Rochdale MBC Carbon Management Programme
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Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council
Carbon Management Programme
Carbon Management Plan (CMP)
Date: 8/11/2010
Version number: 010
Owner: B Fryer
Approval route: Cabinet
Approval status: Draft
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Contents
Foreword from [your Chief Exec and Political Sponsor] 3
Foreword from the Carbon Trust 3
Management Summary 4
1 Introduction 7
2 Carbon Management Strategy 8
2.1 Context and drivers for Carbon Management 8
2.2 Our low carbon vision 9
2.3 Strategic themes 9
2.4 Targets and objectives 10
3 Emissions, Baseline and Projections 11
3.1 Scope 11
3.2 Baseline 11
3.3 Projections and value at stake 11
4. Carbon Management Projects 12
4.1 Existing and ongoing projects 12
4.2 Near term projects 13
4.3 Medium to long term projects 13
5. Carbon Management Plan Financing 14
5.1 Context 14
5.2 Existing funding 14
5.3 Future funding 15
5.4 Additional resources 15
6. Actions to Embed Carbon Management in Rochdale 16
6.1 Corporate Strategy – embedding CO2 saving across your organisation 16
6.2 Programme Management – bringing it all together effectively 16
6.3 Responsibility – being clear that saving CO2 is everyone’s job 16
6.4 Data Management – measuring the difference, measuring the benefit 16
6.5 Communication and Training – ensuring everyone is aware 17
6.6 Finance and Investment – the money to match the commitment 17
6.7 Policy Alignment – saving CO2 across your operations 17
7. Programme Management of the Carbon Management Programme 18
7.1 The Programme Board – strategic ownership and oversight 18
7.2 The Carbon Management Operational Group – delivering the projects 18
7.3 Succession planning for key roles 19
7.4 Ongoing stakeholder management 19
7.5 Annual progress review 19
Appendix A: Carbon Management Matrix - Embedding 20
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Foreword from [your Chief Exec and Political Sponsor]
Text
Foreword from the Carbon Trust
Cutting carbon emissions as part of the fight against climate change should be a key priority for local authorities - it's all about getting your own house in order and leading by example. The UK government has identified the local authority sector as key to delivering carbon reduction across the UK inline with its Kyoto commitments and the Local Authority Carbon Management programme is designed in response to this. It assists councils in saving money on energy and putting it to good use in other areas, whilst making a positive contribution to the environment by lowering their carbon emissions.
Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council was selected in 2009, amidst strong competition, to take part in this ambitious programme. RMBC partnered with the Carbon Trust on this programme in order to realise vast carbon and cost savings. This Carbon Management Plan commits the council to a target of reducing CO2 by 34% by 2014 and underpins potential financial savings to the council of around £5 million.
There are those that can and those that do. Local authorities can contribute significantly to reducing CO2 emissions. The Carbon Trust is very proud to support Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council in their ongoing implementation of carbon management.
Richard Rugg
Head of Public Sector, Carbon Trust
Including a foreword signed, ideally, by both your Chief Exec and Political Sponsor will make your CMP stand out and carry more weight within the Authority. This need only be a paragraph or two setting the Programme against the strategic priorities of the Authority.
It should ideally include their photo and a picture of their signature, possibly even a photo of them signing off the document.
Guidance notes – please delete from final document
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Management Summary
This Carbon Management Plan (CMP) forms one of the key deliverables of the Carbon Trusts Local Authority Carbon Management Programme and will assist Rochdale Council to achieve the strict guidelines as set out by the Carbon Reduction Commitment. Below is a summary of The Carbon Management Plan, outlining how it interlocks with local and borough-wide strategies and the key projects, costs and carbon savings of the programme. The CMP has been drafted around key corporate policies and documents, as well as national indicators and government policy. The key relevant policies, documents and initiatives are set out below:
Nationally
Climate Change Act 2008
This groundbreaking piece of legislation made the UK the first, and still the only, country to legislatively commit to reducing CO2 emissions. The act requires an 80% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050.
Carbon Reduction Commitment
This is integral to assist local authorities make the fullest contribution to the national 80% reduction figure and the 34% minimum reduction by 2020. It is a mandatory ‘Cap and Trade’ emissions trading scheme for the non intensive sector and will apply to most of the public sector. If an organisation’s consumption is more than 6000MWh or £500k then they qualify. Participants will be assessed on their ability to reduce emissions and will have their performance published in a league table. Councils will buy credits to cover their total emissions. The scope includes schools but not transport at this time. The price of a tonne of CO2 under the CRC is set initially at £12 per tonne, but is expected to rise in subsequent years.
Significant changes were made to the CRC in the Comprehensive Spending Review, October 2010. This removed the recycling of revenue to participants and the trading elements of the scheme. The effect of these changes is to make CRC a ‘carbon tax’ of £12/t CO2
10:10 Campaign
The national 10:10 campaign invites individuals, businesses and organisations to sign up to cutting their CO2 emissions by 10% in 2010. Rochdale Council signed up to 10:10 in November 2009 and we will be aligning our carbon reductions under the Carbon Management Programme with our commitments under 10:10
RMBC Policy
Environmental Policy
An Environmental Policy for RMBC was adopted on 13 January 2010. This policy will help the Council work towards attainment of the International Environmental Standard of Environmental Management,
ISO 14001.
