Maidenhead & Windsor

The Royal Windsor and Maidenhead Borough has turned up the heat on energy saving by joining a national drive to help tackle climate change – with the aim of changing its carbon footprint into a fingerprint!

In partnership with the Carbon Trust – the government-funded organisation that helps businesses cut carbon emissions – Windsor and Maidenhead council is one of over 140 local authorities to launch its own carbon management programme to reduce the amount of energy it uses, cut fuel bills – and save council taxpayers’ money.

Cllr Paul Etherington, chairman of Windsor and Maidenhead council’s sustainability panel, said: “Earlier this year the Royal Borough signed the Nottingham Declaration, which is a firm pledge to tackle climate change. Now we have the new carbon management programme as a council priority, demonstrating our determination to take up the challenge of reducing carbon emissions and putting our promises into action.

“Our aim is to improve energy efficiency associated with our buildings, vehicle fleets, street-lighting and waste collections. Already, a wide range of carbon reduction measures are under way but we aim to achieve even more and we have a team from across the organisation working to identify opportunities in every service. We also hope every member of staff will get involved by coming forward with good ideas.”

Some of the things Windsor and Maidenhead council is already doing to reduce carbon emissions:

* Ground source heat pump installation at Hurley Lock Canoe Club to provide ‘greener’ heating and hot water
* Low energy light bulb replacement programme in leisure centres
* School boiler management systems for effective control of heating
* Lighting improvements and more efficient heaters at Maidenhead Library
* More efficient and cost-effective CHP (combined heat and power) at Windsor and Maidenhead leisure centres
* Movement-activated lighting in many council offices – lights switch off automatically when no-one’s around.

The Carbon Trust’s Local Authority Carbon Management (LACM) programme provides councils with practical advice on cutting their carbon footprint and reducing energy costs. The Royal Borough is one of 45 local authorities joining phase five of the programme. In the first four phases local councils identified 500,000 tonnes of CO2 and chalked up annual savings of more than £33 million.

Richard Rugg, public sector programme manager at the Carbon Trust, said: “Climate change is the biggest environmental threat currently faced by the UK. The reduction of carbon emissions, the main cause of climate change, should now be a key priority for all organisations, including local authorities. Improving energy efficiency and therefore reducing energy bills is crucial if local authorities are to make best use of taxpayers’ money.

“Given the success of the first four phases of our local authority programme, we’re hugely excited by the prospect of working with 45 more local authorities, including the Royal Borough, to establish good carbon management practice.

“The carbon and energy savings made so far as a result of the programme have been great, and we’re looking forward to building on these achievements with the new participants.”

While the Royal Windsor and Maidenhead Borough embarks on its carbon management programme, here are some things local residents can do to reduce their carbon footprint at home:

* Compost kitchen and garden waste rather than sending it to landfill.
* Don't overfill kettles or pans and put lids on pans when cooking.
* Don't put warm or hot food in the fridge or freezer.
* Keep cooling fins at the back of fridges and freezers clean and well ventilated.
* Dry washing outside when possible instead of using a tumble drier and use an extra spin cycle to help dry washing before using the tumble drier.
* Make sure there is a full load before using dishwashers and washing machines.
* Use a microwave instead of a conventional oven – they use 70%-90% less electricity.
* Wash clothes at 30 degrees where possible.
* Improve insulation.
* Turn your heating down 1 degree and save up to 10% on the annual heating bill.
* Don’t heat rooms that are not in use.
* Wear appropriate clothing to suit the season rather than turning up the heat or switching on the air conditioning.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead