Highland Council Draft Carbon Management Plan 2009-2012

THE HIGHLAND COUNCIL Agenda 4

Item

Climate Change Working Group Report CCWG

No 2/09



HIGHLAND COUNCIL DRAFT CARBON MANAGEMENT PLAN 2009-2012



Report by Head of Policy and Performance



Summary

This report presents the revised Carbon Management Plan (CMP), its scope, timescales,

targets and actions to 2012. Costs of implementing the plan are still to be quantified at the

time of writing so Members are asked to note the scope and content of the Plan at this

time. The finalised plan would be produced for Resources Committee consideration in

June 2009. The CMP has been developed with assistance from the Carbon Trust and

through discussions with Service representatives.





1. INTRODUCTION



1.1 Following a progress report to the Climate Change Working group on the 5th of

March 2008 it was decided that the Highland Council Carbon Management Plan be

reviewed and targets set to ensure that emissions continue to reduce. This paper

accompanies the revised Carbon Management Plan, its scope, baseline, targets

and timescales.



1.2 The CMP is a lengthy document created using a standard template for Local

Authorities provided by the Carbon Trust. It is important to document the scope,

baseline and methodologies in the initial report so that emissions monitoring

remains consistent and robust over time. An executive summary of the attached

report will be produced. The Plan relate to carbon management across six sectors

of Council operations: Property; Staff Travel; Fleet; Internal Waste; Street lighting

and Water.



1.3 Key drivers for the revision of the CMP include Scotland’s Climate Change Bill , the

forthcoming Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) reported separately to this

meeting of CCWG and the commitment in the Council Programme to:



“Produce and implement a climate change strategy for the Highlands which will

reduce our impact on the environment and adapt our services to cope with the

impact of climate change”



In addition, there is:

the need to address pressure on Council budgets from energy costs, which

is being taken forward also through the Corporate Improvement Programme

Transport project;

the need to reduce dependency on fossil fuels;

the challenge of reducing emissions from transport given the scale of the

Council’s operating area

the importance of embedding carbon management across all Council

Services and procedures.



1.4 In recognition of these key drivers, five strategic themes have been developed.

These are explored in more detail in Section 2, page 9 of the attached plan, and

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are summarised as:



Theme 1: Reduce carbon emissions from internal operations



Theme 2: Reduce energy costs



Theme 3: Explore new areas for action



Theme 4: Promote awareness and behavioural change



Theme 5: Lead by example



2 TARGETS AND OBJECTIVES



2.1 Highland Council carbon emissions for the baseline year of 2007/08 amount to

64,696 tonnes. It is anticipated that through the implementation of the revised

CMP the Highland Council can reduce emissions by a total of 7,796 tonnes, saving

the Council almost £1.8million pounds against current energy and fuel costs, by

2012 1 . In addition with this emissions reduction the CMP could save £70,892 in the

purchase of carbon allowances through the CRC scheme (based on the initial fixed

price of £12 per tonne). Savings will be greater should the unit price of carbon

allowances increase in the future. Achievement of these targets will require

investment and this will be quantified with services in April 2009.



2.2 Targets are broken down per sector in Section 3, page 10 of the attached report.



3 ACTIONS



3.1 Actions within the CMP are divided into quantitative (those we can measure in

tonnes CO2) and “other actions” (significant actions that are harder to quantify but

equally important). Section 5 of the accompanying report highlights the current

work plan of the Climate Change Working Group in reducing emissions as well as

further actions taking place within Highland Council Services. The CMP recognises

the need to carry these actions forward into the revised Carbon Management Plan

as well as outlining proposed new actions and timescales for implementation.



3.2 Table 4, on page 31 of the accompanying report outlines the proposed actions to

achieve 12% emissions reductions by 2012. These relate to the six sectors scoped

into the CMP: Property; Staff Travel; Fleet; Internal Waste; Street lighting and

Water. Financial implications are discussed at paragraph 5.2 below.



4 EMMISSION PROJECTIONS AND FORECASTING



4.1 Forecasting of anticipated emissions will become increasingly important after April

2010 when the Highland Council will report emissions as part of the Carbon

Reduction Commitment. The CMP therefore recommends that timelines of actions

be created to enable long-term emissions forecasting to take place. Figure 6,

page 41, shows the emission savings required to reach 50% emissions reduction

by 2030, in line with the Climate Change Bill. This projection is based upon 4% per

annum emissions reductions during the timeframe of this revised CMP and

continued 3% per annum saved thereafter.





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Should prices continue to increase, the level of actual savings may reduce but instead costs would

be avoided.

2

4.2 Targets will need to be reviewed at regular intervals and it is anticipated that

budget periods set by the Scottish Government through the Climate Change Bill

will form the framework for these interval periods. In addition the forthcoming CRC

legislation will take place in seven year phases and it will be necessary to align

emissions forecasting with both. This graph will therefore need to be reviewed

following guidance from the Scottish Government.



5 Resource Implications

5.1 It is widely recognised that behavioural change can account for up to 20% of

emissions savings. A programme of training and awareness raising is therefore

extremely important to fund. Appendix B of the CMP outlines the proposed

communication strategy of the plan. The cost of implementing the communication

plan can be met by current Service budgets as follows:

CEXO - £5000 events

£5000 marketing

£500 prizes and incentives

H&P - £2000 for energy efficiency programmes

TECs - £500 for messages about waste minimisation and re-use.



5.2 In order to make further emissions savings, considerable investments will be

required. Section 6, of the reports will highlight the investments, pay-back periods

and associated carbon savings for each of the capital projects highlighted in the

proposed action plan. Staff in the Housing and Property Service, CEXO and

Finance Service will work together to ensure this section is complete by no later

than the end of April 09. This work has been delayed due to staff absence in the

Housing and Property Service.

5.3 It is necessary to have all projects represented together so that costs and

emissions savings can be analysed over the three year period of the plan and work

prioritised.



6 MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNANCE

6.1 A Carbon Management Matrix for embedding throughout Council Services and

operations can be found in table 5, page 45. This is the standard matrix provided

by the Carbon Trust. Using the assessment matrix the Highland Council currently

scores 25 out of a possible 35 for the baseline year of 2007/08. The aim is to

achieve a minimum of 33 points by 2012. Highland Council is currently being

assessed alongside eight other Local Authorities in the UK through Carbon

Management Plus and results will be reported at a later date.



6.2 The final section of the CMP is concerned with management and governance of

the plan. It has been developed to ensure that Services know which key staff are

responsible for actions within the plan and to make sure that carbon management

is embedded across every day service delivery.



6.3 An Officer Working Group has been developed to monitor CMP implementation

and review progress at a Service level. The Climate Change Working group will

oversee progress and it is recommended that progress be monitored twice yearly

basis by Resources Committee due to the significant financial savings involved.



7 CARBON MANAGEMENT PLUS

7.1 Consultants funded by the Carbon Trust have been assisting the Highland Council

in a pilot programme called Carbon Management Plus (CM+). This includes the



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development of a route-map towards partnership working, a high level carbon

analysis of the Local Authority area and a comparative review of Carbon

Management Plans across Local Authorities in the UK. Results are expected at the

end of March 2009 and can be fed back to the Members workshop proposed for

end May 2009 on the CRC (see accompanying report).



8 STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT

8.1 To meet legislative requirements, to allow for transparency in decision making and

obtain feedback from partners and the public on the proposed actions contained

within the draft CMP, a full Strategic Environmental Assessment is being carried

out. Currently the scoping report is with the statutory consultants. It is expected that

once the statutory six week public consultation is complete the CMP can be

formally adopted by Resources Committee in June, by which time the financial

implications of the Plan will be quantified and discussed with services.



8.2 Systems to implement and monitor the plan must be put in place in April in

advance of formal adoption. Data on business travel can be gathered no later that

April 2009 if the Council wish to retain their Carbon Trust Standard Accreditation

and be rewarded financially for early when the CRC scheme comes in to place.



9 CONCLUSION

9.1 The Carbon Management Plan outlines the baseline, scope, boundary and

methodology of emissions calculations for Highland Council. It sets targets and

actions to reduce carbon emissions by 12% by 2012 and a long term vision of the

emissions reductions required to meet future legislative requirements. Costs and

investments need to be finalised and an executive summary of the final plan will be

produced. Final adoption can be through the Council’s Resources Committee.





10. RECOMMENDATIONS

10.1 Members are asked to consider and comment on the draft plan attached and to note:

1. Since systems for implementing and monitoring the Carbon Management Plan need

to be in place on the 1st April 2009 in order to meet requirements of the Carbon

Trust Standard, monitoring arrangements can begin and actions which have no

additional cost or related to the communications plan can progress;

2. Costs for other elements in implementing the Plan will be quantified and discussed

with Services by the end of April 2009;

3. The final draft Plan can be considered by the Resources Committee in June 2009,

with performance reports considered twice a year at that Committee.





Signature:



Designation: Head of Policy and Performance



Date: 18th March 2009



Author/Ref: Ailsa Villegas, Sustainable Development Officer









4

The Highland Council









Draft Carbon Management Plan

2009-2012









Page 1

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Contents



Foreword 4

Introduction - Progress to date 5

1 Context and drivers for Carbon Management 6

2 Strategic themes 9

3 Targets and objectives 10

4 Emissions Baseline and Projections 11

4.1 Scope 11

4.2 Exclusions 13

4.3 Baseline 14

5 Carbon Management Projects 17

5.1 Current Workplan 18

5.2 Future Projects 29

5.3 Projected achievement towards target 40

6 Carbon and Cost Analysis 41

5.1 Assumptions ?

5.2 Benefits / savings – quantified and un-quantified ?

5.3 Additional resources ?

5.4 Financial costs and sources of funding ?

7 Embedding CMP processes 44

6.1 Carbon Management Assessment Matrix 45

8 Communication 46

9. Programme Management of the CMP 47

9.1 Strategic ownership 48

9.2 The Carbon Management Team 49

9.3 Succession planning for key roles 49

9.4 Annual progress review 49

Appendix A: Baseline Report 50

Appendix B: Carbon Management Communication Strategy 67







Table 1 – Summary table of emissions for baseline year 2007/08 15

Table 2 – Current Work Programme of the Climate Change Working Group 18

Table 3 – Further Work by Highland Council 26

Table 4 – Proposed Projects for Inclusion in Revised Carbon Management Plan 31

Table 5 – Carbon Management Assessment Matrix 45



Fig.1 Proposed Reporting of Carbon Emissions against National Target 7

Fig. 2 Highland Council Carbon Emissions by Sector 07/08 16

Fig.3 Current Work Plan Time Line 24

Fig.4 Example of proposed timeline for water 37

Fig.5 Example Work Plan of Travel Plan Co-ordinator 39

Fig.6 Projected Emissions reductions to 2030 41







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FOREWORD FROM [YOUR CHIEF EXEC AND POLITICAL SPONSOR]



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



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.

Highland Council was selected in 2008, amidst strong competition, to take part in this

ambitious programme. Highland Council 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 12% by 2012

and underpins potential financial savings to the council of around £1.8 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

Highland Council in their ongoing implementation of carbon management.









Richard Rugg

Head of Public Sector, Carbon Trust









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INTRODUCTION

The Highland Council was one of the first Local Authorites in Scotland to produced a

Carbon Management Plan (CMP) in 2006 with assistance from the Carbon Trust.



The Member led Climate Change Working Group reviewed this CMP in March 2008. It

was agreed to review the scope, targets and timescale of the plan. The aim was to

embed Carbon Management monitoring across all sectors and to align targets with

forthcoming legislation. The primary focus of the revised CMP will be to reduce carbon

emissions from Council buildings, vehicle fleet, business travel, street lighting, internal

waste and water.



Progress towards the reduction of CO2 emissions from Highland Council buildings is

monitored through the Energy Management Performance Plan (EMPP). The reporting

mechanisms for EMPP have been successfully embedded in Highland Council policy

and service delivery and progress is being achieved in line with the targets set. To

date, 12.5% emissions reductions have been achieved from Council buildings from a

baseline of 2004/05.



The street lighting network in the Highland region continues to expand by 800-1000

new lamp posts each year due to new developments. Achieving a net reduction in

CO2 emissions is therefore more challenging, however, with the increasing price of

electricity, and the Council’s street lighting bill rising to £1.9 million, it is important to

stabilise energy consumption. Since 2004/05 there has been a 5% increase in carbon

emissions from street lighting.



It has not been possible to monitor progress in fleet and business travel due to

problems with the quality of the baseline data and changes in data gathering process.

