Gwynedd Council is making headway in its drive to become a low carbon council in a low carbon county.
A year has passed since the Council adopted its first ever Carbon Management Plan and initial findings show that it is making inroads in its ambitious target of reducing overall carbon emissions in all Council run buildings and services by 60% by 2020.
Over the last 12 months the Council has put around 20 different schemes into action aimed at reducing carbon emissions by reducing energy use, and just as importantly energy waste. Changes will lead to £900,000 worth of savings in the Council’s running costs, for example from energy bills.
Dilwyn Williams, one of Gwynedd Council’s Corporate Directors, said: “It is difficult, and premature, to give concrete results for this first 12 month period, as not enough data is available to make fair comparisons. However, early results show that we have seen carbon emission reduction of nine per cent across all Council services, and a ten per cent drop in emissions from our buildings since the baseline year 2005/6.
“We are delighted with the results so far, as we have achieved our carbon reduction target for the first year of the plan.
“It is broadly accepted that carbon emissions has a direct impact on climate change, and as a coastal area we in Gwynedd are fully aware of the potentially dramatic effects this could have on our lives and on the lives of generations to come.
“Eight per cent of the carbon emitted in Britain is due to the work and actions of the public sector. As one of the largest organisations, and biggest employers in Gwynedd, the Council sees it has a duty to take this challenge head on and with help from the Local Services Board and the Carbon Trust we are making changes across the spectrum towards becoming a low carbon Council.”
Some of the projects undertaken by the Council include:
- Improved energy control through web based heating controls in Council-run buildings
- A new computer server room – one of the most energy efficient in the UK
- Installing PC management software which turns computers off automatically when not in use
- Installing covers on the Council’s swimming pools to reduce the demand of pool hall ventilation systems – this has led to a 10-30% reduction in pool energy use
- Raising awareness among staff about being careful and energy efficient, for example making sure electrical appliances are turned off when not in use.
The Council will now be looking at further opportunities to reduce carbon emissions and at the possibility of investing in alternative energy sources at Council-owned buildings.
Dilwyn Williams added: “We have looked at different options and are conducting further research into the possibility of installing biomass technology and panels which make use of solar energy at our buildings – including schools, leisure centres and office buildings. We feel the time is ripe for this, especially because of the Government’s Feed In Tariff payment scheme.”
The Carbon Trust will be using Gwynedd Council as a model of best practice for other authorities across Wales.
