West Dunbartonshire Council Carbon Management Programme

Carbon Management Planworking with

West Dunbartonshire Council

Carbon Management Programme

Carbon Management Plan (CMP)

Contents

Foreword2

Management Summary3

  1. Introduction4

2.Carbon Management Strategy

2.1Context and drivers for carbon management5

2.2Low carbon vision6

2.3 Strategic themes6

2.4Targets and objectives7

3.Emissions Baseline and Projections

3.1Scope8

3.2Baseline8

3.3Projections - C0210

3.4Value at stake - C0211

3.5Progress - CO211

3.6Projections - £12

3.7Value at stake - £13

3.8Progress - £ 14

4.Carbon Management Projects

4.1Existing projects15

4.2Proposed projects16

4.3Medium to long term projects20

4.4 Projected achievement towards targets21

5.Carbon Management Plan Financing

5.1Assumptions23

5.2Investment, Benefits and Savings23

5.3Additional resources24

5.4Sources of funding25

6.Actions to Embed Carbon Management in Your Organisation

6.1Corporate Strategy – embedding CO2 saving across your organisation26

6.2Programme management27

6.3Responsibility – being clear that saving C02 is everyone’s job27

6.4Data Management – measuring the difference, measuring the benefit27

6.5Communication and training – ensuring everyone is aware28

6.6Finance and investment29

6.7Policy Alignment – saving CO2 across your operations29

7.Programme Management of the CM Programme

7.1The Programme Board – strategic ownership and oversight31

7.2The Carbon Management Team – delivering the projects32

7.3Succession planning for key roles32

7.4Ongoing stakeholder management33

7.5Annual Progress Review34

Appendix A: Action Templates35

Appendix B: Embedding Matrix52

Foreword from West Dunbartonshire Council

West Dunbartonshire Council is committed to tackling climate change and ensuring environmental sustainability becomes a priority for the authority, both as a service provider and figurehead employer in this area. Working in partnership with the Carbon Trust we have produced a Plan that combines technical and strategic projects to mobilise the organisation as we take steps to achieving a significant reduction in carbon emissions.

This Plan is the result of cross-departmental action to identify opportunities to reduce consumption in energy, water, and fuel, minimise waste production, and to embed carbon management as a fundamental part of working life in West Dunbartonshire Council.

Throughout the implementation of this Plan; new and innovative measures to further reduce carbon emissions will be considered with the long term goal of achieving the Scottish Government target of an 80% reduction in emissions by 2050. This Plan will affect real and positive change throughout the organisation and has the potential to offer considerable financial savings to West Dunbartonshire Council while minimising our impact on climate change.

David McMillan

Chief Executive, West Dunbartonshire Council

Foreword from the Carbon Trust

Cutting carbon emissions as part of the fight against climate change should be a key priority for local authorities - it's all about getting your own house in order and leading by example. The UK government has identified the public sector as key to delivering carbon reduction across the UK inline with its Kyoto commitments and the Public Sector Carbon Management programme is designed in response to this. It assists organisations in saving money on energy and putting it to good use in other areas, whilst making a positive contribution to the environment by lowering their carbon emissions.

West Dunbartonshire Council was selected in 2008, amidst strong competition, to take part in this ambitious programme. West Dunbartonshire Council partnered with the Carbon Trust on this programme in order to realise vast carbon and cost savings. This Carbon Management Plan commits the organisation to a target of reducing CO2 by one third by 2015 and underpins potential financial savings to the organisation of around £5.3 million.

There are those that can and those that do. Public sector organisations can contribute significantly to reducing CO2 emissions. The Carbon Trust is very proud to support West Dunbartonshire Council in their ongoing implementation of carbon management.

Richard Rugg

Head of Public Sector, Carbon Trust

Management Summary

West Dunbartonshire Council is committed to addressing the causes and effect of climate change, recognising the significant impact climate change is having and will continue to have on the sustainable development of the local area, and across the globe.

The Council has pledged to reduce carbon emissions through Scotland’s Climate Change Declaration and in the Single Outcome Agreement. The Carbon Management Programme will facilitate progress to reduce emissions by identifying the carbon baseline and opportunities to reduce emissions.