For this reason the revised CMP has set new baselines for both these sectors.





The final stage in developing this revised CMP was to set targets and develop actions.

This took place in February 2009 in consultation with the Carbon Trust and Council

Officers. The actions contained within the CMP are being screened under the

Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act with a full Strategic Environmental

Assessment expected to be complete in May 2009.





The CMP will be submitted for approval to the Climate Change Working Group in

March 2009. Following the public consultation on the accompanying environmental

report, the finalised document is expected to be adopted by the Highland Council

Resources Committee in June 2009.





The following document outlines the scope, target and actions for the CMP 2009-

2012.









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1. CONTEXT AND DRIVERS FOR CARBON MANAGEMENT



Key drivers include:



The urgent need to address rising pressure on Council budgets from the

ongoing escalation in energy costs;

The importance of embedding Carbon Management across all Council Services

and procedures.

The need to build resilience in our Services and reduce dependency on fossil

fuels.

The challenge of transport in a geographically large Local Authority area.

The Council’s commitment to sustainable development.





The Highland Council Programme, agreed in December 2008, contains within it

several commitments aimed at reducing carbon emissions. Including:



Produce and implement a climate change strategy for the Highlands which will

reduce our impact on the environment and adapt our services to cope with the

impact of climate change.





As well as improving the energy efficiency of our Council housing stock, reduce

the Council’s energy use and carbon emissions from our buildings by 15% by

2010-11, from a baseline of 2005, by reducing or avoiding energy costs.







Increase the use of renewable microgeneration technology sources to provide

energy in the Council estate, with appropriate integration of wind turbines,

biomass fuel boilers, combined heat and power and solar energy, increasing

the overall rating from 1,800 kW in 2008 to a minimum of 4,000 kW in 2010.







Prepare a green travel plan for the Council by 2008, and work with the Scottish

Government to encourage and promote green travel plans for our public sector

partners, and all businesses and developments across the Highlands.







Reduce paper use in our offices and recycle 50% by the end of 2009.









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In addition the Highland Council has included commitments to reduce CO2 emission in

the Single Outcome Agreement to the Scottish Government. National Outcome 14

reads:



14.1 Reduce greenhouse gas emissions from regional public sector operations



14.2 Promote renewable energy and improve municipal waste management



Scotland’s Climate Change Bill:



Long-term emissions reductions targets will need to be achieved by the Highland

Council in line with Scotland’s Climate Change Bill. Figure 1 below, demonstrates the

progress in emissions reductions from properties to date alongside anticipated

Government targets. It should be noted that this graph represents the estimated

minimum targets needed to reach emissions reduction of 50% by 2030, and does not

take into consideration any purchase of international credits or carbon offsetting by the

Scottish Government. Secondary legislation could place tough targets on Local

Authorities to reduce more emissions early on. The Climate Change Bill is a key driver

in encouraging emissions reductions and Highland Council wish to start reducing

emissions in advance of any secondary legislation passed by the Scottish

Government.





Proposed Reporting of Carbon Emissions Against National Target



55000









50000

Emissions Tonnes









45000 HC Projected Emissions



Actual Emissions Achieved



Required through Climate Change Bill

40000 (assumed)









35000









30000

2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13

Year





Figure 1.









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Carbon Reduction Commitment:

The Highland Council is captured under the forthcoming Carbon Reduction

Commitment and as of April 2010 will have to purchase carbon allowances in advance

for emissions from buildings. The annual CO2 emissions for the period 2007/08, from

electricity, gas and oil amounted to 44057 tonnes as reported in the Energy

Management Performance Plan. Therefore cost of purchasing certificates in the first

year will be considerable (approximately £528,684).



Due to the remote nature and large geographical area of Highland, most areas are out

with the mains gas network and rely heavily on the use of oil and electricity. As oil and

electricity have a larger carbon footprint than gas, this will result in Highland Council

producing proportionally greater emissions than elsewhere in the UK. The prevailing

weather is also of concern as the area is characterised by a typically colder climate

than elsewhere in the UK. Should the qualifying period be particularly mild and

subsequent winters cold, carbon emissions are likely to increase, putting the Council

at greater risk of financial penalties through the purchase of increased allowances.



It is therefore important that the Council reduces energy use to avoid costs through

increased energy prices and purchase of carbon allowances.



Carbon Trust Standard:

The Carbon Trust standard is formal accreditation scheme for organisations that are

measuring, managing and reducing CO2 emissions. In January 2009, Highland

Council successfully achieved the “Carbon Trust Standard” and this can be formally

used to demonstrate ‘early action’ towards the Carbon Reduction Commitment above.

In 2010 the Highland Council will participate in phase two of the accreditation

programme and will need to show continued emissions reduction, including those from

business travel.









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2. STRATEGIC THEMES





Within the revised CMP there are five strategic themes that carry across all sections.

These are:



Theme 1: Reduce Carbon Emissions from Internal Operations: Reduce emissions

from those areas of Local Authority activity that can be measured and monitored. This

includes energy use in Council owned buildings; street lighting, fuel use from staff

business travel and fleet travel, emissions associated with the disposal of internal

waste; and emissions associated with water consumption in the top 100 buildings.





Theme 2: Reduce Energy Costs: Energy and fuel effiency can bring about direct

financial savings to the Council as the unit price of electricity, gas and oil continues to

increase. This is particularly important in an area such as Highland which is

geographically dispersed and experiences a cooler climate than elsewhere in the UK.

It will also contribute towards efficiency targets set by the Scottish Government.



Theme 3: Exploring New Areas for Action: There are many actions taking place

and being developed by Council Services that can help to achieve emissions

reduction both in-house and in the wider community. While mechanisms to quantify

such emissions savings may not currently be in place, it is important to recognise the

work, encourage further projects and report progress. Over time, data monitoring

mechanisms may be developed.



Theme 4: Promote Awareness and Behavioural Change: Through training and

events run through the Highland Council “Green Ambassadors”; through working with

Personnel and developing effective staff induction and management training

programmes; and through education delivery in schools and communities the Council

will work to encourage energy efficiency and increased understanding of climate

related issues. A programme of press releases and use of the Highland Council

website will highlight progress to the public.



Theme 5: Lead by Example: Although the CMP will focus primarily on Highland

Council emissions from internal operations, Highland Council recognises that it has

the ability to influence change within the wider Highland community. The CMP will be

used as the foundation to build upon partnership working towards tackling Climate

Change across Highland.









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3. TARGETS AND OBJECTIVES



Highland Council wish to demonstrate ambition and commitment towards mitigating

the effects of Climate Change. Targets set must be SMART (specific, measurable,

achievable, realistic and time bound).



One of the main aims of the CMP will be to embed carbon management process

across all Council Services and activities to ensure that emissions reductions actions

are put in place and monitored. It may be necessary to review such targets at interim

points to take into consideration changing legislation. The finalised CMP will act as a

catalyst to promote further action within the Highland Council and will evolve over time

becoming stronger and more effective at reducing carbon emissions.







Highland Council will reduce the CO2 emissions from its activities by 12% from

the 2007/08 baseline, by April 2012.







Emissions will be monitored by financial year. The overall emissions reduction target

will be set out as follows:





Target 1: 12% in Council properties: This will include all Council owned

properties and schools but excludes any PPP schools. The aim will be to save

5286 tonnes of Co2 by 2012.

Target 2: 12% in staff travel: This will include all business travel by Council

employees but excludes commuting to and from work. Emission reductions

targets will focus on journeys made by car with the aim of saving 522 tonnes

C02.

Target 3: 5% in the Council’s fleet: This will include all Council owned

vehicles but excludes school transport (which is contracted out) and plant

machinery. The aim will be to save 207 tonnes C02.

Target 4: 20% in internal waste management: This will be achieved by

reducing waste and increasing recycling of materials from all Council premises.

By 2012, 831 tonnes of C02 will have been saved.

Target 5: 5% in street lighting: This includes all street lighting but excludes

road signs and bollards. The aim will be to save 353 tonnes C02 by 2012.

Target 6: 10% from water: This includes water consumed at Highland Council

buildings with water meters installed. It excludes water usage from building

charged a set rate. The aim is to save 14 tonnes of C02 by 2012





To monitor progress and allow for any revisions to be made following implementation

of Government legislation an interim target of 8% emissions reduction by April 2011

will be set and reviewed as necessary.





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4. EMISSIONS BASELINE AND PROJECTIONS

4.1 SCOPE

The CMP will be used to monitor and report progress from Highland Council internal

operations only. Through the Highland Councils ongoing partnership work in Highland

it is hoped that coordinated systems to measure and monitor community based

emissions will be developed and this is discussed further in the accompanying

partnership report.



The CMP will rely on fairly complicated data sets to measure performance which will

need to be gathered from various sources on a quarterly basis. It is important to be

concise about which sets/sites are to be included within the scope of CMP reporting.

The following summarises the intended scope of the Highland Council CMP 2009-

2012.



CO2 Reduction in Council Properties:

It is not proposed to make changes to the baseline data for the Energy Management

Performance Plan (EMPP) and information will continue to be fed into the CMP under

current mechanisms. The baseline period for this plan is set as 2007/08, however it is

possible to monitor overall energy performance as far back as 2004/05 though the

EMPP.



Energy use in Council properties includes all schools but excludes PPP buildings.





Council Housing Stock:

At the time of implementing the original CMP in 2006, discussions were taking place

over the transfer of the Highland Council housing stock. It was therefore decided to

scope the housing stock out of the CMP at this time. The Highland Council retained

ownership of the housing stock and in the three years since, much work has been

undertaking to improve the energy efficiency of these buildings and reduce C02

emissions.





Actions to reduce emissions within Highland Council Housing will be scoped into the

plan, but quantitative emissions savings will not be reported alongside Council

properties.



Street Lighting:

The street lighting data to be scoped into the CMP excludes traffic lights and bollards.

Electricity for street lighting is charged at a set price per lantern and the Office of

Government Commerce (OGC) North of Scotland buying group operate the current

tendering process.



Where energy savings through carbon management works have been demonstrated,

information is returned to OGC by the Highland Council Street lighting manager and







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these savings are deducted from the bill. At present there is nothing written into the

contract as to the frequency of reporting back such energy savings from the OGC



The purchase of energy for street lighting through national procurement is expected to

commence in 2009 and reporting requirements are likely to change as a result of this.

Therefore actions to reduce emissions from street lighting will continue to be pursued

by Highland Council but methods for monitoring such changes in emissions may

change over time.



Staff Business Travel:

With over 12,800 staff the Highland Council is the largest employer in the region and

as such, carbon emissions savings can be achieved through implementing a Highland

Council Green Travel Plan. Data on staff travel can be obtained from the Finance

Service using expense claim forms. Scoped into the Carbon Management Plan will be

the following categories of business travel:



1 Casual Miles

2 Essential Miles

3 Lease Miles

4 Training Miles

5 Equivalent Car Hire

Miles

6 Hire Car Miles

7 Hire Vans (up to 3.5t)

8 Members Miles

9 Home Carer Miles

10 Support Workers Miles

11 Secondee Miles



More work is needed to accurately measure carbon emissions from journeys made by

public transport. This work is due to be completed and baseline set for 2009/2010.

Emissions from public transport use are expected to be incorporated into the CMP in

2011. It is not anticipated that any emissions reductions targets will be set against

public transport as the key focus in Highland will be to promote more sustainable

transport options in place of the car. As a result public transport use may increase.



Fleet:

Transport, Environment and Community Services have 1500 items on their database

requiring the use of fuel. 800 of these are fleet vehicles with the remainder being

made up of plant equipment which can be anything from lawnmowers to JCBs. Such

plant equipment is measured in hours not miles. For the purpose of Carbon

Management reporting fuel consumption by fleet vehicles will be scoped into the CMP

2009-2012.









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Internal Waste:

For the purposes of reporting, properties will be divided into four key types; Secondary

Schools, Primary Schools offices and “other”. All Highland Schools will be monitored

for waste generation and for Highland Council offices the top 40 premises in terms of

staff numbers will be focused on. This will allow the greatest change to be achieved

with the staff resources available.



While it is important to note that cost savings from waste uplift can be demonstrated,

this will lead to reduced income for TEC Service responsible for bin collection; costs

are also likely to increase as charges are made for the uplift of recycled material.



