Climate Change

In January 2008, Gedling Borough Council commissioned the Carbon Trust to carry out 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 was 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 was used to develop a policy to bring about short, medium and long term improvements to performance.

This policy was adopted by the council in 2008. An updated policy has now been written, which expands on the work set out in the first document.

The Draft Energy Policy and Action Plan 2010-2012 sets out six key areas that the council has prioritised:

To deliver action on climate change: To become a high performing authority, striving to be low-carbon and preparing to adapt to future climate change
Local economy: Helping Gedling’s economy adapt, grow and prosper by reducing emissions through the products and services the Council buys
Buildings and land: Reducing the energy and resources used in managing buildings and land, and ensuring that they are resilient to future climate change
Transpot: Promoting sustainable travel
People and communities: Giving Council staff and people in Gedling the help they need to reduce their energy, and become more aware of, and able to adapt to, the impacts of climate change
Waste and environmental services: Ensuring that the Council’s waste and local environment is managed sustainably – by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to future risks of climate change