Aiming High
This is the Strategic Plan for Rochdale Borough and sets out the priorities for 2007-2010 for the borough. Aiming High has 5 borough-wide priorities, including creating a cleaner, greener environment. The Strategic Plan is shaped by Pride of Place, Rochdale borough’s community strategy. The Local Strategic Partnership developed a vision of creating “a thriving place where people want to live, work, visit and do business - a place in which we can all take pride.” Both Aiming High and Pride of Place are currently being renewed for the period 2011-2014. The Carbon Management Plan timescales are consistent with this.
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Asset Management Plan
The Corporate Asset Management Plan has been produced by the Impact Partnership. This document sets out RMBC’s objectives for its buildings and land portfolio in the context of community and corporate plans. The asset management plan is closely linked with our Environment Policy and targets are in place for assets in line with our carbon reduction commitment.
Transformation Programme
Rochdale borough is undergoing a major transformation, both the Council in the way it operates and regeneration of the wider town centre. This is being led by the development of a new passenger interchange by GMPTE and of new Municipal Offices by the Council, but forms part of a wider regeneration project being led by the Rochdale Development Agency. This programme will see an investment of over £200 million into Rochdale town centre. The building of a new Municipal Office will also enable the Council to dispose of over 30 older, carbon inefficient buildings, to occupy a high performing, low-carbon building.
Procurement
The council is striving to make its procurement more sustainable. One project underway is the Carbon Disclosure Project. The CDP provides assistance with the collection of outsourced services emissions data for National Indicator 185, a common framework for building carbon disclosure into new or renegotiated contracts and a way to begin a dialogue with suppliers about climate change and reducing emissions. We have also developed a ‘Whole Life Cost’ toolkit for use on significant procurement and capital projects.
Staff Travel
Rochdale MBC is committed to solving the problems of road safety, pollution and congestion, and promoting healthy lifestyles, through encouraging public transport, cycling, walking, home-working and responsible use of the car for commuting and business, amongst staff and visitors. The council is currently producing an updated staff travel plan, designed to reduce, whenever possible, the environmental, social and economic impacts of staff travel.
Funding
The Impact Partnership have commissioned a report on the business case for investing in energy management technologies. The output of this work is forming the basis of an application for Salix funding, which would provide interest-free loans for investing in carbon reduction measures.
The coalition government has also announced a range of financial incentives for carbon reduction projects, such as a Green Investment Bank, continuation of Feed in Tariffs for renewable electricity generation and a forthcoming Renewable Heat Incentive.
Management, co-ordination, reporting and evaluation
The project leader will meet on a 6 weekly basis with the Programme Board, chaired by the project sponsor, in order to monitor progress toward the 34% reduction target. At an operational level the carbon management programme will be co-ordinated by a joint NI 185 and EST one to one support group to meet on a monthly basis. Progress will be reported to ELT on a twice yearly basis and to Executive members annually. A Communications plan will also be developed. An annual review will take place in May/June of each year to track and monitor progress against the target reductions. Reporting will follow the framework outlined above.
Baseline Emissions 2008/09
The following baseline data was collected for the 2008/09 financial year for the purposes of NI 185 reporting. There are considerable questions over the availability of accurate data to establish a robust baseline.
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Baseline Emissions 2008/09 (tonnes CO2)
27,203
2,816
6,274
Buildings
Transport
Streetlighting
It is important to note that our current baseline for 2008/9 constitutes 36,292 tonnes of CO2 which equates to a cost of over £5.5m in energy bills. Over the next 5 years and with expected energy increase in energy prices our energy bill is expected to increase to over £8m. By implementing the measures and projects set out in this plan we can mitigate against this increasing financial risk.
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1 Introduction
Rochdale MBC was selected by the Carbon Trust to revitalise it’s Carbon Management Plan (CMP). For many reasons, including staffing changes, progress on the original Local Authority Carbon Management Programme had stalled.
Rochdale MBC have signed up to the LACM revisited programme in order to get the plan back on track and reach the carbon reduction target of 34% by 2014. Over the past few months, the council has made good progress in revitalising the CMP. The key achievements have been:
§ Selection by the Carbon Trust to revitalise the CMP.
§ Creation of a Carbon Management Team, covering all relevant service areas that will meet on a monthly basis.
§ Collection of baseline data from buildings, transport and street-lighting.
§ Creation of a Programme Board with managerial and councillor oversight, who will meet on a 6 weekly basis and make key decisions relating to the CMP.
§ Official re-launch of the Programme, attended by the Carbon Management Team, Project Sponsor and elected member.