Water:

The Highland Council is supplied by Scottish Water with billing process carried out by

Business Stream. Currently just over 50% of Council sites have water meters installed

that give accurate measurement of usage in m3. All other sites are charged a set

figure each year through the application of rates. As of April 2009 it is a requirement of

the Scottish Government that all public buildings in Scotland have water meters

installed. Problems with installation at several sites have been discovered and

discussions are currently taking place with Business Stream on how best to deal with

these sites. It is hoped that Business stream will communicate back to the Scottish

Government who will decide on the appropriate recharge in these circumstances.



The Top 100 buildings have been ranked in order of water consumption. Actions

towards water conservation can then focus on these sites and progress monitored

through the CMP.





4.2 EXCLUSIONS

To enable the boundaries and scope of the CMP to be concise, comparable and

measurable; and to allow for the most efficient emissions savings actions to be

prioritised the following exclusions will be made:



Commuter Travel:

Within the Highland Council Green Travel Plan there are objectives to promote and

encourage emissions savings from staff traveling to and from work, however such

emissions savings are difficult to quantify in a robust manner and as such have been

scoped out of the CMP in favor of addressing business travel which the Council has

direct control over, and is a higher priority. The large geographical distribution of the

Highland Council area and rural nature create more challenges when addressing how

staff travels to and from their place of work. It should be noted that the implementation

of a Green Travel Plan is a requirement from the Scottish Government.





School Transport:

School transport is contracted to private suppliers. Due to the limited number of

suppliers it is currently very difficult for Highland Council to influence carbon







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emissions. Furthermore the Integrated Transport Network will combine public

transport provision with school transport and it will not be possible to allocate

emissions solely to school transport in these areas.





PPP Schools:

There is year on year reconciliation for energy consumption and cost in PPP schools

at present, but this data is not reported in the overall energy monitoring for Highland

Council. The risk of including within the Highland Council portfolio is that although the

energy bills are paid by the Council they have no responsibility for energy saving

works taking place at these premises, and so cannot influence carbon reduction.





Municipal Waste:

Progress towards the reduction in waste going to landfill is monitored through the

Highland Area Waste Plan (HAWP). In January 2008 the Scottish Government

introduced its “zero waste” policy which includes ambitious new targets to increase

recycling by 70% by 2025, reduce landfill to 5% by 2025 and allow no more than 25%

of energy to be produced from municipal waste by this time. The Scottish Environment

Protection Agency will include new Government targets into the Highland Area Waste

Plan and are exploring the incorporation of CO2 savings into the reporting of the

HAWP from April 2009 onwards. Municipal waste has therefore been scoped out of

Highland Council CMP to prevent duplication of work. Progress towards emissions

savings will however be monitored by the Transport Environment and Community

Service.



BASELINE



For the purpose of the revised CMP the baseline period is set as the financial year

2007/08.



The emission calculation factors are taken from Defra's Environmental Reporting

Guidelines for Company Reporting on Greenhouse Gas Emissions. In June 2007

the factors were updated by DEFRA to take into account changing behaviours and

technologies relating to energy efficiency, vehicle type and fuel economy. The revised

CMP 2009-2012 has applied the revised conversion factors.



In addition to reporting on energy consumption, carbon emissions and cost, a factor is

included (where applicable) to account for the likely costs associated with the

purchase of carbon allowances through the forthcoming Carbon Reduction

Commitment (CRC) legislation.







The Highland Council baseline CO2 emissions for 2007/08

= 64 964 tonnes.





Page 14

Table 1 and Figure 2 below outline the CO2emissions and associated costs per

sector scoped into the CMP for the baseline year 2007/08. The accompanying

“Baseline Report” outlines the methodology for emissions calculations per sector in

more detail. See Appendix A.

Table 1 – Summary table of emissions for baseline year 2007/08

2007/08

Highland Council Carbon Footprint C02 emissions Cost CRC

tonnes Cost £ Certificates

Target 1: Emissions from Buildings 44057 8,249,018.00 528,684



Target 2: Emissions from Staff Business Travel

Staff Miles 571.98 672,913.20 N/A

Essential Miles 889.52 918.297.08 N/A

Lease Miles 449.76 145,511.85 N/A

Training Miles 203.72 127,026.16 N/A

Equivalent Car hire Miles 476.93 154,301.29 N/A

Hire Cars 255.88 167,850.00 N/A

Hire Vans 172.34 115.290.60 N/A

Member Miles 208.12 301,778.60 N/A

Home carers 944.10 1,110,706.80 N/A

Support Workers 197.04 231,815.20 N/A





Public transport N/A

Total: 4369 3,945,490.79 N/A



Target 3: Emissions From Fleet

Vehicles Diesel 55.31 2,773,176 N/A

Vehicles Petrol 6.31 162,912 N/A

Vehicles Gas Oil 4157.43 4,262 N/A

Vehicles LPG 193.23 24,014 N/A

Total: 4157 2,964,364 N/A

Target 4: Emissions Internal Waste

Internal Waste Top 40 521.37 108,689.10 N/A

Waste from Primary Schools 660.82 N/A

Waste from Secondary Schools 773.06

Other HC 3219

Total: 5174

Target 5:Emissions from Street lighting 7065 1, 400 000 847,80

Target 6: Emissions from Water

Water Top 100 142 991,833 N/A

TOTAL 2007/08 64 964









Page 15

Figure 2.



Highland Council Carbon Emissions by Sector 2007/08







Street Lighting Car Travel

11% 7%

Fleet Travel

7%



Internal Waste

6%



Car Travel

Fleet Travel

Internal Waste

Energy

Street Lighting









Energy

69%









Page 16

5. CARBON MANAGEMENT PROJECTS



5.1 Current Work Programme



Table 2 outlines the current work programme of the Climate Change Working Group

in relation to mitigation (reducing GHG emissions). The work plan has been developed

to help achieve the targets set out in the original CMP, aiming to reduce carbon

emissions by 15% by 2010. In developing this revised CMP and new actions to 2012,

it will be important to incorporate the actions currently under way.



The current actions included in the work plan are colour coded to show that actions

are:



• Completed or delivery is on target: G (Green)

• Making progress with some slippage: A (Amber)

• Showing no significant progress: R (Red)

• To be programmed: P (Purple)



Those actions that are driven by legislative commitments are also highlighted.



Timeline of Progress:

Figure 3 illustrates the actions of the Climate Change Working Group in the form of a

time line. This demonstrates that long term actions are being set to ensure continued

monitoring and behavioural change in properties, but the remaining sectors contain

short-term individual actions with little long-term vision. This therefore makes it difficult

to forecast future emissions in line with legislative targets. It also leads to difficulties in

securing funding and resources for projects.



Forecasting of anticipated emissions will become increasingly important after April

2010 when the Highland Council will be captured under the Carbon reduction

Commitment.



Table 3 outlines some of the work taking place within Highland Council Services that

further contribute toward emissions reduction for the Council, the wider region and

beyond. While such actions are difficult to quantify in terms of tonnes of CO2 saved,

highlighting such actions demonstrates the good work Highland Council is already

doing and that Climate Change issues are already being adopted across the different

Services.



Through the implementation of the revised CMP it is hoped that more actions can be

identified and developed across services so that Climate Change can become an

integral part of every day decision making.









17

TABLE 2. CURRENT WORK PROGRAMME OF THE CLIMATE CHANGE WORKING GROUP

G = Completed or delivery on target A = progress with some slippage R = No significant progress P = To be programmed



= Influenced by Legislative/ Regulatory Driver







11 MITIGATION: ACTION TO REDUCE THE COUNCIL'S GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS





1.1 ENERGY MANAGEMENT PERFORMANCE PLAN (EMPP)





Action Service Review Status Comment

date

1.1.1 Invest £5.344m over five years & deliver 100% of capital programmes funded H&P Done G 2009-10 programme being developed

through available resource





1.1.2 Improve systems for: H&P Ongoing G Systems in place and functioning.

• tracking and reporting energy saving associated with energy efficiency Finance Options to enhance reporting on

works (including renewables) EMPP progress being explored.

• tracking and reporting energy efficiency investment in Top 100+ (e.g.

CEEF fund), including obstacles to investment

• checking and paying energy bills

• appraising costs and benefits of renewables options

1.1.3 Investigate implementation of formal environmental Management Systems in H&P August P Reported to Audit & Scrutiny

accordance with ISO14001 09 Committee in April 08 to test accuracy

of reporting and to resolve any issues





1.1.4 Incorporate recommendations from Apr 08 internal audit of energy management H&P August G Amendments in line with audit

targets reporting and energy billing into energy management reporting CEXO 09 recommendations commenced from

07/08 annual Resources progress



1

Work plan is still to take into account any new legislative requirements expected in 08/09 (Scottish Climate Change Bill, Energy Services Directive, Carbon Reduction

Commitment etc)







18

mechanisms and associated processes. report in August 08.





1.1.5 Measure and report on energy efficiency component in mainstream capital and H&P April 08 G Current reporting covers installed

maintenance programmes capacity of renewable energy

equipment in capital and maintenance

programmes. This is separated out in

new reporting structures so that

impacts of separate funding streams

can be monitored.

1.1.6 Quarterly performance reports on electricity & gas use, CO2 reduction, costs and CEXO Ongoing G Quarterly performance reports on

savings and achievements to date in installing renewable energy in Council electricity use, based on billing

buildings information, are submitted to

Resources Committee. Annual

performance in August.





1.1.7 Annual report on oil consumption CEXO August G Included in annual performance report

to Resources Committee in August.



1.1.8 Pilot installation of oil meters at four sites, including monitoring and reporting oil H&P August G Pilot complete. New research being

usage 09 undertaken on benefits of installations

and report to be provided.

1.1.9 Review and refresh baseline data after one year of reliable data has been H&P Oct-08 G Options to enhance reporting on

collected CEXO EMPP process being explored.

1.1.10 Process Round 1 Innovation Fund bids H&P April 08 G Funds diverted to project work





1.1.11 Ensure “low-carbon” approach is woven into the delivery of all building projects H&P Done G Achieved through the presumption in

under the capital programme favour of renewables and the options

appraisal process. H&P Energy

section to establish measurable

standards for all design &

construction projects. Will monitor and

report on environmental credentials &

energy/carbon performance of

buildings.







19

1.1.12 Publicity campaign to coincide with UK/Scottish Energy Efficiency Weeks CEXO Ongoing G Annual events to be arranged in

conjunction with ‘Green

Ambassadors’ programme.

1.1.13 Refresh E-campaign CEXO Sep 08 G Sustainable Development (Green

Council) web pages updated. Further

resources to be added.

1.1.14 Refresh Energy Champion activity CEXO Sept-08 G Training packages and associated

publicity campaigns under review.



1.1.15 Energy management training for Top 100+ managers / Responsible Officers CEXO Dec-08 A Employee Development team working

with Health & Safety and H&P to roll

out an intranet topic based training

course (including Energy

Management) for Management of

Health, Safety & Property as a

corporate priority targeting building

‘responsible persons’ with ultimate

objective of reaching all building

managers.

1.1.16 Refresh Display Campaign labels to reflect more current data. H&P Dec-08 G New 07/08 data being gathered for

CEXO updated launch in 2009.





1.1.17 Produce Energy Performance Certificates in line with EU Energy Performance H&P Jan-09 G Requirements will come into effect in

Directive for all Council buildings 1000m2 or over and exhibit in conjunction with CEXO Jan 2009. 4 staff members have

Display Campaign Posters where appropriate. undergone accredited training

process.

1.1.18 Ensure energy supply contracts offer VFM H&P/ Ongoing G Gas: Participating in Scotland Excel

/TECS arrangements until 31st March 2010.

Currently 3 months into a 6 month

Finance

block purchase of gas. Main Elec:

Current contract expires 31st Mar

2009; intend to extend to Oct 2009

when purchases from forthcoming







20

Procurement Scotland contract can

commence. Public Space Lighting

electricity, committed via OGC buying

Solutions to May 2009, Heating oil,

committed on a year to year basis to

OGC, to March 2009. All utilities are

to be taken on board with

Procurement Scotland & work being

carried out in association with Council

to establish demand & profiles.

1.1.19 Integrate the plans and targets associated with improving energy efficiency in the H&P Aug 09 G Report on Energy Efficiency works in

Council’s housing stock as part of the Council’s approach to energy management CEXO housing stock & associated carbon

savings to be produced for future

meeting of the Group.

1.2 CARBON MANAGEMENT PLAN





Staff and member travel

1.2.1 Re-set baseline for staff and member travel which takes into account CO2 CEXO June 09 G Action underway. Process of baseline

emissions from: Finance data management being formulated.

