Environmental Performance ReportApril 2011 – March 2012

Essex CountyFire & Rescue Service

Our Values: Respect, Accountability, Openness and Involvement

Contents

Executive summary ................................................................................................................................................3

Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................4

Environmental Policy, Strategy and Action Plan 2011/12 ....................................................................................4

Progress on targets ................................................................................................................................................4

Legislation and future challenges ........................................................................................................................11

Appendix1 - Comparison of carbon footprint by site 2006-2011/12 .................................................................11

Executive Summary

2011/12 has been a year where the achievements of the Carbon Strategy and Action Plan can be split into two

distinct parts. Essex County Fire & Rescue Service has continued to invest in projects to reduce our Carbon

Footprint and taken part in the Carbon Trust Public Sector Carbon Management Programme, supporting ECFRS to

review our targets; whether they are achievable and quantifying how we can meet them.

At the end of 2011/12 Essex County Fire and Rescue Service can continue to work towards achievement of the

targets that have been set in successive Environmental Strategies and Action Plans. Internal targets have been

confirmed by the Carbon Trust and we have a quantified plan detailing how we might achieve these targets.

The graph below shows the reductions demanded by the targets and progress towards these so far. The rate of

reduction is not quite as fast as that required by the target although is only 1.8% higher than target.

Figure 1: Carbon Footprint targets and delivery against them

In terms of CO2 emissions, in 2011/12 they were a total of 5105 tonnes. This is a reduction on previous years

although slightly higher than target. A large reduction in gas consumption was seen, due to the milder winter

although there were increases in electricity and diesel use.

In terms of savings achieved, approximately £40k in 2011/12 was saved due to us noticing a billing problem at

Kelvedon Park and bringing it to the attention of the electricity company. As we had raised it they wrote off the

previous years of under-billing and are only charging from this point on. The reduction in gas use this winter will have

reduced the gas bill by £70k on the previous year.

Carbon Footprint: Target vs Actual

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Introduction

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service’s mission statement is to save and protect lives, property and the

environment. ECFRS is one of the UK’s largest Fire and Rescue Services and as a county contains many high

risk operations; oil and gas terminals, a power station, two airports and docks in addition to a heavily used road

network. In addition to fighting fires, attending road accidents and dealing with major emergencies, preventative

community safety activity also forms a great deal of the work now undertaken.

ECFRS currently operates 51 fire stations (including an Urban Search and Rescue facility), plus training facilities,

workshops and administrative centres, bringing the property total to over 90 premises. This organisation therefore

has a substantial impact upon the environment.

Environmental work commenced in 2004 with the assistance of the Carbon Trust. They returned in 2007. In 2010

ECFRS signed the Nottingham Declaration which pledges ECFRS to reduce carbon emissions from within the

organisation. In 2011 ECFRS signed up to the Carbon Trust’s Public Sector Carbon Management Programme for

the year.

This report covers the progress made on the Environmental Action Plan 2011/12, evaluating organisational progress

and identifying opportunities for the future.

Environmental Policy, Strategy And Action Plan 2011/12

The targets from the 2011/12 Strategy have updated targets from previous strategies, strengthening Authority’s

position as making a credible contribution to reducing the UK’s CO2 emissions. These targets are as follows;

• Reduction of ECFRS carbon footprint by 80% from the 2006 baseline by 2050

• Intermediate targets of a 30% reduction in carbon footprint by 2020, and 20% by 2015

• Reduce total electricity consumption to 3 Giga Watt hours by 2011

• Reduce total gas consumption to 6 Giga Watt hours by 2015

• 50% reduction of waste to landfill on 2006 figures by 2015

• Reduce diesel consumption by 10% from 2006 figures by 2015

• All new buildings to achieve a zero carbon standard by 2018

Progress on the targets listed above will be discussed in the section below.

Progress On Targets

The targets from the 2011/12 Strategy and Action Plan are listed and progress discussed below alongside the

scorecards. The scorecard system identifies the overall environmental effectiveness for each building compared to

a benchmark, each building is banded Red, Amber or Green for environmental performance based on Energy/CO2

and Water/Waste consumption.

