Climate LocalCHARNWOOD

Tackling the impact of Climate Change inCharnwood 2014-2017

What is Climate Local’s Vision?

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What is Climate Change?

The Earth’s climate is warmingand it is now widely accepted thatthe main cause is increasingamounts of carbon emissions as aresult of human activities throughour use of fossil fuels.  Almost allfuels are carbon based including:• gas, oil and coal you use to heat

your homes • petrol and diesel in our cars • jet fuel in aeroplanesCarbon dioxide is a greenhousegas that traps the sun’s heat andkeeps the earth warm.  Too muchin the air leads to climate change,also known as global warming.

All of this can lead toextreme weatherconditions such as :

• Flash flooding

• Storms and high winds

• Heatwaves and warmertemperatures

• Reduction in summerwater availability

Climate Local supports the Council’s effortsboth to reduce carbon emissions and alsoto improve resilience to the effects of ourchanging climate and extreme weather.Climate Local will help councils across the country to capture the opportunities and benefits of action on climate change.

What is Climate Local?Emissions fromIndustry: 40%

Emissions from Transport: 25%

Emissions from Homes: 35%

We’ve done loads already,including helping toreduce Charnwood’scarbon footprint by 1.3tonnes per personbetween 2008-2011, but specifically by 2017we will:-

The following climatic changes arepredicted for the East Midlands:-

AVERAGE TEMPERATURE RISE:2.8% increase in summertemperature by 2050

SUMMER RAINFALL: 17% reduction by 2050

WINTER RAINFALL: 16% increase by 2050

...visit us at www.charnwood.gov.uk/pages/sustainability...

Cutting Bills in Charnwood HomesThe Council has helped improve poorly insulated homes to help residents cut their energy consumption,reduce bills and improve health. This included:• £1.1 million project co-funded by the Council and Eon in Shelthorpe, which featured external

wall insulation, loft insulation, UPVC replacement doors and the installation of energy efficient boilers to approximately 600 properties

• More than 3,000 residential properties in the borough benefiting from more than £3 million in Warm Front Grant assistance since 2012 to improve their heating systems and insulate their homes

• A £1.2 million development in 2011 saw nine new homes built for council tenants using a range of energy efficiency measures thanks to £64,000 funding to address climate change issues

• 46 households have received assistance with Green Deal and ECO grant applications and a total of 163 Green Deal assessments have been carried out

• 275 Home Energy Audits have been carried out since 2012• Solar Photovoltaic panels installed at the homes of 35 vulnerable

households experiencing fuel poverty

The Council• Achieved a 19% reduction in tonnes of CO2 in 2012/13 compared to 2008/09;• Installed LED lighting to reduce electricity consumption in public buildings including

Loughborough Town Hall, Beehive Lane Car Park and Southfield Road offices;• The installation of thermostatic radiator valves and pipe lagging

has also been completed;• The Council currently procures 100% of electricity for public

buildings from Renewable Energy sources

Tackling Climate Change - the story so far...Building DesignThe Dogs Trust Loughborough is the most eco-friendly and sustainable newly built re-homingcentre in the world. It was built to the highestclassification of environmental assessment andoperates sustainably through renewable energyfrom its biomass boiler, green roofs, under floorheating, solar thermal panels, photovoltaicpanels, recycled rainwater and grey watersystems, passive ventilation and a ‘Passivhaus’standard of construction.

Solar FarmThe UK’s largest operational solar farm at WymeswoldAirfield consists of some 130,000 solar panels on landbetween the old runways over an area of 60 hectares.Charnwood Borough Council worked closely with LarkEnergy, parish councils and the local community todevelop the site at the Prestwold Estate with very lowimpact on wildlife and the environment.

Renewable EnergyOpportunities for BusinessSevern Trent has erected ‘Windy’ at itssewage treatment works in Wanlip. It willsupply enough energy (around 5,000Mega Watt hours of electricity each year,to power around 1,500 homes each year).This equates to saving over 2,500 tonnesof CO2 equivalent each year and 62,500tonnes over the lifetime of the windturbine. Severn Trent’s three sewage gascombined heat and power plants producearound 18,000 Mega Watt hours ofelectricity each year.