• business travel (hire care, lease car, personal car use claims, public Scheduled date for new baselines

TECS

transport including air travel) June 09

• commuting (drawing on Green Travel plans)





1.2.2 Systems in place to: Dec 08 G Action underway.

• measure emissions reductions CEXO

• monitor cost savings from staff travel reductions Finance

• monitor and report on quarterly performance against carbon reduction

TECS

targets for staff travel

1.2.3 Systems in place to: CEXO Dec 08 G Trial complete. Online booking form

• measure carbon emissions reduction from use of video-conferencing and guidance page created by

Business Improvement Team. Further

work to be undertaken to promote.

1.2.4 Develop a THC Travel Plan in association with HITRANS TECS/ April/08 A Staff survey complete. Travel reports

• Survey of staff to establish current transport trends CEXO produced for 5 key sites. Action







21

points being developed for the plan.

TECS leading travel plan steering

group to finalise recommendations.

Awaiting feedback from report to

TECS committee.

1.2.5 • Adapt Hire and Lease car policies to promote the use of diesel and/or low- Finance/ Dec 08 G Options identified. Awaiting

emission vehicles CEXO prioritisation.

1.2.6 • Guidance to encourage Officers and Members to select low emissions CEXO Dec 08 G Options identified. Awaiting

option for lease cars prioritisation.

1.2.7 • Campaign to persuade staff and members to move to sustainable modes of CEXO Dec 08 G

transport

1.2.8 • Identify implications of efficient driver training to wider category of staff & TECS/ Dec 08 P Awaiting outcome of TECS travel plan

Members CEXO report recommendations.

Fleet Transport

1.2.9 Undertake an Energy Savings trust (EST) Fleet Review, including advice on TECS Done G Review completed.

developing a Green Fleet Action Plan

1.2.10 Develop a Green Fleet Action Plan TECS/ June 08 A Final report yet to be received from

CEXO consultant. Fleet actions will also be

built into CMSIP.



1.2.11 Report to CCWG on how to monitor CO2 emissions from fleet against the base- TECS/ Sept 08 G Advice available from DEFRA &

line including whether the base-line should be re-set given the new fuel purchase CEXO Carbon Trust. Progress on fuel cards

arrangements (this is to include measuring any cost savings) could help monitor litre consumption

& mileage. Report to 3.9.08 CCWG.



1.2.12 Introduce a 5% biodiesel blend for selected fleet vehicles TECS Sept A Adherence to RTFO requirement will

2008 progress action. Scoping process for

potential selection of applicable

vehicles for trial use with regional

supplier undertaken. Potential future

report to CCWG.

1.2.13 Deliver driver training to maximise fuel efficiency through behavioural change. TECS P CPC training for PSV (bus) drivers

Produce plan for certificate of professional competence comes in later this year. Will be

extended to HGV drivers in 2009.

Training for other staff being explored.







22

1.2.14 Scope out potential to adapt Schools Transport contracts to deliver / measure ECS/ P Next contract renewal date is 2011.

emissions reductions TECS/ Contractual specification to move

Finance towards emission reductions to be

programmed accordingly.

Street lighting

1.2.15 Systems to monitor performance against carbon reduction targets for street TECS Dec G Part of CMSIP development

lighting 2008





1.2.16 Scope out viability of “spend to save” bid to achieve emissions reduction in TECS June 08 P

routine maintenance Report to CCWG Finance

1.2.17 Compile baseline emissions data and forecasts for developer-led expansion of TECS G It is currently possible to estimate

street lighting network dependant on the rate of

development.



1.2.18 Systems to set higher standards of energy efficiency for all new street lighting TECS G New electrical lighting equipment to

provided by developers be energy efficient through current

tendering process.



1.2.19 Feasibility study into potential to dim street lighting at selected locations TECS G Ross-shire trial complete.

Internal Waste Management

1.2.20 Audit of internal waste and associated costs in top 40 waste producing sites CEXO Dec G

2008



1.2.21 Set systems to measure baseline recycling rates CEXO Dec G

2008

1.2.22 Develop waste reduction action plan CEXO P

Water Management

1.2.23 Audit of water consumed and associated costs in top 40 Council properties CEXO Dec G

2008

1.2.24 Develop water conservation action plan CEXO P









23

Figure 3. Current Work Plan Time Line:

2009 2010

Qtr 1 Qtr 2 Qtr 3 Qtr 4 Qtr1 Qtr2 Qtr3 Qtr4

Improving systems for tracking and monitoring energy use

Investigate ISO14001 accreditation

Implement internal audit

recommendations

Council Properties









Quarterly Performance Reports on Electricity and Gas Use

Annual Reports on oil use

Investment from Capital Programme

Pilot Installation of oil meters

Measure and report on energy efficiency in mainstream capital maintenance programmes.

EPC's

Ensure "low carbon" approach is woven into the delivery of all building projects under the capital programme.

Display

Campaigns

Integrate Housing Stock into Energy

Reporting

Re-set public

Transport

Staff Travel









baseline

Adapt hire/Lease car policies

Guidance for staff to select low emissions vehicles

Roll out of efficient driver training

Education and Awareness Campaign to encourage staff to use more sustainable travel options

EST Green Fleet

Review

Complete

Fleet









Green Fleet

Action Plan

Introduce 5%

biodiesel blend









24

2009 2010

Qtr 1 Qtr 2 Qtr 3 Qtr 4 Qtr1 Qtr2 Qtr3 Qtr4

Systems to

monitor carbon

reduction

Feasibility study

for streetlight

Street Lighting









dimming

complete

Viability of

Spend to save

bid complete

System to make

new electric

lighting energy

efficient

complete.



Audit of Internal

Waste Complete

Internal Waste









Systems to

measure

baseline

recycling rates

complete

Develop Waste Reduction Action

Plan



Audit of water

Water









consumption in

top 100 complete



Water Conservation Action Plan









25

TABLE 3. FURTHER WORK BY HIGHLAND COUNCIL

Service Action Description

P&D Forest and Woodland Strategy The regional Strategy has three main functions.

1. It identifies opportunity at a Strategic Level in key areas.

2. It draws attention to types of forestry that funding should be targeted at.

3. It provides a framework for evaluating individual grant applications under the Scottish Forestry

Grant Scheme.

P&D Sustainable Design Guidance Highland Council Supplementary Planning Policy: Designing for Sustainability, housing in the Countryside,

Affordable Housing. Provides more detailed policy on the implementation of existing Local Plan policy in

terms of the various topics listed.

P&D Renewable Energy Strategy The Strategy supplements the existing policies of the Council. It aims to provide guidance and direction for

Council decisions and developer’s plans. Many of the actions will be carried out through the planning and

associated Environmental Impact Assessment processes. The Strategy outlines a vision for renewables

energy in Highland and identifies 11 key points for action.

P&D Access Strategy Aims to address the needs and aspirations of people of all ages and abilities to deliver a wide range of

recreational and enjoyment of the environment benefits for walkers, cyclists, equestrians and paddlers.

Thereby contributing to social inclusion, health improvements, sustainable transport and improvement to the

overall quality of life by unlocking this potential and guiding the way in which the Council and its partners

can take forward plans for access throughout the Highland Council area.

P&D Development Plan Policy Guideline on Developer Sets the framework for the type and scale of developer contributions which will be expected through

Contributions (in development). developer contributions in association with the delivery of masterplans/development briefs or the

assessment of planning applications.

P&D Highland Food Conference Around ninety participants attended the “Local Food in the Highlands” conference in the Council Chamber

on the 7th November 2008, representing a wide range of food producers, producer organisations, retailers

and other food-related groups, in addition to the Highland Council, Scottish Government and other public

sector organisations with an interest in the subject.

P&D Local Food Action Plan Taking forward the actions highlighted in the local food conference.

P&D Area Wide Local Plan The 2001 Highland Structure Plan is to be replaced by a Highland Wide Local Plan being developed under

new legislation. The Council is working with Scottish Government on a pilot project to deliver new planning

policies which are shorter, clearer and focussed on delivery of infrastructure and economic development for

the area, and the first milestone will be to publish a Main Issues report in May 2009.

CEXO Fair Trade Members Group The Council has been serving Fairtrade tea and coffee following a decision by the Council in 2003 which





26

stated that “The Highland Council supports the principle of Fairtrade and sustainable production and

accordingly wishes to see all tea and coffee that is provided at official meetings brought under a recognised

Fairtrade label or equivalent.”



The Council has established a small Working Group be established comprising to look at progressing

Fairtrade status for the Council area as a whole in with the Scottish Government’s objective of

achieving Fairtrade Nation Status.



Fair Trade also aims to ensure that local producers get a good deal for their produce and reduce food

miles.

CEXO Fair Trade Event 2008 An exploration of the social movements that have shaped our past and guide our principles today.

CEXO Corporate Improvement Programme Focusing on eight areas of opportunity which have been formed into projects each with an individual

business case identifying the anticipated immediate benefits and what the opportunities are in the future.

Although focusing on cost savings, associated emissions savings can be achieved as a result particularly

through projects:

• Information Management

• Mobile and Flexible Working

• Transport

• Asset management.



These individual projects are explained in more detail below.

FINANCE Procurement – recycling of construction materials Mandatory targets to ensure that construction materials are recycled.

FINANCE Procurement – Supply contracts. The procurement unit currently request certification of energy usage, heat, light, noise and radiation of

goods purchased by the Council. Also accreditation such as ISO 14001from suppliers. To date 1/3 of

suppliers have come forward with information.





FINANCE Procurement - ICT contract. Working to secure community benefits in terms of social-economic as well as environmental performance.

The ICT contract ensures systems and training is made available and generates employment. Internally IS

client exploring more efficient ICT equipment for use by Council staff.

EDUCATION Eco Schools Achieve Eco School status for all Highland schools by 2011.

CEXO Allotments policy The Council has recently agreed to develop an allotments policy and to support

the development of allotments where there is demand.









27

CORPORATE IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMME



Information Management:

Information Management includes creating, capturing, registering, classifying,

indexing, storing, retrieving, using and disposing of records and developing ways to

manage records. The vision for an Information Management Strategy is for a

consistent, co-ordinated and proactive approach to our information; managing it

efficiently and effectively in order to give the customer a better service. Actions

relevant to the CMP include:



• Development of the intranet to include data directories, online forms etc

• Development of the internet to include publishing FOI results for public

consumption

• Creation of an information catalogue and a register of information custodians

• Requirements of a document management system

• Policy and procedure regarding records inventory, storage, retrieval and

destruction

• Information currently in paper format to be scanned according to classification

and use, to release estate for other purposes.



This project will use technology to help reduce the amount of paper consumed and

disposed of by Highland Council and contributes towards emissions savings through

reduced internal waste.



Mobile and Flexible Working:

The vision is ‘for our workforce to be deployed speedily to where it's needed by our

customers. Maximising the use of technology to sustain mobile and flexible working to

create a more effective working pattern, maximising the Council’s commitment to

rationalise office accommodation. To achieve this vision the project will aim to :



• Develop workforce management technology which includes flexible working

and task scheduling.

• Re-design Business Processes to deliver from a mobile workforce.

• Incorporate performance monitoring for continuous improvement.



This project will contribute towards the targets set out in the Business Travel and Fleet

Travel sections of the CMP through reducing the need to travel. It will also contribute

to reduced emissions from buildings as flexible approaches to work reduce the need

to be based at a desk.



Transport:

There is a need for a Corporate Transportation Strategy/Policy to take account of the

current fragmented organisation of transport connected activities within the Highland

Council. The Highland Council Travel Plan Coordinator is working closely with the

Corporate improvement team to ensure that products that come out of the project are

in line with the objectives of the CMP. These include:



• Saving in staff travel through reducing unnecessary journeys, video

conferencing, less use of hired vehicles, taxis etc.

• More efficient use of pooled vehicles





28

• Reduce unnecessary journeys through GPS implementation and better co-

ordination of the operational fleet.



This project will contribute towards the targets set out in the Business Travel and Fleet

Travel sections of the CMP.



Asset Management:

The vision is to adopt a corporate approach to asset management to enable The

Highland Council to proactively manage its assets. This will ensure Members and

officers are provided with accurate information on which to base investment,

maintenance and risk management decisions regarding the Highland Council’s assets

and that the assets support the strategic objectives of the Council, are fit for purpose,

efficient and effective. Actions relevant to the CMP include:



• the rationalisation of assets i.e. disposing of surplus assets, acquiring assets,

investment in assets together with maintenance to ensure that use of assets is

maximised and costs minimised while meeting delivery needs

• making best use of scarce capital resources by taking a Corporate view of

priorities to ensure that capital allocations support the objectives of the Council,

the priorities of its Service teams and the capital requirements of its assets.



