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Councils have a key role to play in contributing to climate change reduction. Adrian Newton describes how his local authority has been leading sustainability initiatives on a practical level Businesses and organisations of all shapes and sizes are constantly striving to be more sustainable. But it's not just about ticking boxes. It's about ensuring that all business and operational processes are designed with the environment at their heart. And local and national government departments are at the forefront of this drive. Over recent years,Islington LBC has led a successful sustainability drive, and was one of the first local authorities in the country to set a target to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The council established an environmental sustainability division which aims to improve the environmental performance of council buildings and the borough as a whole. The borough is responsible for a large and diverse portfolio of more than 170 buildings and their associated carbon emissions. Bearing this in mind, the authority set itself a target to reduce its carbon emissions by 15% by 2010 – compared with 2005 levels. In 2007, its total annual CO2 emissions were already 4,929 tonnes down on the 2006 figure. Islington initiated a £1.5m programme of investment to improve its energy performance, focusing on reducing both carbon emissions and energy costs over the short and long term. The programme concentrated on improving heating and ventilation controls, lighting upgrades, replacing older, inefficient boilers, and improving insulation levels. In addition to this, the council made a number of renewable-energy installations at dedicated sites across the area. These included a biomass boiler, five solar thermal – hot water – systems and eight solar PV – electricity producing – arrays. The team also carries out regular ‘energy health checks' throughout the council's sites, prioritising them according to their energy consumption and emissions. These health checks involve optimising building control settings, obtaining data, highlighting any required repairs and potential investments, and undertaking follow-up visits. As well as physical investments, Islington also undertakes energy campaigns to reduce energy use through influencing behaviour, one of which resulted in a reduction of more than 5% in electricity consumption at participating buildings. By the end of 2009, at least 480 tonnes of CO2 had been saved from the various works. To further help meet the carbon-reduction target for the borough, a unique partnership was formed of businesses, charities and public sector organisations which are committed to tackling climate change. This Islington Climate Change Partnership (ICCP) was launched in March 2007. Signatories, which include the Royal Mail, Linklaters, Arsenal FC and Scope, committed to reducing their CO2 emissions by 15% by 2010. By 2009, the ICCP had registered more than 150 members, who have collectively saved around 7,000 tonnes of CO2. The council was keen to ensure that all sites adopted renewable-energy technology, wherever possible. To combat concerns over the initial investment costs, it initiated the Climate Change Fund to back the installation of renewable-energy technologies in public buildings, social housing ,voluntary organisations and private homes. By the end of 2009, more than 50 renewable technologies had been installed in buildings across the council, saving around 500 tonnes of CO2 a year. Islington also developed ‘Energy doctor in the community' and ‘Energy doctor in the home' – outreach and home-visit programmes which encourage residents to save energy, wherever possible. The council has also embarked on large-scale cavity-wall insulation work on council homes throughout the borough and in a small measures scheme in the EC1 postal area. Islington also focused closely on the issue of waste management, increasing its recycling rate from 8% in 2003 to 30% in 2009. The average household waste per person has reduced by almost 20%, and the amount of waste sent to landfill has fallen by at least 10%. But sustainability is about far more than just turning lights off. The council recognised that if it was going to commit to a full sustainability programme, it had to tackle less well-known issues, such as food. The council committed £1m to support the development of growing projects on estates, and schools across the borough. Within the council, Islington appointed 90 green liaison officers, who run campaigns to encourage council staff to be more environmentally friendly. Campaigns include ‘Switch off' to switch off lights and office equipment; waste reduction, including setting all printers to double-sided mode and providing recycling bins and composting bins for waste food; as well as ‘Cool it' campaigns to help staff keep cool in summer without having to switch on air conditioning. The successful programme adopted by Islington LBC was recognised by the London Energy Solutions Expo which runs The Innovation and Sustainability Awards (ISA), offering organisations the chance to promote their innovative and sustainable projects which support the effective and efficient management of a workplace. The council was the Energy Solutions Expo's Workplace of the Year, which it was awarded in acknowledgment of its efforts to promote sustainability throughout the organisation. Adrian Newton is director at Energy Solutions

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WHITEHALL

How we can do our bit

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