MOST SUSTAINABLE PUBLIC SECTOR ORGANISATION – LOCAL AUTHORITY
HIGHLY COMMENDED Wycombe District Council
W
ycombe District Council (WDC) is proud to be committed to
ensuring our impact
on the environment is minimised as much as possible given the resources available. Since 2002 the Council has employed a dedicated Energy Officer whose role has developed over the years from solely managing the spend on utilities to giving advice to residents on ways to reduce energy consumption, working with our Contractors and internal experts to introduce energy saving schemes and developing the Council’s Sustainability agenda,
This commitment is driven from the top through the Embedding Sustainability Group chaired by a Corporate Director. The Group has representation from the main Council services who can influence carbon use and monitors and reports on the Council’s compliance with our ISO 14001 registration and the Environmental Management System that supports it, National and Local Indicators relating to sustainability and Business Unit targets. The group is supported by the Council’s Environmental Co-ordinator, who works with all departments to make carbon reduction a reality. Part of the Group’s remit is to ensure Council Staff, our Suppliers and our residents are aware of what we are committed to and can see the
results of the actions we are taking. This takes the form of updates on the internal Council web, articles in external Council publications and press releases.
The Environmental Co-ordinator also works closely with the other Councils in Buckinghamshire as a member of the Bucks Strategic Partnership and this work forms a key part of the Sustainable Community Strategy for High Wycombe. The Sustainability Strategy sets out a long term strategy for the District and one of the themes Sustainable Environment promotes reducing waste and consumption of energy We also work closely with CEAC, the Corporate Environmental Advice Centre, which is based in High Wycombe, to promote carbon reduction and sustainability to local businesses by providing advice, running courses and publicising local initiatives.
SHRINKING THE COUNCIL’S CARBON FOOTPRINT In the past five years Wycombe District Council has reduced its carbon emissions by 18%. Since joining the Carbon Trust’s Carbon Management Programme in 2005, the Council has installed a number of energy saving measures in the Queen Victoria Road offices and other operational buildings. The first of these was a Powerperfector to suppress voltage so that less
electricity is used. Also, movement sensitive lighting and energy efficient boilers have all contributed to reductions in electricity and gas. All this has been done using Salix funding from the financial arm of the Carbon Trust. This requires all projects to have a maximum of a five year payback. Savings have been invested in further energy saving measures.
The most recent example of energy saving is the installation of LED lighting in the Swan multi-storey car park. While the new lighting cost £58,000 it is achieving a monthly saving of £2,500 on the same period last year, giving a two year pay back and savings of around £30,000 a year. Carbon emissions have been reduced by about 80 tonnes a year. Wycombe Sports Centre has also received attention recently with the installation of a heat recovery unit. This equipment extracts warm air from the pool building and takes it to an air handling unit where it is recycled reducing the need for heating. This and other measures at the sports centre have resulted in a reduction in gas use of 23%. As well as energy efficiency measures, 22 staff Energy Champions remind colleagues to switch off PC’s, lights and electronic equipment. Because employees also plan their journeys, Council business mileage has been reduced by nearly 20% over the past 5 years.
26|
SUSTAINABLE FM AWARDS 2010
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58