Contrast:

The issue

Background

With an internal energy management team in place since 1995, Croydon Council has always had a strong commitment to reducing local energy consumption. Local support remains strong for continuing to reduce local energy consumption with a recent survey finding that more than 80 per cent of residents thought the council should be addressing the challenges of climate change.

In 2003, the council decided to outsource energy management within a larger facilities management contract and transfer the energy team to the new contractor. In preparation for this change, the council joined the Carbon Trust’s Local Authority Carbon Management Programme to get extra support in embedding carbon management in the council and incorporating this into the new facilities management contract, which was let to Interserve in 2006. Croydon entered into the programme in its second phase, with only 23 other authorities.

Recent and planned legislation, such as display energy certificates and the carbon reduction commitment, has been an important stimulus for Croydon to establish and develop its carbon management programme. From October 2008 display energy certificates will be required by law for all public buildings over 1,000 square metres to show their energy performance. Each building will also have a range of recommended actions to improve its energy performance and to reduce its carbon emissions.

Starting with a three-year introductory phase in January 2010, the carbon reduction commitment will make emissions trading mandatory for large commercial and public sector organisations with the aim of reducing carbon emissions. An emissions trading scheme is a way of setting an overall target or allowance for a group of organisations or an industrial sector. Scheme participants decide how to achieve their own carbon allowance. They can reduce their emissions below their allowance and sell or bank the excess emission allowances or, if their emissions remain above their target, buy emission allowances from other scheme participants. Sold by auction each year, these carbon allowances will be capped from 2013. As a result all councils are likely to have to cope with increased costs as they will have to pay for the energy they use – in an era of high and increasing energy costs – and the carbon they emit.

Carbon management programme and annual plan

Operating for the last four years, Croydon Council’s carbon management programme aims to minimise carbon emissions across all areas of council activity and to encourage carbon saving in the whole community. The two main components of the current plan are:

• carbon management in council buildings, which is supported through the Carbon Trust’s Local Authority Energy Finance (LAEF) scheme and internal loan fund; and
• carbon management in other areas of council activity (for example, vehicle fleet, street lighting and staff travel).

The Carbon Trust’s LAEF scheme provides 50 per cent match funding to establish an internal loan fund for investment in energy-saving measures with a payback period for projects of between one and five years. The energy savings are initially paid back into the internal loan fund until the cost of the investment is recovered, but thereafter the savings accrue to the service area. The Carbon Trust also provides a list of technologies that are proven to reduce carbon emissions.

Using LAEF funding, Croydon aims to improve carbon management in its buildings by:

• implementing the recommended actions from a programme of energy audits
• working with Interserve, the council’s facilities management contractor, to identify opportunities for reducing carbon emissions
• integrating energy-saving measures into the council’s capital programme for both new build and the maintenance of council buildings
• embedding energy-saving requirements into all the council’s procurement activity through an environmental procurement policy
• operating an internal loan fund to finance energy-saving measures that have a payback period of between one and five years
• inviting and encouraging schools to participate in the programme – Croydon has the largest population of any London borough and more than 130 schools.

Croydon aims to improve carbon management in other areas of council activity by:

• achieving improved energy management practice by all staff in their use of heating, lighting and electrical equipment
• identifying the most practical options for carbon savings in other areas of council activity; including renewable energy, combined heat and power projects, the council’s vehicle fleet including waste contractors, street lighting and staff travel
• offering energy education to schools.

More generally, Croydon Council also promotes carbon emission reductions to the local community, demands sustainable energy solutions through the planning process (for example, new developments must generate 10 per cent of their energy needs from on-site renewable energy production) and supports its housing department’s energy and environment strategy.

The targets for the carbon management programme are taken from the national indicator set and are included in Croydon Council’s new local area agreement (LAA) 2008–11:

• NI 185 (carbon dioxide reduction from local authority operations). Across buildings, street lighting and the council’s vehicle fleet, Croydon aims to reduce its annual carbon dioxide emissions by 5,000 tones per year by 2010.
• NI 186 (tackling climate change by reducing carbon dioxide emissions). Taken from a 2005 baseline of 5.5 tonnes of carbon emissions per capita per annum, Croydon is aiming for a 9.5 per cent reduction by 2010/11 (0.52 tonnes per capita per annum) at a rate of a 3.16 per cent reduction (0.17 tonnes) each year. This will be achieved through national and regional initiatives (7 per cent contribution), such as the carbon reduction commitment, combined with the local actions outlined below (2.5 per cent contribution).
• NI 194 (level of air quality – reduction in NOx and primary PM10 emissions through local authority’s estate and operations) will be monitored in the future.