Figure 2: Scorecards Environmental Summary- comparison 2010/11 and 2011/12 percentage of buildings per category

The tables above show the proportion of buildings that come into each category. In 2011/12 there is no change in

the number of buildings in the Red category, but there are fewer amber and more green. This may have been

affected by the mild winter driving down gas consumption.

The scorecards split the buildings in to type; Whole time Fire Station, Day Crewing Fire Station, Retained Fire Station

and Office and using an internal benchmark consider how they perform. There is an overall score, which is made

up of the scores for energy and CO2 per m2 and waste and water per Whole Time Equivalent (WTE). The scores

denote what percentage above and below the average they are for each area. These scorecards can be found on

the Service intranet. They are also going to be used to put together five year plans for each site.

Some fire stations have scored well according to these criteria; Burnham, Halstead, Leaden Roding, Newport,

Stansted and Weeley in particular. Some have also scored badly such as USAR, Braintree, Ongar and Witham.

These sites will be prioritised for improvements unless there is a good reason for delaying (such as major

refurbishment or disposal).

What did we do about Energy?

Target: Reduce total electricity consumption to 3 Giga Watt hours by 2011

An internal target set in 2007, consumption levels reduced to 2009 but since then consumption has risen, partially

due to the changeover of heating systems at Rayleigh Weir and Kelvedon Park to electrically driven systems,

increased IT use and security systems.

Other projects undertaken include;

• IT infrastructure including servers virtualised and upgrade of the air conditioning system. Including temperature

settings raised by 5°C, requiring less energy for cooling. This showed an immediate reduction of 2% of

electricity demand in the server room.

• Kelvedon Park heat exchange system, providing the heating and cooling to the glass house which is also sized

to accommodate the planned extension.

• 5.4 kWp solar PV array on the Kelvedon Park plant room roof in order to generate electricity and attract

payments via the Feed in Tariff (FIT).

Key Red >-10% of benchmark

Amber +10% of benchmark

Green >+10% of benchmark

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Figure 7: Kelvedon Park heat exchange and pond

• Tollesbury a full station refurbishment including removing an old oil fired boiler and replacing it with electrical

heaters. Quartz heaters in the appliance bay now boost the temperature when occupied.

Figure 8: Appliance bay heaters at Tollesbury Fire Station

• Motion sensors on appliance bay lighting at Brentwood, Chelmsford and Harlow. These light fittings can be

adjusted to light and time settings using a handheld device.

Target: Reduce total gas consumption to 6 Giga Watt hours by 2015

This requires more than a 30% reduction on 2009 levels which would be a significant achievement. 2009 figures

(including a cold winter) were just over 9GWh of gas. In 2010/11 consumption dropped to 6.8GWh after a generally

mild winter.

This year a number of projects that will also impact on this target have been undertaken;

• Brentwood heating; replacement pumps and improved controls.

• Chelmsford heating; replacement condensing boilers, reconfigured pipework and improved controls.

• Brightlingsea; a full refurbishment to all areas included improved lighting and heating, insulation in the loft

space and double glazing. All these measures will help mitigate the expected increase in energy use from

Police sharing.

• Ingatestone; a new heating system, lighting and double glazing.

• Manningtree and Dovercourt; roof insulation added during roof replacement works.

Figure 9: Refurbishment at Brightlingsea. Before and with insulation partially laid.

What did we do about Water?

Domestic type water consumption for 2011/12 was 26768 cubic meters, down from 27581 cubic metres in 2006

(3% decrease). However, water consumption has increased significantly over the past year due to a significant leak

at Basildon Fire Station. We are currently investigating the location of the leak so that it can be repaired.

At most other stations the pattern is similar to previous years with reductions seen as a result of the significant

investment undertaken during refurbishments in particular, with dual and low flush toilets installed and aerating taps

and showers replacing old fittings.

What did we do about Waste?

