Caerphilly Continues To Reduce Its Carbon Footprint

A report which looks at the improvements made to reduce the council’s carbon footprint over the last year has been considered by Caerphilly’s Regeneration and Environment Scrutiny Committee. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

With the introduction of the Climate Change Act by the UK Government, a target to cut carbon emissions by at least 80% by 2050 has been set, with a minimum reduction of 26% by 2020 across the UK. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Last year, Caerphilly County Borough Council set taking the steps required to minimise the county’s carbon footprint and the negative impact it has on the environment as one of its improvement objectives. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

A target of reducing emissions from 26,035 tonnes by 45% by 2019 has been set, and a strategy in place focuses on 4 key elements, these are, good housekeeping, invest to save, asset management, and renewable technology. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Raising awareness has been a priority and following the principle of ‘good housekeeping’ the council has managed to work alongside key individuals such as head teachers, caretakers and building managers and delivered training presentations which include building specific information such as Energy Performance Benchmarking, Display Energy Certificates, Energy Audits and detail on Carbon Tax implications. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

This has empowered staff from 31 schools to seek out energy efficiencies in their buildings. They now have the knowledge to assist in delivering improvements within their school and present ideas to the pupils, and show how a small change in their behaviour can make a big difference. Key staff within other non-domestic buildings have also been trained and advised on how they too can help Caerphilly become a greener county. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Through Invest to Save, by technologies improvements, the council has installed solar panels for Residential Homes, as well as over 8000 energy saving light lamps within the county borough’s street lights. These energy saving lamps are known to have lower maintenance needs. The council has also invested £68,414 in energy efficient technology within buildings which is providing lifetime carbon savings of 1,181 tonnes. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Overall, the report details how the level of progress has been deemed successful. Each of the factors has seen great improvements with some seeing reductions of up to 20%, which the council hopes to continue into 2017. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Cllr Ken James, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Planning and Sustainable Development said “Thank you to everyone involved for their continued support and commitment to help reduce Caerphilly’s carbon footprint. It is great to see how far we have come within a year, and how the success of the improvements has enthused everyone to continue their efforts. I look forward to seeing future projects which help reduce our emissions and make us one step closer in reaching our ambitious targets.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​