This project will have contribute towards the targets set for street lighting, buildings

and water.



5.2 FUTURE PROJECTS:



Table 4 outlines projects for future inclusion in CMP following discussions with the

Service personnel responsible for each of the sectors scoped into the Carbon

Management Plan.



A section is also included for actions following discussions with Service personnel

involved in the qualitative projects highlighted in table 3 above. Such actions will

enable carbon management to be embedded across all sectors. It is anticipated that

through the implementation of the CMP, the actions contained within the qualitative

section will increase and capture more of the climate related work taking place within

the Council.



To enable efficient use of staff time and resources it is recommended that actions

against each sector are mapped on a time line. Figure 3 demonstrates how the

workload will be divided over the three years leading to 2012. Combined with the

carbon and cost analysis of the individual projects (Section 6 of the CMP), this will

allow emissions forecasting and a long term vision of progress towards targets to be

created.



Carbon Management work may form all, or only part of an employees responsibilities.

It may be beneficial to create a GANTT chart of activity so that workload at an

individual level can be managed. An example is shown in Figure 4.









29

30

Table 4. Proposed Projects for Inclusion in Revised Carbon Management Plan.



G = Completed or delivery on target A = progress with some slippage R = No significant progress P = To be programmed







12 MITIGATION: ACTION TO REDUCE THE COUNCIL'S GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS



PROPERTY – 12% EMISSIONS SAVINGS BY 2012





Service Date Costs

Action Progress Notes:

Responsible (TBC) (TBC)

1.1 Energy Monitors to all schools H&P/ P

ECS

1.2 Installation of heating Monitors to buildings H&P P



1.3 Ranking Buildings in relation to heat loss and H&P P

insulating the worst performers

1.4 Reviewed programme of renewable installations H&P G Programme currently under

review.

1.5 Voltage and Power improvement Devices to H&P P

buildings

1.6 Low Energy Bulbs to all Council Housing Stock H&P P Reviewing buildings and seeing

if the number of toilets is

necessary. Many are surplus to

need.

1.6 Zoning of Heating Systems in buildings H&P P .









2

Work plan is still to take into account any new legislative requirements expected in 08/09 (Scottish Climate Change Bill, Energy Services Directive, Carbon Reduction Commitment etc)







31

1.7 Replacement of old heating controls in buildings H&P P





1.8 Installation of new Biomass boiler at Drummuie H&P P

flagship building.



1.9 Conduct Insulation and improvement to one high H&P P

profile building visited by the public.



1.10 Create online energy consumption data for each CEXO/H&P P

Council property and monitor trends against

targets.

1.10 Investigate implementation of formal environmental H&P August 09 P

Management Systems in accordance with

ISO14001





1.11 Incorporate recommendations from Apr 08 internal H&P August 09 P

audit of energy management targets reporting and CEXO

energy billing into energy management reporting

mechanisms and associated processes.





1.12 Explore Alternative methods of accurately H&P P

monitoring heating need and oil consumption in

buildings.

1.13 Integrate the plans and targets associated with H&P August 09 P

improving energy efficiency in the Council’s

housing stock as part of the Council’s approach to

energy management





1.14 Report on Energy Efficiency works in housing H&P Aug 09 P

stock & associated carbon savings to be produced CEXO

for future meeting of the Group.





STAFF TRAVEL – 12% EMISSIONS SAVINGS BY 2012









32

2.1 Increase of Passenger mileage rate claim to encourage car CEXO P

share (5ppm)

2.2 Commitment to low emissions business related car hire CEXO/ P

FINANC

E

2.3 Multi ticket purchase for bus and train travel at sites CEXO P



2.4 Extension of VC/TC facilities, equipment and guidance. CEXO P



2.5 Exploration of desk-based alternative to VC( e.g. webcams) CEXO/IT P



2.6 Continued survey of staff travel patterns CEXO G



2.7 System in place for booking public transport and capturing CEXO G

mileage.

2.8 Dissemination of Transport hierarchy across staff to aid CEXO G

travel decisions.

2.9 Roll out Travel Plans across council premises CEXO G



2.10 Purchase of “pool” bikes for business travel CEXO P



2.11 Improve cycle storage facilities. CEXO P



2.12 Explore options for increased shower facilities with CEXO P

neighbouring businesses.

2.13 Identify implications of efficient driver training to wider CEXO P

category of staff & Members

FLEET – 5% EMISSIONS SAVINGS BY 2012



3.1 Extension of speed limiters on select fleet vehicles TECS Done P

including LGV.

3.2 Develop a Green Fleet Action Plan TECS/ A Final report yet to be received

CEXO from consultant on green fleet

review.



3.3 Fleet Rationalisation of vehicles TECS/ P Advice available from DEFRA &







33

CEXO Carbon Trust. Progress on fuel

cards could help monitor litre

consumption & mileage. Report

to 3.9.08 CCWG.

3.4 Re-routing of waste collection vehicles to maximise uplift TECS P

and minimise mileage.





3.5 Deliver driver training to maximise fuel efficiency through TECS P CPC training for PSV (bus)

behavioural change. Produce plan for certificate of drivers comes in later this year.

professional competence Will be extended to HGV drivers

in 2009. Training for other staff

being explored.

3.6 Strong policy in relation to fleet vehicle use. TECS P





3.7 Purchase of electric vehicle for use in Inverness (e.g. mail TECS P

van)

INTERNAL WASTE – 20% EMISSIONS SAVINGS BY 2012

4.1 Audit of internal waste and associated costs in top 40 CEXO Complete G

waste producing sites





4.2 Set systems to measure baseline recycling rates CEXO Dec 2008 G Systems in place through CMP

process.

4.3 Develop waste reduction action plan CEXO June 2009 P To be developed alongside

Carbon management Plan

following experience of waste

reduction at HQ

4.4 New kerbside collection routes incorporating schools TECs P



4.5 Replacing residual bins with recycling bins CEXO Ongoing G Work underway at HQ and

Kinmylies. To be continued

across all properties.

4.6 Monitoring amount of internal waste produced CEXO/TE Ongoing G As part of CMP.

CS





34

4.7 Reduction of paper usage in sites ALL Ongoing G Some printer/photocopier

rationalisation work to date.

Opportunities to use alternative

technologies and raise

awareness.

4.8 Encouraging bin reduction CEXO Ongoing G



4.9 Waste Awareness behavioural / educational campaign CEXO Ongoing G



4.10 Establishment of policy on ‘confidential’ waste CEXO Jan P

2010

4.11 Reduction of food waste in schools and encouragement of CEXO/EC P

composting linking with eco-school campaign S/

TECS

4.12 Energy from Waste Plan. Isle of Skye H&P/TEC A

S

4.13 Heat sinks linked to thermal treatment of waste in locations H&P/TEC P

across highland to serve buildings/ houses S



4.14 Re-establish internal shredders for confidential waste CEXO Jan P

2010

4.15 Commence plastic cup recycling through “Save a Cup” CEXO June 09 P

scheme.

4.16 Roll out facilities for recycling of plastic bottles and cans CEXO 2011 P



4.17 Campaign to reduce packaging on goods purchased by CEXO 2011 P

the Council.

STREET LIGHTING – 5% EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS



5.1 Change Lanterns on existing lighting schemes to use TECS P

dimmed white lighting source

5.2 Policy in favour of electronic lanterns during renewals. TECS G Policy exists.



5.3 Systems to set higher standards of energy efficiency for all TECS G New electrical lighting equipment

new street lighting provided by developers to be energy efficient through







35

current tendering process.



WATER – 10% EMMISSION SAVINGS BY 2012



Service

Action Date Progress Notes:

Responsible

6.1 Set system in place to monitor the number of call- H&P April 09 G A separate code will be created

outs to fix leakages and floods in buildings for maintenance to log reports of

faults.

6.2 Input water meter data into SIGMA to enable H&P/ June 09 P

consumption reports to be drawn out in line with

energy reports. CEXO







6.3 Further roll out the installation of Hippo’s in toilet CEXO Sept 09 G Hippo’s have already been

cisterns. installed in ?? buildings. Extend

this Service and encourage

schools to make their own

Hippo’s.

6.4 Further roll out of water saving urinal scheme. Sept 09 G



6.5 Policy in place for twin flush/low water WC’s when H&P Sept 2009 P

replaced.





6.6 Programme of toilet rationalisation CEXO Sept 09 P Reviewing buildings and seeing

if the number of toilets is

necessary. Many are surplus to

need.

6.7 Policy in place for inclusion of grey water systems P&D Ongoing G As part of sustainable design

in new-builds of a certain size. guidance.



6.8 Identify sites with little waste water (e.g. Nursery H&P June 09 P

and village greens); review the rates charged and

back-date.









36

6.9 Review of the rate-able charges at sites. H&P April 09 P





6.10 Education and Awareness Campaign on water CEXO April 09 P To be programmed into Green

conservation Ambassadors training and in line

with CMP communication

strategy. Also water features as

part of Eco-schools work.

6.11 Conduct Water Audit CEXO/H&P G





6.12 Develop Water minimisation Action Plan CEXO P









OTHER ACTIONS PER SERVICE



Service Costs

Action Date Progress Notes:

Responsible (TBC)

7.1 Monitor the number of suppliers that provide FINANCE P

environmental management information.

7.2 Monitor how well we are doing against the FINANCE P

mandatory targets for recycling of construction

materials.





7.3 Scope the use of FSC accredited paper FINANCE P

purchased by Highland Council, where

recycling paper is unavailable.

7.4 Through CMP we could monitor the turnover of FINANCE P

the number of units replaced or removed as

part of the WEEE directive.





7.5 Record small grants given by Council that could P&D/ P

contribute towards climate change action in the CEXO

community







37

Figure 4: Example of proposed timeline for water.







2009 2010 2011

Water Audit

Develop Water Action Plan

Systems to Monitor

Water Leakages

Input Water Data into

SIGMA

Distribution of rain water butts for schools

Further Roll out of Installation of hippo's



Further roll out of water saving urinal scheme



Programme of Toilet Rationalisation

Water









Policy in Favour of Grey

Water Systems in New

Builds

Identify Sites with little waste water

Review of rateable charging at sites

Education and Awareness Campaign on Water Conservation

Review options for

location of compost Installation of Compost toilet.

toilet

Conduct cost analysis of replacements taps and parts at sites

Replace faulty equipment









38

Figure 5. Example Work Plan of Travel Plan Coordinator

Jan 2009 Feb 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009

ID

Task Descriptions

12 19 26 2 9 16 23 2 9 16 23 30 6 13 20 27 4 11 18 25 1 8 15 22 29



Develop a Green Travel Plan (GTP)

1

1.1 Read Energy Saving Trust travel reports for Invergordon & Charleston Academy

1.2 Make contact with staff at both sites involved with previous reports

1.3 Develop action points

1.4 Draft GTP's developed for both schools sites

1.5 GTP's developed for both school sites

1.6 Implement GTPs at both school sites previously reviewed by Energy Saving Trust (EST)

1.7 Read reports for HQ, Kinmylies and Lochaber House office sites



Staff & Member Car Use for Business

2

2.1 Determine baseline measure for staff & member emissions from car use

2.2 Emissions reduction targets investigated as part of Carbon Management+ programme

2.3 Emissions reduction targets set and progress being monitored

2.4 Cost savings from staff travel reductions being monitored

2.5 Contact relevant staff to investigate hire/lease car policies

2.7 Investigate hire/lease car policy adaptions

2.8 Develop draft hire/lease car policy adaptions

2.9 Adapt Hire and Lease car policies to promote use of low-emission vehicles

2.12 Guidance for Officers/Members to select low emissions option for hire cars



Public Transport (PT) for Business

3

3.1 Contact relevant staff to investigate capturing Public Transport for business data

3.2 Investigate options and discuss optimum measures with Sustainability Officer

3.3 Set systems to capture mileage data & costs for bus, train, air, ferry & taxi travel

3.4 Investigate public transport booking methods

3.5 Investigate options and discuss optimum measures with Sustainability Officer

3.6 Provide guidance & training for staff booking public transport

3.7 Make information on routes, times and fares easily accessible to all council staff









39

5.3 PROJECTED FUTURE EMISSIONS



Projected Emissions:

The Climate Change Bill requires a 50% emissions reduction by 2030 over a baseline

of 1990. It is not possible to measure Highland Council internal emissions for 1990;

however it is expected that in line with national trends emissions at this time would

have been higher than they are currently. Therefore, to reach a reduction target of

50% by 2030 over a baseline of 2007/08 will be ahead of the requirements contained

within the Climate Change Bill and enable Highland Council to lead the way in tackling

climate change.