The Programme identified the Council’s carbon baseline in 2006/07 and has set a target to reduce emissions by one third by 2014/2015 – a reduction of 12,026 tonnes of CO2.

A number of carbon reduction opportunities have been identified to move the authority to a low-carbon future; these cover efficiencies in energy and water consumption, waste management, the Council’s transport fleet, and business travel and commuting. Opportunities to develop a more strategic approach to carbon management have also been identified to embed the responsibility for carbon management throughout the whole organisation, including awareness-raising and integrating carbon budgeting into the service planning process and Committee reports.

It is accepted that price increases in energy, fuel and waste disposal will continue to rise placing an ever-increasing burden on local authority budgets. However, realising a one third reduction in carbon emissions has the potential to save the Council up to £5.4 million on the projected cost of energy, fuel and waste disposal by 2015.

This Plan should be seen as the start of a process of mobilisation – consolidating existing policy and initiatives which reduce emissions and implementing new and innovative projects over the next six years to achieve a one third reduction in carbon emissions.

1.Introduction

1.1The Carbon Trust Local Authority Carbon Management (CM) programme was launched in 2003 and guides local authorities through a step-by-step process to realise a reduction in carbon emissions.

1.2West Dunbartonshire Council (WDC) launched the programme in April 2008 and this Carbon Management Plan documents the work that has been undertaken to date and outlines plans for the future to reduce carbon emissions.

1.3The programme complements a number of projects andpolicies already underway in West Dunbartonshire Council, including energy efficiency projects, the Internal Waste Prevention Plan, the Green Travel Plan, and the Sustainable Development Strategy. The CM programme looks to review existing projects and policies, establish links, and consolidate action to reduce our emissions.

1.4The programme is coordinated by a Project Leader, under the supervision of the Project Sponsor. A Project Team was set up to establish a baseline of carbon emissions and identify carbon reduction opportunities. The work of this group and the strategic direction of the programme is overseen by a Programme Board.

1.5The Council’s carbon baseline has been established and a target has been agreed toreduce emissions by one third by 2015. This Plan provides detail on the make-up of the baseline and the opportunities which have been identified to reduce emissions. The Plan looks at the value-at-stake, both in terms of emissions and finances, if steps are not taken to implement the opportunities identified, illustrating the potential savings the Council can achieve by implementing a successful CM programme.

2.Carbon Management Strategy

2.1Context and drivers for Carbon Management

2.1.1There are a number of global, national, and local drivers which set the scene and provide the impetus for carbon management. Climate change is widely recognised as the most serious environmental threat facing our planet. Emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) from the burning of fossil fuels are having an impact on the climate of the planet. By the end of this century Scotland will have warmer, wetter winters, less snowfall and an increased risk of flooding.

It is now widely acknowledged that the change in our climate is as a result of human activity and as a result the Kyoto Protocol was agreed in 1997, which sets targets for developed countries to reduce emissions. The UN Climate Change Conference is due to take place in Copenhagen in December 2009 where it is hoped countries will agree on the main points of a new deal to follow the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.

2.1.2Further evidence of governmental action on this issue was seen with the launch of Scotland’s Climate Change Declaration in January 2007. WDC has made a commitment to the Declaration which requires a reduction in the Council’s direct GHG emissions as well as encouraging best practice in the wider community. The Declaration also commits WDC to ensuring we build climate change adaptation measures into policy. Further to this, the Scottish Government has just completed a consultation on climate change adaptation seeking views on how best to deal with the impacts of climate change.

2.1.3The Climate Change (Scotland) Actcame into force on 4th August 2009. The Act sets the statutory framework for greenhouse gas emissions reduction with a target to reduce emissions by 80% by 2050 (and an interim target to achieve a 42% reduction by 2020). The Act also places duties on public bodies relating to climate change which will impact on the work of WDC. The duties on the face of the Act require that a public body must, in exercising its functions, act:

  • in the way best calculated to contribute to delivery of the Act's emissions reduction targets;
  • in the way best calculated to deliver any statutory adaptation programme; and
  • in a way that it considers most sustainable.