In essence, this plan details the sources of council emissions and re-establishes a workable and accurate baseline position against which the measures taken and progress can be measured against. In addition to other documents and complementary support programmes that it references the plan lays down the council’s approach towards energy and carbon management. The plan identifies key actions that are being taken to reduce CO2 emissions. The new CMP covers a period of five years 2009-2014 and it includes regular monitoring and reporting on progress.
Context and Background Rochdale Borough’s Community Strategy Pride of Place 2007-2010 outlines what needs doing to improve the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of the borough and its residents. Pride of Place is augmented by Aiming High, the strategic plan for the borough, which sets out our priorities until 2010. Creating a Cleaner Greener Borough and the creation of Sustainable Communities are at the heart of Aiming High. Key priorities within the strategic plan include reducing the boroughs environmental impact and carbon saving targets such as promoting sustainable travel. Key priorities within the borough’s community strategy include further tackling climate change including promoting energy efficiency, sustainable design, renewable energy, and reducing fuel poverty. A figure of 8% carbon reduction by 2010 was the target level in Aiming High.
Work is underway to prepare an updated Sustainable Community Strategy for the period 2011-2014.
The refresh of the CMP allows alignment with the emerging local priorities:
§ People
§ Place
§ Prosperity
The Carbon Management Plan will significantly build on these achievements and priorities, setting out challenging yet achievable targets.
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2 Carbon Management Strategy
There are a number of key drivers for running the Local Authority Carbon Management Programme, both nationally and locally. It is important to understand the context of the CMP in order for it to interlock with other strategic initiatives.
2.1 Context and drivers for Carbon Management
Climate Change
Climate change is the single biggest threat to our planet. The process of climate change is largely down to human activities, particularly the combustion of fossil fuels, along with several other activities including land use for example. Current trends suggest that global temperatures could rise between 1.1 and 6.4 degrees above 1980-1999 levels by the end of the 21st century. The exact amount depends on the levels of future greenhouse gas emissions.
National Drivers
Legislation
Recently the legislative landscape regarding climate change and greenhouse gases emissions changed. The Climate Change Act 2008 commits us all to reduce our Carbon Dioxide emissions by 80% by 2050 against 1990 baselines. Local Authorities have a unique role to play leading by example and preparing their communities to avoid the most devastating consequences of climate change. RMBC is already committed to tackling climate change and reducing CO2 emissions but such reductions, essentially severing our reliance on fossil fuels will be a huge challenge for RMBC. Alongside the moral imperative of our time and for generations to come there are clear reasons why reducing emissions makes a lot of sense now in terms of improved performance, forward planning as well as financially. In short, we don’t have any choice.
Policy
National policies on climate change all apply, in one way or another, to local government. These drivers will compel us to act. RMBC has already acted by choosing climate change indicators for its Local Area Agreement. There Over 100 buildings which require Display Energy Certificates (DECs) required under the Energy Performance in Buildings Directive have been assessed. This requirement forces the improvement of energy performance and will make a significant contribution toward reducing building CO2 emissions. DECs are based on actual consumption and have to be displayed prominently and visible by the public.
Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC)
The CRC is a mandatory carbon reduction scheme for large users of energy. It covers both public and private organisations and RMBC is required to participate. The scheme requires organisations to forecast their CO2 emissions at the beginning of the financial year and purchase allowances equivalent to their emissions. The CRC came into force on 1 April 2010 and the first purchase of allowances will be in July 2012. The price of allowances is initially fixed at £12 per tonne of CO2 but is expected to rise in later years. Allowance purchase for RMBC will be approximately £400,000
In October of each year a league table is published ranking organisations according to their success at reducing CO2 emissions. Money from the sale of allowances was originally planned to be recycled to participants, with bonuses or penalties applied according to position in the league table.
There are also significant fines and penalties within the scheme for organisations that fail to accurately predict their CO2 emissions or keep accurate data on energy use and CO2 emissions. Without sufficient investment in data quality and CO2 reduction, RMBC could easily incur fines up to £2m or more.
Significant changes were made to the CRC in the Comprehensive Spending Review, October 2010. This removed the recycling of revenue to participants and the trading elements of the scheme. The effect of these changes is to make CRC a ‘carbon tax’ of £12/t CO2
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Local Drivers
The local drivers for Rochdale MBC include:
Cost Saving
The UK is currently facing an unprecedented economic situation, with severe financial pressure across the whole public sector to reduce budget deficits. For RMBC this means finding savings running into tens of millions of pounds over the next 5 years.
Rising energy prices mean there is a significant financial benefit for RMBC to reduce carbon emissions. RMBC currently spends around £5m on energy each year, so the scope for reducing spending by reducing energy consumption (and therefore CO2) is significant.
Nottingham Declaration
The signing off of this document in 2008 highlighted a commitment to tackling climate change at a local level. The Nottingham Declaration commits the council to develop plans with LSP partners and local communities to progressively address the causes and the impacts of climate change and to commit to achieve a significant reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from RMBC operations, especially energy sourcing and use, travel and transport, waste production and disposal and the purchasing of goods and services.