Carbon management projects

To achieve its carbon management objectives, Croydon Council has undertaken, or plans to undertake a wide range of actions including:

• Making energy savings across the council’s non-housing building stock. Working with its facilities management contractor, Interserve, Croydon aims to identify at least £130,000 of energy-saving opportunities across its property portfolio in 2008/09. Targets for improved energy efficiency in council buildings have also been included in the facilities management contract and a rolling programme of energy audits will take place across 264 council property sites over the next five years.
• Exploring the potential for increased renewable energy production in council schools and community buildings. A biomass boiler, which instead of burning the rapidly diminishing supply of fossil fuels burns the more sustainable alternative of biomass (for example, wood chip, wood pellet or cereals), is currently being installed at one school on a pilot basis. Five schools have solar panels with 20 more at the feasibility stage.
• Making energy savings in street lighting. The council has ensured that carbon reduction objectives have been included in the current private finance initiative (PFI) procurement process to select a contractor to operate and maintain Croydon’s street lights for a period of 25 years. Specifications including intelligent management systems, dimming and trimming have been incorporated into the procurement process which is currently underway.
• Making energy savings in the council’s vehicle fleet. Less efficient vehicles are being replaced by vehicles that meet the latest EU emission standards, use alternative fuels and offer emission reducing technology. Staff will be trained in fuel-efficient driving techniques.
• Making energy savings through information and communication technologies (ICT). Council staff were encouraged to turn off their computers at night during national energy-saving week and were rewarded with chocolates. The outsourced IT contract with Capgemini has been modified so computers can have their software updated automatically without being switched on permanently. Capgemini is also investigating the potential for reducing the number of network servers and the number of printers is being rationalised.
• The staff energy awareness programme aimed to improve energy-efficient practice by council staff and contractors. During June 2008 the ‘Better off’ campaign included films, talks, competitions and prizes and further campaigns are planned for the future. Staff energy champions and the staff newsletter support the awareness programme.
• The way staff travel has also been a focus of activity. A range of actions have included a survey of staff travel patterns, creating a business case for pool vehicles, promoting sustainable transport to staff (including ‘Walk to Work day’ and the pedometer challenge) and creating a car-share scheme.
• Pursuing the development of a local energy service company (ESCO), in which the council has a stake, to generate and supply energy locally and efficiently to customers on appropriate sites. This ‘Woking Model’ is particularly appropriate where large mixed-use development sites can be linked together (for example, Croydon Gateway, Fairfield Halls Redevelopment / Croydon Urban Regeneration Vehicle, Park Place and Cherry Orchard Road).
• Investigating the feasibility of generating energy from Croydon’s waste as part of a joint waste procurement plan and establishing links to the proposed district heating network.
• Making energy savings in council-owned housing, which is outlined in a separate energy and environment strategy for housing. The council’s housing department has achieved the second highest SAP rating (Standard Assessment Procedure) for energy efficiency of any London borough through a comprehensive programme of cavity and loft insulation improvements across council-owned housing. This is supported by local residents who act as energy champions. Solar thermal technologies are being added to council-owned housing as part of a programme of extending houses to accommodate larger families.
• Making carbon savings in new private developments where the council can exert influence through its planning powers. Croydon aims to ensure the implementation of sustainable energy solutions in key major construction projects and programmes, such as the New Addington District Centre redevelopment, Homes for the Future, Building Schools for the Future and the nationally innovative Croydon Urban Regeneration Vehicle (CURV). Planning policies set the minimum standards (using benchmarks such as eco-homes, the Code for Sustainable Homes and SAP ratings for energy efficiency). Council construction projects also conform to further standards being delivered through application of the environmental procurement policy, which includes sustainable design and construction.
• Croydon was the second council in England to implement the Merton Rule. This requires new developments to generate at least 10 per cent of their energy needs from on-site renewable energy production. Croydon was the first council to make this requirement of both commercial and residential developments. When developers are unable to meet this rule they can make a payment (under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, as amended by the Planning and Compensation Act 1991), which is pooled to add renewable technologies to local schools and community buildings.
• Encouraging energy saving in existing non-council properties. For example, Croydon Council added £50 to the £50 council tax discount offered by British Gas to residents who improved the insulation in their property.

The projects have been coordinated by the energy and sustainability team (EaST), which is part of the council’s planning department. The team includes the head of environment and sustainability and an energy and environment officer who manages the funds from the Carbon Trust’s LAEF scheme. EaST has worked closely with many of the council’s service areas, including housing, finance and resources, education, social services, community services and air quality.

External partnerships have also supported the implementation of Croydon’s carbon management programme. As a thematic partnership within the Croydon Strategic Partnership (LSP), the environmental partnership coordinates activity and ensures the achievement of the environmentally-based LAA targets. Membership of the partnership includes British Gas, Thames Water and ENVIBE. ENVIBE is made up of government-funded and local organisations – including Groundwork, London Remade, the Environmental Agency and Envirowise –  who provide environmental advice to businesses on topics including recycling and waste reduction, energy and water saving and green travel.

A major review and evaluation of Croydon’s carbon management programme is planned for 2010.