It is reasonable to expect that Highland Council can achieve these emissions

reductions without the need to purchase international credits or to carbon offset.



Figure 5 shows the emission savings required to reach 50% emissions reduction by

2030, over a baseline of 2007/08.This projection is based upon 4% per annum

emissions reductions during the timeframe of this revised CMP and continued 3% per

annum saved thereafter.



Targets will need to be reviewed at regular intervals and it is anticipated that budget

periods set by the Scottish Government through the Climate Change Bill will form the

framework for these interval periods.



This graph will therefore need to be reviewed following guidance from the Scottish

Government.









40

Co2 in tonnes



20









0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

70000

07

/0

8

20

08

/0

20 9

09 2007/08

Baseline



/2

01

20 0

10

/2

01

20 1

11

/2

01

20 2

12

/2

01

20 3

12

/2

01

20 4

12

/2

01

20 5

12

/2

01

20 6

12

/2

01

20 7

12

/2

01

20 8

12

/2

01

20 9

12

/2

02

20 0

12









Financial year

/2

02

20 1

12

/2

02

20 2

12

/2

Figure 6 Projected Emissions reductions to 2030









02

20 3

12

/2

02

20 4

12

/2

02

20 5

12

/2

Revised CMP trajectory









02

20 6

12

/2

02

20 7

12

/2

02

20 8

12

/2

02

20 9

12

/2

03

0

Former CMP trajectory









CCB



2030

Target









41

6. CARBON AND COST ANALYSIS



2009-2012

Highland Council Carbon Management C02 emissions Financial Savings Savings in CRC RISKS

Plan Targets saved £ Certificates

Target 1: 12% Buildings 5286 989 882 63 442 The Increased price of energy in this time. Prevailing climatic conditions.

Costs will be saved through reduced mileage claims but may increase for

Target 2: 12% Staff Business Travel: 522 473 458 N/A public transport as people shift mode.

Target 3: 5% Fleet 207 148 218 N/A Variable fuel prices.

Target 4: 20% Internal Waste 831 None* N/A

Target 5: 5 % Street lighting: 353 70 000 7450 The increased price of energy in this time

Target 6: 10% Water 14 99 183 N/A

TOTAL SAVINGS: 7213 1 780 741 70 892



*

Increased recycling facilities and the need to continually uplift waste of any kind will make cost savings in the first three years difficult. Reduced waste would reduce revenue for TEC

service who receive income from collecting waste at office sites.









42

43

7. EMBEDDING CMP PROCESS



A Carbon Management Matrix for embedding throughout Council Services and

operations can be found in table 6. This is the standard matrix provided by the Carbon

Trust. Using the assessment matrix the Highland Council currently scores 25 out of a

possible 35 for the baseline year of 2007/08. This can be broken down as follows:



Corporate Strategy 4 points

Programme Management 5 points

Responsibility 3 points

Data Management 3 points

Communication and Training 3 points

Finance and Investment 4 points

Policy Alignment 3 points

Total: 25



The Highland Council aims to have achieved a score of 33 or above by 2012, through

implementing the Carbon Management Plan.









44

Table 5. Carbon Management Assessment Matrix

CORPORATE PROGRAMME COMMUNICATION & FINANCE &

RESPONSIBILITY DATA MANAGEMENT POLICY ALIGNMENT *

STRATEGY MANAGEMENT TRAINING INVESTMENT

• CM integrated in

BEST • All staff given formalised

• Cabinet / SMT review responsibilities of senior • Quarterly collation of • CO2 friendly operating

managers

CO2 reduction: • Finance committed for

• Top level target progress against targets CO2 emissions for all

o induction and training 2+yrs of Programme

procedure in place

allocated across on quarterly basis • CM part of all job sources • Central team provide

o communications • External funding being

organisation • Quarterly diagnostic descriptions • Data externally verified advice and review, when

• CO2 reduction targets reports provided to • Central CO2 reduction • Joint CM routinely obtained

requested

• M&T in place for:

5 in Directorate Business

Plans

Directorates

• Progress against target

advice available o buildings

communications with

key partners

• Ring-fenced fund for

carbon reduction

• Barriers to CO2 reduction

• Green Champions o street lighting routinely considered and

published externally leading local action • Staff awareness tested initiatives

removed

o waste

groups through surveys



• CO2 reduction • Sponsor reviews • CM integrated in to

• Annual collation of CO2 • All staff given CO2 • Coordinated financing

commitment in progress and removes responsibilities of • Comprehensive review

emissions for: reduction: for CO2 reduction

Corporate Strategy blockages through department heads of policies complete

o buildings o induction projects via Programme

• Top level targets set for regular Programme • Cabinet / SMT regularly • Lower level policies

4 CO2 reduction Boards updated

o street lighting

o transport

o communications

o CM matters

Board

• Finances committed 1yr

reviewed locally

• Climate Change • Progress against targets • Staff engaged though o waste ahead • Unpopular changes

routinely reported to communicated to

Strategy reviewed Green Champion being considered

Senior Mgt Team • Data internally reviewed external community • Some external financing

annually network

• A view of the cost of CO2

• CO2 reduction vision • An individual provides reduction is developing, • All high level and some

clearly stated and • Core team regularly full time focus for CO2 • Environmental / energy but finance remains ad- mid level policies

published review CM progress: reduction and • Collation of CO2 group(s) given ad hoc: hoc reviewed, irregularly

3 • Climate Change

Strategy endorsed by

o actions

o profile & targets

coordination across the

organisation

emissions for limited

scope i.e. buildings only

o training • Some centralised

resource allocated

• Substantial changes

o communications made, showing CO2

Cabinet and publicised o new opportunities • Senior Sponsor actively

with staff engaged • Finance representation savings

on CM Team

• Draft Climate Change • Regular awareness

• CO2 reduction a part- • No CO2 emissions data • Partial review of key,

Policy campaigns

• Ad hoc reviews of CM time responsibility of a compiled • Ad hoc financing for CO2 high level policies

2 • Climate Change

references in other

actions progress few department

champions

• Energy data compiled on

• Staff given CM

information on ad-hoc

reduction projects • Some financial quick

a regular basis wins made

strategies basis

• No policy • No CO2 emissions data

1 • No Climate Change • No CM monitoring

• No recognised CO2

reduction responsibility

compiled • No communication or

training

• No specific funding for

CO2 reduction projects

• No alignment of policies

for CO2 reduction

reference • Estimated billing





* Major operational policies and procedures, e.g. Capital Projects, Procurement, HR, Business Travel







45

8. COMMUNICATION



A communication Strategy has been developed to enable successful implementation

of the Carbon Management Plan. This can be found in Appendix B



Through the Councils reporting requirements of Scotland’s Climate Change

declaration and through the Single Outcome Agreement, progress against targets are

published externally. In addition quarterly reports of the progress in reducing energy

use through the Energy Management Performance Plan are published with the

committee papers and available for the public to see on the Councils internet. The aim

is to publish progress reports of the CMP in the same way.



The Council’s Carbon Management Plan incorporates emission reduction targets for

staff and member travel, fleet, street lighting, water and waste management as well as

from buildings. There was recognised a need to revise the Council’s existing

behavioural change and training packages which focused primarily on energy from

buildings. This also recognised the vital role all staff and members can play in not

only reducing the emissions of Council operations but also of the region in general

through good practice applied at home. Such programmes must be updated and

refreshed to ensure that energy savings are sustained.



The Highland Council developed a voluntary scheme for Council employees called

“Green Ambassadors”. More than 70 staff joined the scheme and benefits included:



• Resources in the form of posters, stickers and information sheets, both online and

in hard copy.

• Advice, guidance, training, toolkits, contact and FAQ sources;

• Exclusive opportunities for Green Ambassadors to network and liaise with each

other in person at events or electronically through forums;

• Exclusive e-mail updates on Climate Change related developments occurring

within the Council.

• Free training programme.

• Free Library Service

• Competitions and prizes.









46

9. PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT OF THE CMP





9.1 STRATEGIC OWNERSHIP:

The Climate Change Working Group will oversee progress towards targets set within

the CMP. The Working Group is made up of cross-party Members as outlined below:



CLIMATE CHANGE WORKING GROUP





Members (15) to incorporate Convener, Leader of Council’s Administration and Committee Chairs





PARTY NAME ROLE WARD

Independent (6) Sandy Park Convener Nairn

Carolyn Wilson Chair – Resources Cromarty Firth

Margaret Chair – HSW Committee Aird & Loch Ness

Davidson

Bill Fernie Chair – ECS Committee Wick

John Laing Chair – TECS Committee Eilean a'Cheo

Hamish Fraser Chair - Gaelic Committee Eilean a'Cheo





Liberal Dr Michael Leader of the Council’s Fort William and Ardnamurchan

Democrat (4) Foxley Administration

Ian Ross Chair – PED Committee East Sutherland and Edderton

Dr David Alston Budget Leader and Chairman Black Isle

of the Budget Information

Group

Glynis Sinclair Culloden and Ardersier





SNP (3) Jean Urquhart Chair – A& S Committee Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and

Lochalsh



Drew Hendry Aird & Loch Ness

George Farlow North, West and Central

Sutherland





Labour (1) Jimmy Gray Provost Chair – City of Inverness Millburn

Inverness Committee





IMG (1) David Chisholm Dingwall and Seaforth





All CMP papers on will go to the Councils Weekly Business Meeting to allow Director

scrutiny before presenting to the Climate Change Working Group.









47

Following approval by the Climate Change Working Group, progress will be reported

to the Councils Resources Committee. This report will contain:

• the carbon emissions savings to date

• the financial savings to date

• progress against legislative requirements

• progress against internal targets set





9.2 THE CARBON MANAGEMENT TEAM



Carbon Management Plan implementation will be coordinated by the Sustainable

Development Officer. The Head of Policy and Performance will oversee progress and

submit reports to the relevant committees. A number of key individuals will have

responsibility for different aspects of the plan:





Responsible For: Lead officer:

Co-ordination and Monitoring: Sustainable Development Officer, Policy and Performance,

Chief Executives Office.



Policy Assistant, Sustainable Development, Policy and

Performance, Chief Executives Office.



Target 1:12% Council property. Principal Sustainability Officer, Housing and Property.



Target 2: 12% staff travel Travel Plan Coordinator, Policy and Performance, Chief

Executives Office.



Target 3: 5% fleet Fleet Manager, Transport Environment and Community

Service.



Target 4: 20% Internal Waste Waste Management Officer, Transport, Environment and

Community Service (advice),



Sustainable Development Officer (implementation)



Street lighting Manager, Transport, Environment and

Target 5: 5% street lighting Community Service.





Target 6: 10% water Senior Energy Inspector, Housing and Property (advice)

Sustainable Development Officer (implementation)









The above staff will make up the CMP Working Group and will meet regularly during

Carbon Management development and implementation. Following sign-off of the

CMP, it is proposed the CMP will meet quarterly to discuss progress in advance of any

reports being submitted to Committee.







48

9.3 Responsibility Across Services:

In addition to the CMP Working group, staff from personnel, procurement, ICT and

Planning and Development will be invited to meeting to discuss ongoing and proposed

projects that contribute towards more qualitative carbon emissions reductions projects.

Such projects are highlighted in Section 6.





9.4 Succession planning:

The Highland Council have learned from past experience that if key individuals leave

post before the programme is fully established progress can stall. For this reason the

following succession plan should be used to ensure that this revised Carbon

Management Plan continues to be monitored and reported.



The Sustainable Development Officer is responsible for monitoring Carbon

Management Progress. In the absence of a Sustainable Development Officer the

Policy Assistant, Sustainable Development should assume responsibility. In the

unlikely event that neither are available then responsibility should go to the Principal

Sustainability Officer, Housing and Property Service.



All reports must be signed by the Head of Policy and Performance before going to

committee.



It is recognised that some individuals may be nearing retirement and will take with

them a vast amount of knowledge and understanding when they leave. It is

recommended that where possible replacements shadow staff before they leave the

Council to ensure that information and knowledge is transferred and not lost.





9.5 ANNUAL PROGRESS REVIEW

The Energy Management Performance Plan is reported quarterly to the Resources

Committee and anuually each August. This process will continue for emissions

savings in Council properties.