10:10 Campaign
The national 10:10 campaign invites individuals, businesses and organisations to sign up to cutting their CO2 emissions by 10% in 2010. Rochdale Council signed up to 10:10 in November 2009 and we will be aligning our carbon reductions under the Carbon Management Programme with our commitments under 10:10
A 10% reduction in our CO2 emissions equates to reducing emissions by 3,629 tonnes CO2
Local Area Agreement National indicator 186 is prioritised in Rochdale borough’s LAA. A 3.2% reduction target was set for
2010/11 from the 2005/06 baseline. The LAA aims to show leadership in the challenge of climate
change and champion sustainable development.
Energy Saving Trust One to One Support Programme Signing up to this programme demonstrates local leadership in addressing climate change and will result in carbon savings from housing, vehicle fleet and the surrounding community. The carbon reduction targets in this programme will assist with driving the CMP and reducing CO2 emissions.
2.2 Our low carbon vision
The Rochdale MBC Carbon Management Plan aims to reduce the council’s CO2 emissions by 34% by 2014 and demonstrate local leadership in carbon reduction. The council will continually
monitor and improve carbon emissions, saving money and creating a cleaner greener environment for the borough and its residents.
2.3 Strategic themes
Rochdale borough’s key strategic themes will aid carbon reduction and provide a basic framework of activity. The strategic themes will help the council to reach its low carbon vision and complete the programme projects. The following themes have been identified for RMBC:
§ Make carbon management initiatives a priority for all council employees, stressing its importance from the start of their council careers.
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§ Promote an effective communications campaign is in place to raise awareness and deliver initiatives.
§ Ensure all services and partners are on board to establish ownership of the different projects and activities.
§ Embed carbon management throughout all emerging council policies and strategies.
§ Secure sufficient funding for projects in order to reap long term benefits and savings.
§ Implement and promote renewable energy projects throughout the borough.
§ The scale of efficiency savings required of local authorities, leading to increased externalisation and collaboration, with councils increasingly acting as contract managers for private sector delivery
These themes will be embedded throughout the Carbon Management Plan
2.4 Targets and objectives
• Rochdale MBC will reduce its CO2 emissions by 34% from the 2008/09 baseline
• Rochdale MBC will reduce its CO2 emissions by 10% in financial year 2010/11 from the preceding year’s baseline
Key targets areas of the Carbon Management Plan include the following:
§ Continue and improve sustainable procurement throughout the council.
§ Embed energy saving culture within all employees, through training, communications and job descriptions. This is a key feature of an accredited Environmental Management System such as ISO14001
§ Promote good practice and carbon savings externally, through a good communications plan.
§ Increase the usage of renewable energy sources throughout the borough.
§ Promote and increase the use of sustainable transport and green fleet management.
§ Continue to reduce and monitor carbon emissions on an annual basis.
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3 Emissions, Baseline and Projections
3.1 Scope
The scope of the CMP covers all CO2 emissions from its activities for the next 5 years. The baseline data collected was from buildings (schools, offices, leisure centres and swimming pools), street lighting and transport (fleet, business travel).
3.2 Baseline
The following baseline data was collected for the 2008/09 financial year for the purposes of NI 185 reporting. There are considerable questions over the availability of accurate data to establish a robust baseline.
The costs in the table below have been calculated using the fixed price for CO2 of £12/tonne as established by the Carbon Reduction Commitment.
Total Buildings and street lights
Transport Waste Water
Baseline CO2 emissions (tonnes) 36,292 33,477 2,816 unknown* unknown*
Baseline Cost (£) £435,504 £401,724 £33,792 £5,800,000 £353,000
* CO2 for waste is reported by GMWDA and for water by United Utilities
Baseline Emissions 2008/09 (tonnes CO2)
27,203
2,816
6,274
Buildings
Transport
Streetlighting
3.3 Projections and Value at Stake
It is essential that an assessment is carried out as to the data quality of the baseline figures used before any useful projections can be made.
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4 Carbon Management Projects
The following projects consist of those already ongoing, those already planned for implementation and those devised by the Carbon Management Team. The projects devised were rated for ease of implementation and effectiveness, i.e. the amount of carbon savings.
4.1 Existing and ongoing projects.
Energy Saving Trust One to One Support Programme
RMBC is working with the Energy Saving Trust (EST) to reduce CO2 emissions both from its own operations and across the borough. This support programme is focused primarily on area-wide emissions rather than just from council activities. An action plan has been drawn up detailing actions across housing, transport, office energy use and other associated areas of emissions. This is supported and monitored by the Greater Manchester Energy Saving Trust Advice Centre (ESTAC)
Corporate Travel Plan
The corporate travel plan details ways in which RMBC can reduce the CO2 emissions arising from our transport choices. This includes both our own fleet of vehicles as well as the emissions caused by members of staff travelling to work and in the course of their duties. The travel plan includes direct activities, such as smarter driving training for staff to improve fuel efficiency, as well as policy incentives such as reviewing mileage rates for bicycle use.