Target: 50% reduction of waste to landfill on 2006 figures by 2015

Facilities Management have been investigating centralising individual waste contracts under a single waste and

recycling contract in 2012/13. It is anticipated this would result in better service, ensured value for money and

crucially the recycling service ECFRS requires to meet its environmental objectives. This could result in a reduction

of 100 tonnes of CO2 off the carbon footprint, or 1.7% off the 2006/07 figure.

What did we do about Fuel?

Target: Reduce diesel consumption by 10% from 2006 figures by 2015

This has been achieved ahead of plan, between 2006/07 and 2011/12 diesel consumption reduced by nearly 13%.

Critical areas of success include;

• Replacing old vehicles at the end of their life with more efficient and cleaner vehicles with a higher Euro standard.

• A reduction in vehicle movements.

• Tighter rules on use of service vehicles.

Lease car CO2 is of concern as mileage and therefore, CO2 are increasing. This figure also does not include

business mileage figures for people driving their own vehicle for work purposes. An action will be required in the

next Strategy and Action Plan to try and reverse this increase.

As part of the Phase 2 works at Kelvedon Park a transport survey has been conducted and the Travel Plan updated

to ensure the development does not encourage unnecessary additional travel.

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Target: Reduction of ECFRS carbon footprint by 80% from the 2006 baseline by 2050 and Intermediate

targets of a 30% reduction in carbon footprint by 2020 and 20% by 2015

Figure 10: breakdown of the carbon footprint by source

This target is based on the national UK targets. Progress towards these targets (with gas in particular) is affected

by winter weather patterns. In 2009/10 and 2010/11 gas consumption increased, due in part to cold winters. In

2011/12 the gas consumption is 28% lower than in 2006/07, though this is after a mild winter. Overall our carbon

footprint has decreased 11% since 2006.

Other Initiatives

This year ECFRS participated in the Carbon Trust Public Sector Carbon Management Programme (PSCM). This

has involved reviewing each aspect of carbon management to date, from the targets set to how ECFRS is going to

achieve this. Significant effort has been put into the programme, allowing ECFRS to be one of the first participants

this year to pass the Carbon Trust criteria and have the plan signed off.

Display Energy Certificates (DECs) were completed at sites as required. The table overleaf shows DEC scores and

progress on these. The figures for KP increased in 2011/12 due to the DEC being undertaken just after the building

work was completed, which included energy intensive heating whilst the system was replaced. Hutton showed a

large drop, due to the relocation of most staff to Kelvedon Park. However, it still scored a G rating, the lowest rating.

This is unlikely to improve due to the plans to dispose of the site; investment would not pay back.

CO2 from source and total

All new buildings to achieve zero carbon standard by 2018

The new fire station at Rayleigh Weir has provided some valuable lessons in design, construction and use of an

intended low carbon building. Design for Phase 2 of the Kelvedon Park development will also provide useful experi-

ence. With the various refurbishment schemes undertaken each year different aspects can be put into practice,

such as low carbon lighting or heating.

As the DEC ratings show above, in use even new build can struggle to score well. However, both Rayleigh Weir and

the Corringham Community Facility scored B ratings on their Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) which is their

as built score. Bridging the gap in design score and actual performance needs more attention.

Other areas not covered by direct targets

Procurement

A couple of actions in this area have been included within the change management section of the CMP and will

drive improvement over the next 4 years. In addition to this the catering department at Kelvedon Park have been

working to achieve bronze certification by the Soil Association. This would be a first for a Fire Service. In order to

achieve this they must procure more local food, prepare more on site, reduce the use of preservatives and additives

and also buy food with guaranteed animal welfare. It is better for local suppliers, healthier, better for the environment

and economically, socially and environmentally friendly; a truly sustainable project.