The benefits and impactsTop of page

In its first year of participation in the Carbon Trust’s LAEF scheme, Croydon Council was the most successful of the 24 participating local authorities in securing investment support from Salix. Salix is an independent, publicly-funded company set up to accelerate public sector investment in energy efficiency technologies through invest-to-save schemes. To date Croydon has invested over £390,000 in energy-saving measures using the funds from the Carbon Trust with match funding from the council. As a result, carbon dioxide savings have grown from 266 tones in 2005/06 to 830 tonnes most recently in 2007/08. The annual cost saving in 2007/08 was just over £98,000.

In addition to this, further savings have been achieved by a range of projects which have included:

• Improved carbon emissions from the council’s vehicle fleet. Between 2005/06 and 2007/08 77 inefficient vehicles were removed or replaced from the council’s fleet saving 15 tonnes of carbon dioxide and £4,300 per annum. ChemEcol fuel additive has been used in all diesel vehicles since 2005/06 saving 92 tonnes of carbon dioxide and £9,700 per annum. In 2007/08 biodiesel at a 5 per cent mixture was introduced for all diesel fleet vehicles saving 100 tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum.
• Improved energy efficiency by staff. Compared to a baseline of 30 per cent, now more than 50 per cent of all council staff turn off their computers at night saving about 40 tonnes of carbon dioxide and £10,000 per annum.
• The implementation of the Environmental Procurement Policy since 2006/07 is estimated to have saved 348 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.
• Improvements in leisure services. A swimming pool cover saved 1.2 tonnes of carbon dioxide and £1,200 each year, and had a payback period of four years. The council’s new leisure management contractor has developed an ongoing action plan to reduce carbon and improve the environmental performance of the leisure centres.

The lessonsTop of page

The main lessons learned from Croydon Council’s development and implementation of its carbon management programmes over a five-year period have been:

• Ensure a broad range of support at the start of the programme. Support and backing from members and the senior management from the beginning has been critical. Croydon also has a specific councillor who is a climate change champion. It was also very important to have the director of finance as the project champion so the programme has good support for its beneficial business case and potential for achieving financial savings.
• Ensure there are adequate resources to launch a programme. LAEF scheme funds are on offer from the Carbon Trust but are not being taken up by local authorities due to an absence of match funding. Croydon Council has benefited from having a dedicated officer to take the programme forward.
• Ensure the carbon management programme achieves financial savings so contributes to the efficiency agenda. By recycling the funds after the payback period, the council can keep investing in carbon reduction activities while continuing to benefit from the annual financial savings.
• Obtaining adequate data on energy management and monitoring is critical to get the programme underway. It has proved very challenging to obtain adequate energy data for the council’s 1,000 buildings and its street lighting. The original customised software for energy measurement has had to be replaced after the software firm went bankrupt. This has recently been resolved and all council buildings managed by Interserve will now start using the TEAM Sigma software system. Croydon will also be asking for the introduction of smart meters in its larger buildings as part of retendering its energy supply contract in 2009. This will allow the real-time monitoring of energy consumption at a high level of detail.
• Ensure carbon management objectives are included in the scope of contracts. For example, the leisure team asked EaST to join their project team for procurement of a contractor to run Croydon’s leisure services.
• It has been difficult to obtain data that gives an accurate estimate of carbon dioxide emissions from staff business travel by car as this is determined by the type of car, the road environment and driving style. A formal target has not been set, but activity is planned to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from council business travel through the staff travel plan.
• Being careful when assuming green energy tariffs are an easy solution. Despite green energy tariffs being cited as a potential means to reduce carbon emissions, Croydon has learnt that they do not necessarily deliver all the carbon savings they claim.
• The programme has had to cope with wide variations in how the 130 local schools approach facility management and keep records of their energy consumption.
• Be a demanding client and set high standards. By responding creatively, this has created benefits for contractors such as Interserve, Capgemini and Fusion (Croydon’s leisure centre operator) who can sell their ideas and expertise to other clients. Croydon’s innovative urban regeneration vehicle (CURV) has set explicitly high environmental standards, which have benefited from being promoted widely.
• Aim for the mainstreaming of carbon reduction in every service area plan rather than a series of discrete projects. Croydon’s carbon management programme has benefited from being holistic but has taken four to five years to get up and running. However, there is now increasing demand for carbon management advice across most areas of the council and every service plan must include specific actions to reduce carbon emissions which will be monitored.
• New and significant environmental legislation is soon to be enacted so there is a need for local authorities to act rapidly. For example, the carbon reduction commitment from 2010 will be particularly challenging for local authorities.

Further InformationTop of page

Kia Colbeck, Head of Environment and Sustainability, Croydon Council
Email kia.colbeck@croydon.gov.uk
Tel 020 8726 6000 x63849

Details of Carbon Trust

Details of Salix

Details of TEAM Sigma Software

Details of Croydon Strategic Partnership (LSP)