Streetlighting PFI
RMBC is currently engaged in a joint PFI procurement exercise with Oldham Council for new streetlighting in the borough. This exercise will, over the lifetime of the contract significantly reduce the CO2 emissions caused by street lights by replacing older, inefficient lights with more modern technology.
Automatic Meter Reading (AMR)
The installation of automatic meter reading technology provides two main benefits. Firstly it ensures that energy bills are always accurate, as the AMR send meter information directly to suppliers without the need for an engineer to visit and read the meter. This will prevent RMBC from overpaying on estimated bills. Secondly, the installation of AMR attracts credit under the Carbon Reduction Commitment. This will improve our position in the CRC league table and therefore reduce the cost of participating in the scheme. The main benefit though is that the installation of AMR guarantees data quality.
The installation of AMR on the majority of electric meters in RMBC corporate buildings is already underway. This has been instructed on a 5 year lease model with the first year fully funded and will be completed in 2011. There remains a high need to install AMR on school electric meters and on gas meters in all buildings, corporate and schools.
Voltage Optimisation
Voltage optimisation involves matching the voltage of incoming electricity supplies to the exact requirements of power using appliances. Although UK mains electricity is 240V, many appliances can operate perfectly well on 220-230V, saving both energy and CO2.
Voltage optimisation equipment has been installed at Rochdale Town Hall, saving 26,600kg CO2 and £6,100 per year.
Environmental Management Transformation Programme
Environmental Management service has been working with Impact Partnership to develop and implement a transformation programme across the service. This has involved vehicle tracking systems, green fleet monitoring, route optimisation and portable working devices. This is projected to save £1m per year. Figures for CO2 savings through reduced fuel consumption are being calculated at the time of press and will be available in due course.
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4.2 Near term projects (next 1-2 years)
Energy Efficiency Interest Free Loans
The government funded interest free loans for local authorities to implement energy efficiency measures. Such measures include cavity wall insulation, draught proofing and lighting controls. The loans are repaid from savings made on reduced energy bills. Salix have currently approved £243k of energy efficiency projects, £126k of which relate to Schools and £117k relating to Corporate Buildings.
Carbon Reduction in Schools
RMBC has been successful in securing funding for CREATE, a leading energy education charity, to work with schools in the borough to establish new ways for schools to engage with carbon reduction. This will provide a template for authorities across the North West to assist with carbon reduction in schools. In addition to this, seminars have been held to prepare schools for their role in participating in the Carbon Reduction Commitment.
Awareness Raising Campaign
A crucial part of enabling the successful implementation of this plan is a comprehensive programme of awareness raising. This not only increases understanding and acceptance of any new technologies and ways of working; it also equips staff with knowledge that they can put into practice in their own homes and communities. It has been established that a significant programme of awareness raising can lead to CO2 savings of 10%. This could lead to financial savings of over £300k per year.
A comprehensive awareness-raising campaign is a key part of achieving our 10:10 commitments. Some projects have already been undertaken, such as loaning energy monitors from borough libraries.
4.3 Medium to long term projects (2-5 years)
Strategic Centralisation of Budgets
Payment of energy bills is currently the responsibility of individual Services, who receive bills for the buildings they occupy. The task of monitoring this expenditure and processing payments is often allocated to many individuals within each service. This makes it increasingly difficult to take strategic energy choices for the organisation as a whole. Centralising the procurement and payment of energy will make this possible and help to eliminate incorrect billing. It will also make it quicker and easier for RMBC to fulfil its obligations under the Carbon Reduction Commitment.
Carbon Budgets for Services
In line with all the policy and other drivers detailed above, it is essential that every part of the Council reduces their CO2 emissions year on year. At present however, individual services, divisions and teams have no idea of the amount of CO2 they generate. It is proposed that, alongside their financial budget, each service receives a CO2 budget. This would act as a key driver for the wider understanding of the actions necessary to reduce our CO2.
Borough wide ESCO/MUSCO and private wire networks
One of the key features of a low-carbon energy system is the need for decentralisation. A huge percentage of UK energy is wasted as low grade heat from power stations. A decentralised energy feasibility study has already been carried out for Rochdale town centre, and similar studies could be carried out across the whole borough to assess the potential for decentralised energy.
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5 Carbon Management Plan Financing
5.1 Context
Over the past 2-3 years there have been many well-publicised issues with the global economy. One of the effects of this has seen the UK’s budget deficit rise to unprecedented levels. The recently elected Coalition Government has embarked on a deficit reduction programme that has seen public finances put under severe pressure.
Reductions in income have led Rochdale Council to estimate that it needs to save £120m over the next 4 years. This will involve taking a number of difficult decisions around reductions in both employment and activities carried out by the council, as well as maximising any opportunities to make savings through increasing efficiencies.