All other targets within the Carbon Management Plan will be reported quarterly to the

Climate Change Working Group, where possible, and annually to the Resources

Committee. For certain sections, for example, streetlighting, it will not be possible to

report progress on a quarterly basis and annual reporting will give a clearer picture of

progress.The Climate Change Working Group will review progress towards Carbon

Management. This will include:



CO2 savings against the internal target

Co2 savings against national targets

financial savings, from fuel and energy efficiency

financial savings through the CRC

Progress towards partnership working

Behavioural change



49

APPENDIX A



Baseline Report 2007/08



1 Emissions from buildings

The Finance Service assimilates energy billing process, and has provided resources for

accounting support for gas and electricity to ensure that the best available data, derived

from billing information is available for reporting. The billing process has been

reviewed and streamlined where possible e.g. the largely paper-based process to pay

gas bills has now been automated. Conversion factors used are those supplied by the

Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in their guidelines for

company reporting on greenhouse gas emissions.



National Procurement and forthcoming legislation on the Carbon Reduction

Commitment will result in metered energy use soon becoming available on a monthly

basis for each Council building and available in real time. This will remove the risks

associated with reporting estimated billing information and remove the need for a time

delay in reporting as we wait for billing information to come in to the Council.



The baseline for energy from buildings remains set at 2004/05 and APPENDIX ?

demonstrates progress as at the end of 2007/08.



The figure below shows the overall trend in energy consumption from April 2005 to

April 2008. This is based on actual billing data derived from SIGMA. The graph

illustrates the seasonal fluctuation in energy use between summer and winter.

Total Consumption & Energy Mix



25,000,000.00









20,000,000.00









15,000,000.00

Electricity

Oil

kWh









gas

Total Energy

10,000,000.00









5,000,000.00









0.00

05







05









6







06









7







07









8







08

05









05



06







06









06



07







07









07



08







08

05









06









07









08

r0









r0









r0

r







g









b









g









b









g









b









g

n









n









n

ec









n

ec









ec

ct









ct









ct









ct

Ap









Ap









Ap









Ap

Fe









Fe









Fe

Ju



Au









Ju



Au









Ju



Au









Ju



Au

O









O









O









O

D









D









D









50

Only 71 of the Council’s 815 properties are heated by gas because of the limited extent

of the mains gas network. The majority of the Council’s top-energy consuming

properties are heated by oil, which accounts for 46% of all energy use and 44% of

energy bills. Electricity is the most expensive fuel source used by the Council with the

highest associated CO2 emissions. 3Electricity accounts for 39% of the Council’s

energy use and 49% of energy costs. Over 60% of Council properties rely on electricity

for both heat and power. 60% of electricity bills are currently estimated (although

regarded as accurate).



For a more accurate portrayal of energy use against energy need, heating degree days

will be taken into account. Heating degree day (HDD) and cooling degree day (CDD)

are quantitative indices designed to reflect the demand for energy needed to heat or

cool a home or business. These indices are derived from daily temperature

observations, and the heating (or cooling) requirements for a given structure at a

specific location are considered to be directly proportional to the number of heating

degree days at that location. More specifically, the number of heating degrees in a day

is defined as the difference between a reference value of 15.5°C and the average

outside temperature for that day. The value 15.5°C is taken as a reference point

because experience shows that if the outside temperature is this value then no heating

or cooling is normally required. HDD can be added alongside consumption data when

monitoring trends.



Trend graphs can be developed for all fuels and all buildings and it is proposed that

graphs will be provided for each building on a monthly basis available on the Council

intranet. Targets will be set for each site and these will be indicated on the profiles and

users and officers will be able to check on, and monitor performance, identifying major

variations and changes at an early stage. For the purpose of reporting performance

can be presented by Service or by Area and linked to overall targets and legislation

such as the Climate Change Bill and the Carbon Reduction Commitment.



The following charts show the overall trend per fuel type. It demonstrates that while

there is an upward trend in energy use over the three years, this due to a steep

increase in oil use.



There remains an issue with oil supplies as the records are based on quantities of

delivery instead of actual use and this gives large variations in consumption

dependant on when, and by how much tanks are re-filled. Their needs to be

consideration of metering options available and an assessment made on the benefits

in terms of reporting and carbon penalty costs. Six sites piloted oil meters with limited

success. Options for using heat meters as an alternative are currently being explored.









3

http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/business/envrp/conversion-factors.htm

51

Total Consumption & Energy Mix



25,000,000.00









20,000,000.00









15,000,000.00



Total Energy

kWh









Linear (Total Energy)



10,000,000.00









5,000,000.00









0.00

05









05









06



06









06









07



07









07









08



08

05



05









06

06









06









07









07

05









07

r

r









g









b



r









g









b









g









b



r

ct









ct









ct

n









ec









n









n

ec









ec

Ap









Ap









Ap









Ap

Fe









Fe









Fe

Au









Au









Au

Ju









Ju









Ju

O









O









O

D









D









D

Total Site Electricity



7,000,000.00







6,000,000.00







5,000,000.00







4,000,000.00

Electricity Use

kWh









Linear (Electricity Use)

3,000,000.00







2,000,000.00







1,000,000.00







0.00

05







05









06



6







06









07



7







07









08



8







08

Au 5









Fe 5









06









Fe 6









07









Fe 7









08

D 5









D 6









D 7









08

r0









r0









r0

0









0









0









0

0









0









0

r







g









b









g









b









g









b









g

n









n









n

ec









n

ct









ct



ec









ct



ec









ct

Ap









Ap









Ap









Ap

Ju









Ju



Au









Ju



Au









Ju



Au

O









O









O









O









52

kWh kWh







Ap









1,000,000.00

2,000,000.00

3,000,000.00

4,000,000.00

5,000,000.00

6,000,000.00









0.00

r0

5









0.00

2,000,000.00

4,000,000.00

6,000,000.00

8,000,000.00

10,000,000.00

12,000,000.00

14,000,000.00

Ju

l0

Apr 05 5

O

ct

May 05 05

Ja

Jun 05 n

06

Ap

Jul 05 r0

6

Aug 05 Ju

l0

Sep 05 6

O

ct

Oct 05 06

Ja

Nov 05 n

07

Dec 05 Ap

r0

Jan 06 7

Ju

l0

Feb 06 7

O

ct

Mar 06 07

Ja

Apr 06 n

08

May 06 Ap

r0

Jun 06 M 8

ay

Jul 06 0

Au 5

Aug 06 g

0

No 5

Sep 06 v

Total Gas Consumption









05

Oct 06 Fe









Total Oil Consumption

b

0

Nov 06 M 6

ay

Dec 06 0

Au 6

Jan 07 g

06

No

Feb 07 v

0

Mar 07 Fe 6

b

Apr 07 0

M 7

ay

May 07 0

Au 7

Jun 07 g

0

Jul 07 No 7

v

0

Aug 07 Fe 7

b

Sep 07 0

M 8

ay

Oct 07 0

Au 8

Nov 07 g

08

Dec 07

Jan 08









53

Feb 08

Mar 08

2. Emissions from Street Lighting:



Electricity for street lighting is charged at a set price per lantern and the office of

Government Commerce North of Scotland buying group operate the current tendering

process. The new contract commenced in June 2008 and saw a 42% increase in

energy costs further highlighting the need for energy reduction measures.



Emissions from street lighting are calculated by applying the standard Defra

conversion factor to the total Kwh the Highland Council were billed for in a given year.

Total electricity consumption of street lighting for the period 2007/08 was

16,431,516KwH resulting in 7065 tonnes of CO2.



Where energy savings can be demonstrated, information on savings is returned to

OGC by the Highland Council Street lighting manager and these savings are deducted

from the bill. At present there is nothing written into the contract as to the frequency of

reporting back energy savings. The purchase of energy for street lighting through

national procurement is expected to commence in 2009 and reporting requirements

are likely to change as a result of this.









54

3. Emissions from Business Travel:



In the past it is was only possible to calculate carbon emissions based on vehicle size

and fuel type. This resulted in a complicated data collection process. In June 2007 the

factors were updated by DEFRA to take into account changing behaviours and

technologies relating to energy efficiency, vehicle type and fuel economy. It is now

possible to apply an average conversion factor for all vehicles regardelss of size or

fuel type. To provide for consitency with other EU nations this data is presented in

grams of Carbon Dioxide emitted per kilometer (see below).









It is therefore proposed that Highland Council collect mileage data for all business

travel undertaken by car. This data can then be converted into Co2 emissions per km

to give an overall figure for Co2 emissions in tonnes.



Mileage data will be collected as follows:



Casual Miles: Individuals must provide a record of miles with their expense forms and

therefore a fairly robust record of miles is held by Finance Service. There will always

be some individuals who do not claim miles but this is unavoidable. For the baseline

year total miles claimed was



Lease Cars: Lease car users also have to provide a record of their miles in their

expense claim forms and this will also provide a robust record.



Hire Cars: Mileage data is provided monthly from the hire car companies and divided

into categories based on car type and engine size. This process was put in place in

November 2007 and so a full baseline year (April 07-March 08) has not been

gathered. However it has been possible to calculate a monthly average and therefore

yearly total for the period 2007/08.



Hire Vans: As with hire cars, companies provide the Council with monthly data on

mileage. A separate conversion factor for vans will be applied based on Defra

guidance for company reporting:

55

Occasional hire of vans over 3.5t does take place however due to the difficulty in

applying the correct conversion factor for this type of vehicle these have been scoped

out of the CMSIP. The Category for hire vans is inclusive of minibuses.



Home Carers: Currently self-calculate their miles and submit a financial sum for re-

payment to the Social Work Service.



Support Workers:



Members: Submit mileage details monthly with their expense claim forms. This data is

kept in isolation to other staff claims.



Motorbike: Staff that use motorbikes for business purposes can claim expenses at a

special mileage rates dependant on the size of the engine. The number of staff

claiming mileage for motorcycles is too small to be of any significance to the overall

reporting in the CMSIP and as such have been scoped out of the report.



Excess Miles/ Secondment: This is paid to staff that have moved from their base to

a new working place as a compulsory measure. It covers the extra journey costs to

and from work and as such would come under “commuting” not business mileage. It

will therefore not be reported through the CMSIP but may provide useful evidence for

monitoring progress of the green travel plan.



Public Transport



Public transport is defined as any journey made by taxi, bus, aircraft, train and ferry.

The majority of travel by public transport is booked through each Service. To ensure

data is collected there would need a public transport booking form would need to be

developed (similar to that used for hire car booking currently used by some Services).

A central location for data storage would need to be identified and training for staff in

receipt of forms carried out to ensure mileage data is reliable.



As with car use, Defra has created standard conversion factors for carbon emissions

from the different types of public transport.



Reporting on public transport cannot not begin until 2011 when systems for data

management have been created and one full year of progress monitored.



Walking/Cycling: In addition to demonstrating a decrease in vehicle use through the

CMSIP it is hoped that increasing walking and cycling figures can be measured. There

56

is currently a system in place for staff to record cycling miles and staff are paid

12pence per mile (ppm) for each journey made this way. Very few staff make use of

this and greater promotion is needed to encourage more claims for cycle miles.

Further encouragement could be made by raising the mileage rate for cycling in line

with the government’s allowance of 20ppm.



There is currently no method of recording or rewarding staff for making business

journeys on foot.



Video Conferencing: To encourage fewer business journeys, the Council’s Business

Improvement Team extended the video and telephone conferencing facilities across

the council. A standardised on-line booking system has been developed that allows

cost and carbon savings from the use of the facilities to be measured. Staff can apply

a conversion factor of 0.34kg/mile for each journey prevented as a result of using

video conferencing. This data can be incorporated into the reporting of the CMSIP and

can be gathered quarterly.



Passenger Miles: The Highland Council currently pay staff carrying passengers a

mileage rate of .004ppm through expense submissions. Currently no record of

passenger miles is kept. This system could be used to monitor any increase in lift

sharing for work purposes in the future.









57

4. Reduction from Fleet Travel



Unlike Business travel it is not possible to collect robust mileage data from fleet

vehicles for a number of reasons:



• Fuel cards – When a vehicle is filled at a forecourt petrol pump, the driver pays

with a fuel card and is asked to state the vehicle mileage to the cashier who

inputs the data onto the system. Many drivers submit numbers off the top of

their heads and this method is not robust enough.

• Depots – When a vehicle is filled from a Highland Council Depot and the driver

is asked to read the milometer on the vehicle there is room for personal error

and often milometers are misread.

• Workshops – The only way to get accurate vehicle mileage data is when a

mechanic reads the milometer during regular service. The length of time

between servicing is dependant on vehicle type and use and therefore it is not

a data source that can be relied upon for reporting regularly.