...call us on 01509 634802... ...or email us on sustainability@charnwood.gov.uk

The Council’s Climate Local action plan on climate change has been split into three main themes:

What will the Council be doing in the future?

Raising AwarenessHow the Council will work with partners toraise awareness of the help that is availableand how the Council can help them reduce

their impact on the environment.

Reducing Impact on Climate ChangeWhat the Council can do to reduce

its own impact.

ResilienceThe plans that are in place to tackle the

risks posed by Climate Change.

• Work with schools, businesses andthe local community to help themtake action to reduce their impact on climate change

• Engage with schools across theBorough on the ‘Enviro Detectives’resource www.envirodetectives.co.uk

• Implement an environmentalbehaviour change programme for Council employees

• Develop a five year Carbon ManagementPlan to reduce costs and our carbonfootprint

• Introduce an electric charging point for theBeehive Lane Car Park in Loughborough

• Reduce the amount of residual wastecollected to 400kg per household

• Implement a sustainable staff travel plan

• Develop Charnwood Community FloodPlans with the lead flood agency,Leicestershire County Council (LCC), theEnvironment Agency (EA) and otherLocal Resilient Forum (LRF) partners

• Promote the Community Flood WardenMonitoring Scheme in conjunctionwith the Local Resilience Forum

• Work in partnership to maximise theknowledge of wildlife and heritagevalue of Charnwood land by carryingout biodiversity and heritage auditsand developing a Wildlife Action Planfor Council owned land

What can I do?ENERGY BILL

£ Save on your energy bills

• Check that your boiler is set for the times when you want it and yourthermostats are on the right setting for your needs -http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Take-action/ Energy-saving-top-tips

• Ensure your home is well insulated. Information on energy savinggrants and discounts is available here -http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Take-action/Find-a-grant

• Switch and save on your energy bills. Visit Ofgem at:http://www.ofgem.gov.uk

• Replacing traditional bulbs with energy saving versions can save you as much as £60 a year

Generate your own energy

• Feed-in Tariffs allow users to be paid for generating their ownelectricity through solar panels or a wind turbine

• The Renewable Heat Premium Payment - Designed to help you affordrenewable technologies for your home, such as biomass boilers, heatpumps (air to water, ground source or water source but excluding airto air and exhaust air heat pumps), and solar thermal panels

• Find out about solar panels and other technologies from theGovernment’s Energy Saving Trust -http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Generating-energy

• Throw away less food waste. You can get recipes and advice from the ‘LoveFood, Hate Waste’ campaign - http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/

• Get a compost bin for food and garden waste -http://www.charnwood.gov.uk/pages/home_composting

Use less water

• Find out whether a water meter will save you money on your bills -http://www.ccwater.org.uk/server.php?show=nav.388

• Save money on your energy bills by heating less water.  A family offour will save around £75 a year by installing an eco-showerhead -http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Heating-and-hot-water/Saving-money-on-water/Saving-water

• Fit a water hippo and other water saving devices around your home -http://www.stwater.co.uk/households/save-water/

Support and enhance the biodiversity of your area

• Help local wildlife by creating bird or bat boxes, log piles for insectsand bee and butterfly friendly planting

• Choose native plants and trees to help conserve local wildlife

Get climate ready

• Sign up to flood warnings from the Environment Agency athttps://fwd.environment-agency.gov.uk/app/olr/home

Reduce waste

• Make sure you know what can and can’t be recycled in Charnwood -http://www.charnwood.gov.uk/pages/recycling

For more information on theEnvironment contact the

Sustainability Team

Telephone:

01509 634802Email:

sustainability@charnwood.gov.uk

Website:

http://www.charnwood.gov.uk/pages/sustainability

If you require this information in another language or an

alternative format, please call the Communications Team

Telephone:

01509 634603Email:

communications@charnwood.gov.uk

Website:

http://www.charnwood.gov.uk/pages/communications

Contact Information