As an inevitable consequence of being at the beginning of such a lengthy programme, there are still a considerable number of uncertainties regarding future finance for the council. In light of this, it would be inappropriate to be too specific regarding future financing of this plan. What can be done is to lay out a process by which projects can be brought forward for approval based on their ability to be self financing.
An additional pressure on council budgets has been caused by the recent changes to the Carbon Reduction Commitment in the government’s Comprehensive Spending Review. In the original scheme, participants buy carbon allowances and government then recycles the bulk of the cost of their allowances back, subject to any bonus/penalty according to their success at reducing CO2 emissions. Under the revised scheme there will be no recycling of allowance purchase money, effectively making it a carbon tax. This creates an additional cost to Rochdale Council of circa £400,000 in 2011/12, with the potential to rise to £500,000 or more over the next 4 years.
5.2 Existing Funding
Salix Funding
The council has successfully drawn down £164,800 of funding through the government sponsored Salix funding scheme. Salix provide interest-free loans to fund the installation of energy efficiency measures. The loans are then paid back from the savings made by reduced energy bills. This funding has been used to install measures in both corporate buildings as well as schools. The table below shows the individual measures, together with cost and payback information.
Technology Cost Annual Savings Payback Period
Auto lighting controls £72.7k £35.3k 2.06yrs
Cavity wall insulation £65.1k £13.4k 4.86yrs
Draught proofing £27.0k £18.1k 1.5yrs
Total Programme £164.8k £66.8k 2.47yrs
Existing Capital Programme
Some energy saving measures have been funded through the council’s existing capital programme. One example of this is the installation of voltage optimisation in Rochdale Town Hall. This technology more accurately matches the voltage of the incoming power supply to the needs of equipment in the building. The table below gives further detail.
Technology Cost Annual Savings Payback Period
Draught proofing £23.5k £6.1k 3.85yrs
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5.3 Future Funding
Prudential Borrowing
It is proposed that the future installation of energy saving measures is carried out as part of the council’s capital programme using prudential borrowing. This model is essentially the same as the Salix model, with the drawback that the loans are not interest-free. However, provided that the measures installed save more money on energy bills than the repayment of the borrowing, they are still financially beneficial to the council. Furthermore, once the borrowing is repaid, the measures will generate significant further savings.
The following process will be used to approve the measures for which the council would seek prudential borrowing:
• The Carbon Management Operational Group (see chapter 7) prepares a full business plan for energy efficiency measures up to a total value of £250k
• The council’s Asset Management Group reviews the business plan to ensure that the proposal is in line with existing asset management plans and priorities
• The Carbon Management Programme Board reviews and approves the business plan
Schemes above £250k can be brought forward, but would require additional approvals.
This approach will provide a process through which self financing projects can secure funding, whilst allowing the council maximum flexibility during this extremely difficult time for public finances.
5.4 Additional resources
Additional resources may become available from various sources; such as utility company funds, government and EU funding or new institutions such as the proposed Green Investment Bank.
As part of the ongoing management of this plan, such sources will be scrutinised for their suitability for funding elements of the plan.
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6 Actions to Embed Carbon Management in Rochdale MBC
In order for the Carbon Management Plan to be a success, it is imperative that change in made throughout all council services and procedures. Using the embedding matrix (see appendix), the Carbon Management team rated the council’s current performance between 1 and 3 for most sections. However, with an effective carbon saving plan that is embedded throughout the council, the target is to achieve level 5 by the end of the 5 year programme.
6.1 Corporate Strategy – embedding CO2 saving across your organisation
Rochdale MBC will embed the CMP across all services in the council by:
§ Ensuring all relevant services and partners are represented and included in key carbon saving decisions. Heads of service to set targets.
§ Ensuring senior level buy in and support, including CMP briefings at SMT meetings. also briefings for Cabinet/Portfolio holders. Project sponsor to lead on this.
§ CMP communications plan – including publishing the plan and raising awareness. Green champions to be promoted and utilised.
§ Working with service areas to establish challenging yet achievable carbon saving targets.
§ Including the 34% reduction target in future editions of corporate strategies, e.g. Aiming High.
§ Identifying all key documents that are required to embed carbon management.
§ Identifying a single point of contact within the SD team to rely on for any queries.
§ Creating a programme blueprint and annual timetable of meetings/actions, made available to all to keep services and partners informed.
§ Producing a business case model for carbon management.
6.2 Programme Management – bringing it all together effectively
This factor of embedding Carbon Management is covered in section seven of this Plan.
6.3 Responsibility – being clear that saving CO2 is everyone’s job
The key driver to tackling climate change and reducing carbon emissions is ensuring that everybody takes some responsibility. A key outcome of the CMP is to recruit Green Champions in different council offices. These enthusiastic individuals will be a vital method of communication and publicity and can make a significant contribution to carbon savings.
Engaging Heads of Service will also be integral to the programme. As mentioned previously, HoS will be responsible for setting carbon reduction targets; ensuring carbon management is a priority and embedding it within all plans and policies.