Premises DEC rating 2009/2010 DEC rating 2010/2011 DEC rating 2011/2012

Southend fire station & CC 56 63 70

Witham fire station & tc 62 96

Basildon fire station 71 64

Leigh fire station 76 30 66

Grays fs cc 78 70 74

Orsett fire station & tc 83 141 92

Lexden workshops 134 143 141

Hutton 181 182 152

Rayleigh Weir 174 169

Colchester fire station 82

Kelvedon Park HQ 200 128 183

Best to dateLeigh fire station 30

Southend fire station & cc 56

Witham fire station & tc 62

Basildon fire station 64

Grays fs cc 70

Colchester fire station 82

Orsett fire station & tc 83

Kelvedon Park HQ 128

Lexden workshops 134

Hutton 152

Rayleigh Weir 169

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Awareness and Consultation

Information from the data loggers has been problematic as we have not been receiving the information in a timely

manner. It is recommended that where possible these sites move over to automated meters.

Consultation with the Fire Authority continues, mostly through the Environmental Champion Councillor McEwen,

who has been very enthusiastic and proactive in his involvement.

A dedicated space on the service intranet is maintained as part of the Property Services team page and provides

past and present carbon footprints, environmental strategies, action plans and reports.

Also, as part of the PSCM Programme we undertook an exercise asking staff to provide suggestions for projects

for the CMP. A number of these ideas were included in the final CMP. As part of the CMP preparation feedback was

asked for on several occasions by other members of the Carbon Management Board. This gave the plan a greater

breadth from previous documents as it had the direct input of more departments.

Technology

The actions under technology are for the most part on going and come under the remit of the RADICALE group.

RADICALE also provides a process for communication and consultation with staff. This year a restructure is planned

in order to attract new members and rejuvenate the group.

Currently technologies such as solar PV, water to water heat exchange and ground source heat pumps are being

monitored.

Funding/Finance

This year additional funding should be received from the Feed-in-Tariff for the solar PV system at Kelvedon Park.

There is currently a lengthy backlog on the registrations; therefore receiving the payments is taking longer than

anticipated.

Several sites are missing from the energy contract, some of which have been for a number of years and a major

work area has been to have them included. This should be completed in 2012 when the energy contracts are

tendered.

This year there were also several meter issues. At Kelvedon Park there was a longstanding under-billing issue; due

to us raising this we will not be retrospectively billed, saving approximately £40k in 2011/12. Issues at both Basildon

(gas) and Harlow (electricity) have been rectified with new meters installed.

Partnership Working

The major piece of partnership working this year has been with the Carbon Trust. This has involved working closely

with other organisations on the programme. There has also been a great deal of information sharing with other local

authorities and central government departments, both current and previous participants.

Locally, an energy manager’s forum has been set up, led by Chelmsford Borough Council. Meetings are 4 times a

year to discuss changing legislation and ideas for carbon management.

Operational

In 2011/12 ECFRS has continued to engage with the environment agency to ensure environmental compliance

and encourage large risks in the county to prepare in case of emergency to reduce the likelihood of any major

environmental damage resulting from such an event.

Legislation And Future Challenges

The past 12 months have seen changes to the UK approach to the Environment. Changes to the Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) have affected plans for installation of solar photo voltaics (PV) and further changes are to be introduced over the next 12 months. Not only are tariffs due to fall further, impacting on payback periods, also the eligibility criteria are changing depending on the buildings current energy efficiency standards for example.

The Renewable Heat Incentive and Green Deal are due to be launched this year. The Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC) is something ECFRS is registered with but not as full participants. However, the scheme is currently under review and may not even continue for much longer; the government is keen to reduce regulatory burden and costs for businesses and this will impact the scheme.

Appendix 6 - Comparison Of Carbon Footprint By Site 2006/07-2011/12

Several sites have shown continual improvements in the last 3 years; Basildon, Colchester, Grays, USAR and

Workshops. Most of these sites have also had heating improvements installed over this time period.

Many retained stations have shown improvements in recent years such as Burnham, Corringham, Dunmow, Halstead,

Hawkwell, Ingatestone, Leaden Roding, Newport, Old Harlow, Weeley and Wethersfield. What most of these sites have

in common is that they have had major refurbishments undertaken in recent years with improved lighting and heating,

plus additional thermal efficiency measures such as insulation and double glazing. Here these investments are showing

results.

Carbon Footprint 2009/10-2011/12 Full Time Buildings

Carbon Footprint 2009/10-2011/12 Retained Stations

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