Issue - meetings

Report of the Cabinet Member Sustainability

RESOLVED that :

1.      Cabinet agrees to keep the current carbon reduction target of 30% by 2015, and approves further work to:

·         explore the potential for Smart metering to help in Bridging the Gap

·         continue to explore other initiatives to deliver financial and carbon savings

2.      Cabinet aspires to a target of 40% by 2020 and approves further work to:

·         look in more detail at the case for installing a biomass boiler at Leisure@ as a potential replacement for the combined heat and power (CHP) unit on expiry of the lease in 2015

·         explore additional projects which reduce the council’s carbon footprint

3.      Cabinet requires consideration of carbon emissions as a key criterion in developing the accommodation strategy

4.      Cabinet requests that cabinet reports relating to all future council projects identify the likely impact on the council’s carbon emissions

The Cabinet Member Sustainability introduced the report which was circulated with the agenda. He explained that a motion had been laid before Council in February 2012 to change the existing 30 % reduction in carbon emissions target to a 40 % reduction target by 2020. Council had referred the matter to Environment Overview & Scrutiny Committee which, at its meeting on 29 February 2012, recommended that a case be established for achieving the target prior to a decision being made.

In terms of progress towards achieving 30 % reduction by 2015 the Cabinet Member Sustainability explained that 25 % had already been committed and he was confident that the full 30 % could be reached. With regard to achieving a further 10 % by 2020 there were ways for this to be achieved but the routes towards this would require a lot more work and more imaginative thinking. If zero carbon electricity did become available to purchase it would deliver a major carbon saving but it would be at a cost and an organisation the size of CBC cannot currently buy that quantity of zero carbon energy.

Gill Morris, Climate Change and Sustainability Officer, was invited to address Cabinet. She referred to the detail laid down in Appendix 2 Section 2 in terms of projects planned, underway or recently completed which assuming they were delivered as anticipated would give 11.1 % of savings. Section 3 outlined potential future options.

Members welcomed the report and the commitment to reducing the Council’s carbon footprint. Officers were commended for their hard work in what they had achieved to date.

The Leader said that despite the recession this was still the right time to be looking at investing in the future and to keep focussing on reducing CO2 emissions.

RESOLVED that :

1.   Cabinet agrees to keep the current carbon reduction target of 30% by 2015, and approves further work to:

·     explore the potential for Smart metering to help in Bridging the Gap

·     continue to explore other initiatives to deliver financial and carbon savings

2.   Cabinet aspires to a target of 40% by 2020 and approves further work to:

·     look in more detail at the case for installing a biomass boiler at Leisure@ as a potential replacement for the combined heat and power (CHP) unit on expiry of the lease in 2015

·     explore additional projects which reduce the council’s carbon footprint

3.   Cabinet requires consideration of carbon emissions as a key criterion in developing the accommodation strategy

4.   Cabinet requests that cabinet reports relating to all future council projects identify the likely impact on the council’s carbon emissions