Carbon management is also to become mandatory for all employees. It has been proposed that a clause is added to all job descriptions, to ensure that staff are aware and adhere to carbon policies.
The communications policy will also highlight the importance of carbon saving and continually raise awareness to and educate staff in the field of carbon management.
6.4 Data Management – measuring the difference, measuring the benefit
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Data collection will be significantly improved through the use of SMART metering, a key project objective. More accurate data will be collected on an annual basis. Data will be collected by contacts in the relevant services areas, e.g. Housing, Energy Management etc. This data will also be communicated more frequently, so good practice can be shared and all services are aware of any carbon savings.
6.5 Communication and Training – ensuring everyone is aware
Raising awareness is imperative if everyone is to play a part in carbon management. An effective communications strategy can achieve an extra 10% carbon savings. Communication will be required to Heads of Service, ELT, Cabinet, SMT, LSP partners, all employees, schools and ALMOs. The following communication and training will be completed to achieve an effective Carbon Management Programme:
§ Communication to internal staff via intranet, newsletters, posters etc. The details of this campaign will be finalised by the Communications Team.
§ Communication to local residents via the media and internet. The details of this campaign will be finalised by the Communications Team.
§ Information included in induction packs for new starters at the council and relayed at to them at their corporate induction. This would include information on sustainable travel and other carbon saving activities, such as ensuring monitors are turned off etc. Carbon management must be embedded in corporate inductions.
§ Training given to current staff on effective carbon management and the small actions everyone can accomplish to make a difference. This is particularly important for employees such as cleaner and caretakers that are often last out of buildings.
§ Examine including a visual aid to highlight energy usage, for example a screen showing the current energy use of the building and the rising costs to the council.
6.6 Finance and Investment – the money to match the commitment
This factor of embedding Carbon Management is covered in section five of this Plan.
6.7 Policy Alignment – saving CO2 across your operations
As previously mentioned, carbon management must be imbedded throughout all relevant plans and policies if significant progress is to be made. The key ones are listed below. A timescale for reviewing these is yet to be arranged. It is likely that this will be done through the sustainability appraisal process for these documents/plans/policies.
§ Procurement Strategy
§ Environmental Policy
§ Asset Management Plan
§ Strategic Plan
§ Capital Investment Plan
§ Transformation Plan
§ Climate Change Strategy (early 2011)
§ Sustainable Community Strategy (early 2011)
§ Forward Plan
§ Corporate Travel Plan
§ Local Development Framework
§ Service Plans
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Programme Management of the CM Programme
In order for the CMP to be a success, strong leadership and committed senior level management are imperative. The programme board and the Carbon Management Team will represent the council and partners as a whole will have oversight of projects and initiatives.
7.1 The Programme Board – strategic ownership and oversight
The Programme Board will have management oversight and will be responsible for making decisions relating to key projects of the CMP. It will be chaired by the Project Sponsor. The board is made up of:
Project Sponsor: Andy Zuntz (Executive Director)
Project Leader: Barry Simons (Service Manager for Sustainable Development)
Mark Widdup (Service Director Business Partnerships & Environmental Management)
Janet Butterworth (Strategic Asset Manager)
Rob Kilvington (Finance Manager)
Keith Paylor (Divisional Manager, Impact)
Rob Dawson (Project Director, Impact. Street lighting PFI)
Yvonne Williams (Principal Commissioning Manager, Schools Service)
The board will meet on a 6 weekly basis, shortly after the Carbon Management Team have held a meeting. The Project Leader will report to the Programme Board any progress from these meetings and put forward any projects devised. The project board will report to Cabinet and/or SMT when required.
The programme board will maintain the following terms of reference :
o Oversee general progress on the programme and maintain progress and pace
o Oversee overall risks to the programme and ensure sufficient actions to mitigate
o Advise CMT or Cabinet on progress and issues
o Resolve issues where needed
o Ensure overall delivery against targets
7.2 The Carbon Management Operational Group – delivering the projects
The Carbon Management Team is made up of representatives across all relevant services. The following individuals are represented:
Project Leader: Barnaby Fryer (Sustainable Development Manager)
Steven Hwozdyk (Energy Manager)
Keith Hill (BSF Lead)
Rob Kilvington (Finance Manager)
Graham Thomspon (Fleet Manager)
Andy Shaw (Recycling Manager)
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Georgina Jones (Head of Corporate Procurement)
Sarah Harlow (PR & Marketing Officer)
Darren Wild (ICT Service Director)
The Carbon Management Team will meet on a monthly basis and will be responsible for delivering specific projects and initiatives, whilst ensuring that carbon management is embedded throughout their relevant services.
7.3 Succession planning for key roles
One of the key reasons why the previous work on the councils CMP stalled was because of the complete replacement (due to natural attrition) of the Carbon Management Team. If we are to mitigate against this risk happening again we need to ensure a robust succession plan is in place for the future of this programme. If the Project Sponsor or Project Leader were to leave the organisation, the Sustainable Development Team will reallocate these posts to the most suitable staff members.
