Sunderland City Council has unveiled a five-year plan to reduce carbon emissions by 10%.
The Carbon Plan aims to tackle the council’s energy consumption in buildings, streetlighting, transport and commuting. Proposals identified include using wood prunings from council parks and woodlands as fuel to heat buildings; developing energy-saving measures across all council buildings; more accurate monitoring of the electricity used by streetlights; installing vehicle-management systems, to make journeys more efficient; and improving MPG by purchasing more efficient vehicles.
The target is set for March 2012. A cross-council consultation exercise is under way to help chief officers, managers and staff across all departments identify how to implement these proposals to achieve savings.
Phil Barrett, director of development and regeneration, said: ‘The challenge now is to develop proposals into full projects with priority for those offering the best value for money and savings to the council’s energy bill.’ He said £3M of investment was thought to be needed to fund the proposals, but after five years, these proposals should have saved at least an equivalent amount off the council’s energy bill, so the plan should pay for itself in full. The council was selected in May 2006 to join the Carbon Trust’s local authority carbon management programme.

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