2.1.4The UK and Scottish governments have introduced two initiatives with the aim of delivering emissions reductions totalling 0.5 million tonnes of carbon (MtC) per year by 2015. Public bodies are required to produce Energy Performance Certificates for all buildings which have floor space of over 1000 m² measuring the energy efficiency of the building. The performance of the building is benchmarked against current building standards and recommended cost effective improvements.

Further to this, the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) comes into force in 2010. The CRC is a new mandatory emission trading scheme with the aim of reducing the amount of carbon dioxide emitted in the UK. Under this scheme, organisations have to purchase ‘allowances’ for every tonne of carbon they emit. An initial estimate of the annual cost to the Council of this scheme is around £233,000. Revenue from the sale of allowances is ‘recycled’ back to participants as an incentive to reduce emissions - this recycling payment is based on the progress an organisation makes in reducing its carbon emissions. The Council could be liable to pay more if we do not sufficiently reduce emissions once the scheme is introduced.

2.1.5There are a number of internal driving factors which further illustrate the importance of carbon management, including commitments in the SOA and Corporate Plans to reducing GHG emissions. A number of internal policies and initiatives also complement the carbon management agenda and are enhanced by it, including the Sustainable Development Strategy, Green Travel Plan, Sustainable Procurement Policy, EcoSchools, Travelling Green, Internal Waste Prevention Plan, and energy efficiency Projects. There is also a drive for efficiency savings throughout the organisation which carbon management can contribute to.

2.2Low carbon vision

The vision for this project is to:

  • Significantly reduce West Dunbartonshire Council’s climate impact through a strategic approach to carbon management and commitment to investigating renewable energy opportunities and low-carbon alternatives.

2.3Strategic themes

The strategic themes for this project are to:

  • Identify opportunities for emissions reductions in energy and water consumption, waste production, and transportation
  • Ensure continued investment in efficiency in these areas and seek out innovative efficiency measures with a view to an ongoing reduction in emissions
  • Integrate carbon management into the daily working life of all employees
  • Raise the environmental profile of the organisation locally through leading by example and encouraging our partners and the community to make changes to reduce carbon emissions
  • Maintain senior management and elected member commitment to this project as part of theresponse to climate change

2.4Targets and objectives

The objectives for this project are to:

  • Reduce CO2 emissions by one third by 2015 (from a baseline year of 2006/07)
  • Encourage workforce involvement in the identification of opportunities and the implementation of action
  • Bring together existing and future carbon management projects into a consistently managed and coherent programme by March 2010
  • Identify funding streams for carbon reduction projects
  • Monitor progress and report annually

This Plan supports the long-term aim to meet the Scottish Government target of an 80% reduction in emissions by 2050.

3.Emissions Baseline and Projections

3.1Scope

3.1.1Establishing a carbon baseline is essential to the successful implementation of this project as it enables progress against the reduction target to be monitored.

Data on the following sources of emissions were collated in establishing the carbon baseline:

  • Buildings – energy (electricity, gas, oil) and water consumption of all Council-owned properties excluding rented housing stock and leased non-operational properties
  • Street Lighting
  • Close Lighting
  • Waste Disposal – all waste produced at Council-owned properties/operations excluding rented housing stock and leased non-operational properties
  • Transport Fleet
  • Business Travel
  • Commuting

3.2Baseline

3.2.1As far as possible, data from 2006/07 was used to establish the baseline – where this was not available, data from 2007/08 was used. Data was sourced directly from the relevant services.

3.2.2In terms of the quality of the data some assumptions were made in the following areas:

  • Business Travel – the only readily available data was on business travel by car. As such we have not included travel by other means, ie. public transport, airplane. However, the majority of business travel is made by car so this figure is still a reasonable representation of emissions in this area.
  • Waste – some assumptions were made on the volume of waste disposed of, ie. how full a bin is upon collection. However, this is unlikely to have significantly affected the results used for the baseline.
  • Commuting – the data for commuting was based on a sample of approx. 20% of employees
  • Street Lighting – street lighting is based on an annual estimate of usage as agreed with the electricity supplier, rather than based on precise/metered usage.

Energy represents the most significant proportion of the baseline – this data represents actual consumption as it is based on metered consumption.

