9 April 2009 09/71
Staff to do their bit for the environment
Climate change is not just hot air - it’s real! So the District
Council is launching a new campaign to encourage staff to be more
environmentally friendly.
This latest initiative aims to raise awareness and shift
people’s attitude towards tackling climate change. It will focus on
CO2 savings in the workplace that can also be used in the home. The
idea is that staff will make personal pledges to think more about
the environment, such as recycling, travel and transport, water
conservation and saving on energy.
A number of schemes will be started to achieve this ambition,
including:
- A car sharing scheme to help employees find buddies to
share transport with to and from work - which reduces CO2
emissions
- Increased recycling facilities in Council
buildings
- Regular email bulletins and competitions to give people
easy access to environmental information
Cllr Martin Forshaw, Portfolio Holder for Planning, said:
"This is a great initiative and the campaign will complement the
energy awareness work that has already happened in-house.
For example, we have a dedicated team of staff who act as ‘Energy
Champions’ to encourage their colleagues to save energy. The lights
outside the Council offices in Derby Street are now on a timer and
office computers go into hibernation mode so as not to waste
energy. In the last financial year (2007/08) we reduced our total
gas consumption by 26% on the previous year. I’m sure these latest
schemes will prove just as successful and help our environment for
future generations."
Businesses in the district have also been learning how to save
money and become more energy efficient. At a recent event organised
by the Council’s Enterprising West Lancashire Team and Lancashire
Business Environment Association (a division of Groundwork Pennine
Lancashire), companies were given information about becoming more
sustainable and reducing waste. The Lancashire Business Environment
Association also runs a membership service, which businesses can
sign up to and receive free legislation updates, advice on how to
make cost savings through being resource efficient and discounted
services and training. Visit www.lancsbea.co.uk (external
link) or email info@lancsbea.co.uk for more
information.
Here are a few tips you can follow at home to save
energy!
For more ideas, visit www.energysavingtrust.org.uk
(external link) or contact 0800512012.
Related information