix B: List of Abbreviations 64 Page 3 Local Authority Carbon Management Programme Strategy and Implementation Plan (SIP) Foreword from the Carbon Trust Cutting carbon emissions as part of the fight against climate change should be a key priority for local authorities - it's all about getting your own house in order and leading by example. The UK government has identified the local authority sector as key to delivering carbon reduction across the UK inline with its Kyoto commitments and the Local Authority Carbon Management programme is designed in response to this. It assists councils in saving money on energy and putting it to good use in other areas, whilst making a positive contribution to the environment by lowering their carbon emissions. Wolverhampton City Council was selected in 2007, amidst strong competition, to take part in this ambitious programme. Wolverhampton City Council partnered with the Carbon Trust on this programme in order to realise vast carbon and cost savings. This Carbon Strategy and Implementation Plan commits the council to a target of reducing CO2 by 25% by 2015. This underpins potential financial savings to the council of around £16,197,000 and CO2 savings of 107,143 tonnes over the coming years, up to 2015. There are those that can and those that do. Local authorities can contribute significantly to reducing CO2 emissions. The Carbon Trust is very proud to support Wolverhampton City Council in their ongoing implementation of carbon management. Richard Rugg Head of Public Sector, Carbon Trust Page 4 Local Authority Carbon Management Programme Strategy and Implementation Plan (SIP) (SPECIMEN DRAFT) Foreword from Wolverhampton City Council Climate change is the single greatest environmental challenge that we are faced with today. An increase in global temperatures is resulting in changing weather patterns: sea levels are rising and we are experiencing more frequent and intense weather events such as storms and high temperatures. Wolverhampton City Council is working hard to reduce its contribution to climate change. It has signed up to the Carbon Trust’s ‘Local Authority Carbon Management Programme’ and set a carbon baseline (from 2005/06) for the Authority. This Strategy and Implementation Plan (SIP) sets a challenging target of a 25% reduction of carbon emissions by 2015 and presents an action plan to achieve it. The SIP is part of how the Authority will become the ‘Excellent Council’ set out in its Corporate Plan. Also, it shows the contribution that the Council is making towards realising the Wolverhampton Declaration on Climate Change for the City and the Wolverhampton Partnership’s ‘Sustainable Community Plan’. We are pleased to be taking a lead on climate change and we will strive to secure the quality of life in the longer term for everyone associated with the City. Councillor Roger Lawrence Leader of the Council, Wolverhampton City Council SIGNATURE HERE We express our gratitude to the Carbon Trust and their Consultants for their help and assistance in the preparation of the Carbon Management Strategy and Implementation Plan (SIP) for Wolverhampton City Council. Opportunities are limited for joining the Carbon Trust’s Carbon Management Programme and I view our success as a vote of confidence in the organisation’s ability to get things done. This SIP sets out our commitment to tackling carbon emissions from Wolverhampton City Council operations and activities which arise from our dual role as service provider and estate manager. It is our commitment to address carbon emissions from Council owned and operated buildings, fleet vehicles, street lighting and business related travel, so that we can strive towards a carbon neutral society and a healthy, sustainable City. All divisions, services and individuals within the Council contribute to our carbon emissions total. Therefore, all parts of the Council, including employees, have an obligation to address carbon emissions through their service provision and individual actions. We recognise the challenge of meeting the 25% reduction in carbon emissions and look forward to facing it. The benefits are for us all. Richard Carr Chief Executive, Wolverhampton City Council SIGNATURE HERE Page 5 Local Authority Carbon Management Programme Strategy and Implementation Plan (SIP) Management Summary This Carbon Management Strategy and Implementation Plan (SIP) outlines carbon baseline data that has been collated to highlight the current and projected carbon emissions from Wolverhampton City Council (WCC) activities and operations. This SIP emphasises carbon saving opportunities that WCC already have in place, and presents other quantified opportunities that will be implemented to ensure that the target of 25% reduction in CO2 emissions is met by the Council by 2015. Projections in WCC annual energy costs indicate an expected rise from £6,202,000 in 2005/06 to £9,339,000 in 2014/15 if we take no action to address this issue. Projected energy related costs under a comprehensive carbon management programme indicate an expected decrease in costs from £6,202,000 per annum in 2005/06 to £5,909,000 in 2014/15. The principal aims and objectives for Wolverhampton City Council under the Carbon Management Programme (CMP) are: • reduce CO2 emissions from a baseline of 2005/6 by 25% by 2015; • reduce energy consumption by the Council by 25% by 2015; • bring together existing and future carbon management projects for the Council’s built estate into a consistently managed and coherent programme, with management oversight from Corporate Asset Management Group (CAMG); • encourage workforce involvement in the identification of opportunities and the implementation of actions; • raise the environmental profile of the Council, and lead the City and the wider West Midlands region by example; • form part of a broader Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan for the City (to be published by December 2008), which will also address the need for Council buildings and service areas to adapt to the likely impacts of climate change, and include a strategy for promoting awareness and action on climate change amongst partners, stakeholders and the community. Many opportunities for the Council to make considerable carbon savings have been identified through the CMP. Those that can be quantified in both monetary and carbon terms are expected to achieve cost savings of £237,568.00 and CO2 savings of 1705 tonnes over the next financial year alone. Many of these opportunities are of no cost or low cost to the Authority. Details of the identified opportunities for carbon savings can be found in Section 4 of this document. The CMP highlights potential cost savings of £3.4 million per annum by 2014/15, and carbon savings of 20,563 tonnes per annum by 2014/15 after the implementation of a comprehensive programme of carbon management. The aggregated value at stake (VAS) for costs and carbon savings, calculated from the baseline year (2005/06) up to 2014/15, highlight potential cost savings to the Council of just under £16.2 million and carbon savings of 107,143 tonnes CO2 over the 10 year target period. Page 6 Local Authority Carbon Management Programme Strategy and Implementation Plan (SIP) 1. Introduction Climate change is becoming an increasingly important issue for local authorities to address in terms of social, economic and environmental prosperity. In 2006 Sir Nicholas Stern (Head of the Government Economic Service) laid out the economic case for the urgent need to address climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. He advised on the impending economic effects of a changing climate and noted that the “scientific evidence that climate change is a serious and urgent issue is now compelling. It warrants strong action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions around the world to reduce the risk of very damaging and potentially irreversible impacts on ecosystems, societies and economies. With good policies the costs of action need not be prohibitive and would be much smaller than the damage” 1. Through using economic models, Stern was able to estimate that if we were to take no action to mitigate climate change then the “overall costs and risks of climate change will be equivalent to losing at least 5% of global GDP each year, now and forever”.