3.2.3This data has been collated and a summary of the baseline is shown below (Figures 1,2,3). For the remainder of this report, unless stated otherwise, figures for ‘energy’ include electricity, gas and oil consumption in Council properties (as listed in 3.1.1), close and street lighting; and ‘transport’ includes fleet travel, business travel and commuting.

Figure 1

Source / CO2 Emissions (tonnes) / Cost of Emissions (£)
Energy / 29,018 / 3,414,890
Transport / 3,364 / 1,229,267
Waste/Water / 1,889 / 551,442
Total / 34,271 / 5,195,599

Figure 2

Figure 3

3.2.4As expected, the majority of emissions come from energy consumption – 84% at a cost of over £3.4million in 2006/07. In terms of energy use by building, schools and leisure centres use the greatest amount of energy due to the nature of use of these types of buildings. West Dunbartonshire Council buildings operate on three types of fuel – electricity, gas and oil. Electricity accounts for 57% of the total energy cost, gas 20%, and oil 23%. This document will go on to highlight the financialimpact of increasing energy costs.

3.2.5Emissions from transport represented 10% of the baseline and waste and water, 6%. In terms of transport, 83% of the emissions and cost are represented by the Council’s fleet of vehicles, the remainder is business travel or ‘grey fleet’ where employees travel in their own car for work-related purposes, and commuting (the cost of which the Council is not accountable for). While water produces a relatively low level of emissions, the cost to the Council should be highlighted as being high in comparison – over £400,000 in 2006/07.

3.3Projections – CO2

3.3.1Based on the data in the baseline, emissions in 2006/07 were around 34,270 tonnes of CO2. If no action is taken to reduce emissions, we can assume consumption will increase a little each year based on increased demand on services. Consumption may also see steep jumps (or drops) as a result of certain projects or major changes in terms of the Council’s physical assets or even organisational change.

3.3.2Based on a conservative estimate of a 0.7% increase in demand on energy, water and transport each year, and an estimate of 2% annual waste growth, emissions could potentially increase to36,443 tonnes by 2014/15 as represented in Figure 4, below.

Figure 4

This would increase the Council’s negative impact on the environment, locally and globally, and also has financial implications in terms of the Carbon Reduction Commitment (see Section 2) and progress on Scotland’s Climate Change Declaration. The Council would fail to meet targets to reduce the carbon footprint as an authority and community, and would also be failing in commitments to lead by example in reducing climate impact.

3.4Value at Stake – CO2

3.4.1If the Council successfully implements the CM Plan and achieves the one third reduction target by 2014/15, emissions would have fallen to 24,417 – a reduction of 12,026 tonnes against what emissions would be without any action. This can also be described as the ‘value at stake’or the carbon impact of not taking steps to reduce emissions.

3.5Progress – CO2

3.5.1Emissions data has been calculated for 2007/08 and 2008/09 based on actual consumption in these years. This is illustrated in the table below (Figure 5), showing a 3% reduction in emissions from energy from the baseline year (2006/07) to 2008/09. This positive trend can also be seen in a reduction in emissions from waste by 3%, and from commuting. However, emissions from business-related travel have increased by 9% and for the Council’s fleet of vehicles by 2%.

Overall, there has been a 3% drop in emissions from 2006/07 – 2008/09. While this is promising, the pace of change must improve significantly in order to meet the 2014/15 target of a one third reduction. This equates to annual reductions of 4-5% from 2009/10 onwards.

Figure 5

2006\07 / 2007\08 / 2008\09 / Change
Electricity / 15,911 / 18,187 / 15,846 / 0%
Gas / 7,264 / 6,752 / 7,108 / -2%
Oil / 5,842 / 5,574 / 5,131 / -12%
Energy Total / 29,018 / 30,513 / 28,085 / -3%
Fleet / 2,725 / 2,725 / 2,776 / 2%
Business Travel / 608 / 608 / 663 / 9%
Commuting / 31 / 31 / 25 / -19%
Water / 84 / 84 / 86 / 2%
Waste / 1,804 / 1,804 / 1,757 / -3%
TOTAL / 34,270 / 35,766 / 33,392 / -3%

3.6Projections – £