Gedling Borough Council’s Energy Policy

In January 2008, Gedling Borough Council commissioned the Carbon Trust to undertake an assessment of energy saving opportunities for the Civic Centre campus and Leisure Centres.  As part of this, an accurate Carbon Footprint for the Council has been calculated, including the impact of work related and commuting vehicle movements.  The Carbon Trust report sets out a number of recommendations to reduce carbon emissions, the financial cost of these and the payback period after which the improvements will have paid for themselves through reduced energy usage.

The work carried out to assess the carbon footprint of the Council’s activities has also been used to develop a policy to bring about short, medium and long term improvements to performance.

Aims:

1. The Council is committed to contributing to improving the local and global environment.
2. The Council commits to seeking to improve its own environmental performance.
3. The Council will seek to use its influence and resources to encourage others within the borough to take responsibility for reducing the carbon impact of their own activities and therefore contribute to meeting target NI 186 in the Nottinghamshire Partnership Local Area Agreement.

Details:

The Council will aim to minimise its use of resources by:

• Minimising waste production
• Recycling and re-using more materials
• Sustainable procurement
• Investigate energy and water saving projects
• Regularly monitoring energy usage

The Council will aim to protect the environment by:

• Promoting the development of renewable energy
• Promoting energy efficiency improvements in new and existing buildings
• Directing new large scale development to sustainable locations
• Enhancing the natural environment of the Borough

The Council will encourage others to act more sustainably by:

• Encouraging local businesses and residents to adopt good environmental practices
• Promoting transport alternatives to car based journeys
• Monitoring CO2 emissions for the whole of the Borough
• Promoting awareness of CO2 reduction targets set out in the Local Area Agreement

Actions:

1. Review the detailed actions proposed in the Carbon Footprint report and implement those which will have the greatest impact in terms of reducing energy usage and value for money.
2. Work in partnership with the community and other bodies towards shared energy reduction goals.
3. Work with officers and elected members to raise awareness of environmental issues and their corporate responsibilities towards these.
4. Report regularly to Cabinet on energy matters and review the policy in light of this.
5. Establish an Energy Policy officer steering group, to review energy usage in all Council premises and to help implement and develop the policy.

To view the Council's carbon footprint please download the following document.

• Gedling Borough Council Carbon Footprint

For more information on saving energy, please visit our energy efficiency pages.