This succession planning will need to be revisited after RMBC Phase 1 efficiency proposals are finalised. This will also need regular review in light of future phases of efficiency proposals.
7.4 Ongoing stakeholder management
Key stakeholders will be kept informed of progress with the Carbon Management Programme on a regular basis through briefings, meetings and other communications.
Stakeholder Engagement How Frequency Responsibility
All employees Keep informed of new developments, initiatives and carbon saving activities
Intranet, newsletters, email, staff bulletins.
bimonthly Communications
Service Directors
Keep informed of key decisions and plans to cascade info down.
Briefings. Every 6 weeks Project sponsor and leader
Schools
Ensure schools are kept up to date and included in CMP.
Through education dept. bimonthly Relevant team member
LSP Opportunities for joint working Meetings Every 6 weeks Relevant team members
Chief officers/ELT
Strong corporate priority, identifying funding, business cases
Briefings, reports Every 3 months Project sponsor and leader
7.5 Annual progress review
Carrying out an effective Carbon Management Programme is no use without effective monitoring to highlight areas of success and areas for improvement.
Annual savings to RMBC will be reported and communicated to all stakeholders. CO2 savings will also be reported. This process will help to identify which projects have resulted in the largest carbon savings and will highlight how close to the 34% target Rochdale MBC are.
The Programme Board will report to SMT and Cabinet with an annual overview of the project. It can then be decided if amendments are required to the CMP and where any funding should be directed in the following year
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Appendix A: Carbon Management Matrix - Embedding
CORPORATE STRATEGY
PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT
RESPONSIBILITY DATA MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATION &
TRAINING FINANCE &
INVESTMENT POLICY ALIGNMENT
5
• Top level target allocated across organisation
• CO2 reduction targets in Directorate Business Plans
• Cabinet / SMT review progress against targets on quarterly basis
• Quarterly diagnostic reports provided to Directorates
• Progress against target published externally
• CM integrated in responsibilities of senior managers
• CM part of all job descriptions
• Central CO2 reduction advice available
• Green Champions leading local action groups
• Quarterly collation of CO2 emissions for all sources
• Data externally verified
• M&T in place for:
o buildings o street lighting o waste
• All staff given formalised CO2
reduction:
o induction and training
o communications
• Joint CM communications with key partners
• Staff awareness tested through surveys
• Finance committed for 2+yrs of Programme
• External funding being routinely obtained
• Ring-fenced fund for carbon reduction initiatives
• CO2 friendly operating procedure in place
• Central team provide advice and review, when requested
• Barriers to CO2
reduction routinely considered and removed
4
• CO2 reduction commitment in Corporate Strategy
• Top level targets set for CO2 reduction
• Climate Change Strategy reviewed annually
• Sponsor reviews progress and removes blockages through regular Programme Boards
• Progress against targets routinely reported to Senior Mgt Team
• CM integrated in to responsibilities of department heads
• Cabinet / SMT regularly updated
• Staff engaged though Green Champion network
• Annual collation of CO2
emissions for:
o buildings o street lighting o transport o waste
• Data internally reviewed
• All staff given CO2
reduction:
o induction
o communications
o CM matters communicated to external community
• Coordinated financing for CO2 reduction projects via Programme Board
• Finances committed 1yr ahead
• Some external financing
• Comprehensive review of policies complete
• Lower level policies reviewed locally
• Unpopular changes being considered
3
• CO2 reduction vision clearly stated and published
• Climate Change Strategy endorsed by Cabinet and publicised with staff
• Core team regularly review CM progress:
o actions o profile & targets o new opportunities
• An individual provides full time focus for CO2
reduction and coordination across the organisation
• Senior Sponsor actively engaged
• Collation of CO2
emissions for limited scope i.e. buildings only
• Environmental / energy group(s) given ad hoc:
o training
o communications
• A view of the cost of CO2 reduction is developing, but finance remains ad-hoc
• Some centralised resource allocated
• Finance representation on CM Team
• All high level and some mid level policies reviewed, irregularly
• Substantial changes made, showing CO2
savings
2
• Draft Climate Change Policy
• Climate Change references in other strategies
• Ad hoc reviews of CM actions progress
• CO2 reduction a part-time responsibility of a few department champions
• No CO2 emissions data compiled
• Energy data compiled on a regular basis
• Regular awareness campaigns
• Staff given CM information on ad-hoc basis
• Ad hoc financing for CO2 reduction projects
• Partial review of key, high level policies
• Some financial quick wins made
1 • No policy
• No Climate Change reference
• No CM monitoring • No recognised CO2
reduction responsibility
• No CO2 emissions data compiled
• Estimated billing
• No communication or training
• No specific funding for CO2 reduction projects
• No alignment of policies for CO2 reduction
Baseline 2 1 3 1 1 2 1
Current 2/3 3/4 3 4 2/3 3 3
Proposed
under efficiencyies
2/3 3 2/3 4 2 2/3 2
BEST
Worst
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