At the time of creating baseline data for the previous CMSIP mileage data was based

on an estimate of expected vehicle use. In many cases vehicles actually did fewer

miles than anticipated and sometimes by a considerable amount. In addition none of

the winter maintenance vehicles were included because at the time there were no

adequate conversion factors for gas/oil, the fuel used in such vehicles. It has been

agreed that a more robust approach is needed.



It is therefore proposed that vehicle Co2 emissions are measured in terms of actual

fuel consumption in litres rather than miles travelled. TECs keep data on fuel

consumption and Defra have separate conversion factors for the different fuel types.

The main fuel types used in fleet vehicles are petrol, diesel and gas oil with a limited

number of vehicles running on LPG and bio-diesel blend.









58

Carbon Emissions from Council Fleet and business Travel



Essential Miles

7%

Lease Miles

Casual Miles 3%

4%

Training Miles

2%

Equivalent Car Hire Miles

4% Casual Miles

Fleet Hire Car Miles Essential Miles

34% 2%

Lease Miles

Vans (up to 3.5t)

1% Training Miles

Members Miles Equivalent Car Hire Miles

2%

Hire Car Miles



Home Carer Miles Vans (up to 3.5t)

7% Members Miles



Support Workers Miles Home Carer Miles

1% Support Workers Miles



0%

Total

Fleet

Total

33%









59

4. Internal Waste

In August 2005 funding was made available by the Scottish Executive to employ a

Waste Audit Officer. A waste review of Highland Council premises was completed in

August 2006 and identified short, medium and long term opportunities to reduce

waste. While the findings of this report will form a useful tool in formulating a waste

reduction action plan, for example considering what methods are needed to change

behaviours, it does not provide accurate or comprehensive data to set a baseline for

carbon emission reduction which would give us confidence in measuring our progress.

To re-audit Council properties would require significant staff resources and time.

Therefore the following methodology is proposed:



1. The CMSIP should report on waste reduction from those Council premises

where general waste is produced (e.g. paper, cardboard, glass etc) and

exclude properties with specialist or hazardous waste (e.g. depots which would

include things such as tar, scrap metal and grass cuttings).



2. For the purposes of reporting properties will be divided into two key types.

Schools and Offices.



3. All Highland Schools will be monitored for waste generation and for Highland

Council Offices the top 40 premises in terms of staff numbers will be focused

on. This will allow the greatest change to be achieved with the staff resources

available.



4. The total volume of waste can be calculated from bin uplift data collected by the

refuse collection service. This provides the total number and volume of bins

collected and the information can be converted into weight using standard

conversion factors:



5. There are national statistics for the percentage of waste type generated from

offices and schools allowing the correct conversion factors to be applied to

paper, card, glass and other waste types:



6. The total weight of waste of varying types can be calculated for schools and

offices. A final conversion factor can be applied to give the overall CO2

emissions from such waste streams.



7. The baseline CO2 emissions from internal waste streams can then be set. The

tables below outlines the carbon emissions associated with waste production in

the Council’s top 40 waste producing buildings for the period 2007/08 and

demonstrate the information available for Schools.



8. An approach to measuring the reduction in paper use in schools and offices is

still to be developed and will be taken forward along with any new action

planning required for the amended Council programme 2009-11.









60

Highland Council Carbon Emissions from Internal Waste 2007/08









10%









15%









Office Waste from top 40 sites

Secondary School Waste

Primary School Waste

Other HC premises waste





62% 13%









61

Top 40 waste producing buildings and associated emissions 2007/08:





Total

No. annual Total CO2

of No. of waste Tonnage annual *Equivalent

Highland Council Site: Bin Size bins collections (Litres) (tonnes) cost (tonnes)

1 Glenurquhart Road, Inverness 1100 4 260 1144000 152.88 £14,092.00 68.34

2 94 DIRIEBUGHT ROAD Inverness 1100 8 52 457600 61.15 £5,636.80 27.33

3 Craig Road, Dingwall 1100 4 104 457600 61.15 £5,636.80 27.33

4 Uig Pier 1100 4 104 457600 61.15 £5,636.80 27.33

5 Divisional Office Market Sq Wick 1100 2 156 343200 45.86 £4,227.60 20.50

6 Education, Castle Street, Dingwall 1100 3 104 343200 45.86 £4,227.60 20.50

7 Ross House, Dingwall 1100 3 104 343200 45.86 £4,227.60 20.50

8 Bayview house, Wick 1100 3 104 343200 45.86 £4,227.60 20.50



Size of Weight Cost Apply Carbon Trust conversion factor for

container in Kg Council buildings It is not possible to accurately forecast the number of staff within

(Litres) each building. This is because each Service keeps details of staff

sack 13 £1.74 numbers at each site rather than a total per building being

120 19 £2.35 gathered. Staff move frequently and it would be too large a task to

240 32 £3.62 keep such information up to date. It is however possible to rank

360 48 £5.07

schools on performance based on the amount of waste produced

447

kgCO2e/tonne

per child. This is because school role records are up to date and

660 88 £8.46

accurate. An example is shown below:

1100 147 £13.55









62

Internal Waste from schools ranked as waste per child 2007/08:





Based on 2007-08 school roll figures Apply a conversion factor of 447 gCO2 e/tonne









paper recycling

Primary Total

School * annual Total CO2 Waste

excluding Number Number of waste Tonnage annual Equivalent School per child

canteen waste Bin Size of bins* collections (Litres) (tonnes) cost (tonnes) Roll (litres)

Applecross 240 3 45 32400 4.32 488.7 1.93 15 2160.00

Ardross 360 2 45 32400 4.32 456.3 1.93 34 2160.00

Ardgour 240 2 46 22080 2.94 333.04 1.32 15 1472.00

Arderseir 1100 3 43 141900 18.96 1747.95 8.48 103 1377.67 y

Arisaig 360 2 46 33120 4.42 466.44 1.97 37 895.14

Auchtertyre 240 3 86 61920 8.26 933.96 3.69 72 860.00

Aldourlie 360 2 43 30960 4.13 436.02 1.85 38 814.74

Alvie 240 2 76 36480 4.86 237.88 2.17 48 760.00 y

Achiltibuie 240 2 45 21600 2.88 325.8 1.29 29 744.83

Auldearn 1100 2 41 90200 12.05 5.39 143 630.77 y

Abernethy 1100 1 41 45100 6.03 474.37 2.69 83 543.37 y

Altnaharra 360 1 43 15480 2.06 0.92 3 407.37

Acharacle 240 3 46 33120 4.42 499.56 1.97 55 399.04

Aviemore 1100 1 76 83600 11.17 902.46 4.99 227 368.28 y

Achfary 360 1 43 15480 3.78 1.69 6 281.45









63

5. Emissions from Water



In calculating CO2 emission from water a standard conversion factor of 0.404kg

CO2/m3 of water consumed can be applied. This is based on standard conversion

factors supplied by the Carbon Trust and takes into account the energy needed to

treat and pump the water we use and dispose of. Below is a table outlining the energy

requirements involved in supplying drinking water and treating waste.





Stages in treatment Energy using equipment

Abstracting water from boreholes or rivers. Pumps

Filtering, disinfecting and water treatment. Monitors, dosing machines and

analytical equipment.

Transfer to storage reservoirs. Pumps

Supply to domestic and commercial consumers. Pumps and monitoring equipment

Return of wastewater to treatment works Pumps

Cleaning wastewater Aerators, pumps, actuator valves,

level controllers, mixers, monitoring

equipment.

Return the treated water to the environment or re- Pumps

use the water.





The Highland Council is supplied by Scottish Water with billing process carried out by

Business Stream. Currently just over 50% of Council sites have water meters installed

that give accurate measurement of usage in m3. All other sites are charged a set

figure each year through the application of rates. As of April 2009 it is a requirement of

the Scottish Government that all public buildings in Scotland have water meters

installed. Problems with installation at several sites have been discovered and

discussions are currently taking place with Business Stream on how best to deal with

these sites. It is hoped that Business stream will communicate back to the Scottish

Government who will decide on the appropriate recharge in these circumstances.



Below is a table outlining the baseline data for 2007/08 for water consumed in

Highland Council premises with metered readings only. In line with the process for

energy and waste, the Top 100 buildings have been ranked in order of water

consumption. Actions towards water conservation can then focus on these sites and

progress monitored through the CMSIP. Unusual or differing figures can be

investigated and causes of water loss avoided.









64

Example of water consumption, cost and associated emissions:

Associated

Co2

Usage Total emissions

3

Highland Council Sites: M Charge £ (tonnes)

1 Office, Glenurquhart Road, , , INVERNESS IV3 5NX 12,276 58,411 4.96

2 Nursery, Floral Hall Bught, , , INVERNESS IV3 5SS 10,950 22,866 4.42

3 Wick High School, West Banks Avenue, , , WICK KW1 5LU 10,710 31,654 4.33

4 Dingwall Academy, Back Road, , Maryburgh, DINGWALL IV7 8DS 10,676 30,675 4.31

5 Millburn Academy, Diriebught Road, , , INVERNESS IV2 3QR 10,335 28,867 4.18

Training, Health & Safety Unit, Located at Inverness High Montague

6 Row, INVERNESS IV3 5DZ 8,514 20,482 3.44

7 Culloden Academy, Keppoch Road, , Culloden, INVERNESS IV2 7JZ 8,457 28,509 3.42

PH33

8 Sports Centre, Belford Road, , , FORT WILLIAM 6BU 8,238 20,305 3.33

9 Charleston Academy, General Booth Road, , Kinmylies, INVERNESS IV3 8ET 7,538 26,100 3.05

10 Inverness Royal Academy, Culduthel Road, , , INVERNESS IV2 6RE 7,433 25,331 3.00









65

CARBON MANAGEMENT PLAN COMMUNICATION STRATEGY APPENDIX B

Introduction:

As a signatory of Scotland’s Climate Change Declaration the Highland Council is

committed to tackling the effects of climate change and adapting to the anticipated

impacts.



A Carbon Management Plan has been developed, which aims to reduce Highland

Council carbon emissions by 12% between 2009 -2012. The primary focus of the plan

is to reduce carbon emissions from Council buildings, vehicle fleet, business travel,

street lighting, internal waste and water. There are five strategic themes that carry

across all sectors. These are:



Theme 1: Reduce Carbon Emissions from Internal operations

Theme 2: Reduce Energy Costs

Theme 3: Explore new areas for action

Theme 4: Promote Awareness and Behavioural Change

Theme 5: Lead by example



The timely and accurate communication of carefully chosen messages to specific

individuals and groups, through appropriate and effective channels, will enable

Highland Council to address the themes as outlined above. It is a key component in

the design, introduction and implementation of a successful carbon management

programme. It is widely accepted that behavioural change can result in up to 20%

emissions savings (ref). This communication Strategy is needed to ensure that

emissions savings are achieved and that such savings are sustained over time.



A programme of behavioural change and awareness raising will be delivered across

all Highland Council staff, Members and the wider public. It will also facilitate

knowledge transfer between stakeholders and partner organisations.



It is hoped that the communication plan will help to:



• Establish a shared understanding of the Carbon Management Plan’s vision and

goals

• Generate enthusiasm for carbon management

• Secure necessary resources

• Keep the actions in touch with changing priorities

• Identify risks and issues and adapt actions where appropriate

• ensure accurate information and guidance is available for staff

• Improve readiness for change amongst individuals that may be impacted by the

carbon management programme, through changes to working practices etc.

• Improve communication between staff of different Services, between

operational and management staff and between different organisations.









66

Communication Channel Audit



Establishing what current channels of communication exist, who they reach, and how

effective they are is an important first step in designing communication of the carbon

management programme. A communication channel audit was carried out by the

Highland Council Carbon Management Working Group and is summarised in

Appendix 1:



Examples of channels include:

• Face to Face channels (e.g. departmental meetings, team meetings, staff

forums, management cascades, video conferencing);

• Electronic channels (e.g. e-mail, intranet, internet, CD ROMs, pop-ups);

• Printed channels (e.g. local authority newsletter or newspaper, specialist or

departmental newsletter, posters, stickers, external magazines or newspapers);

• Other media channels (e.g. video, telephone, teleconference, marketing media

(products, disposables), radio, television etc).





Identifying Audience

There are a number of key audience groups to target and each require a different

approach to ensure key messages are communicated in the correct language, format

and to the correct timescale. A summary of key audience groups is shown below:





Target Audience Description.

HC general staff 12 500 employees work for Highland

Council and can be contacted via all

media types highlighted in the

communications channel audit in

Appendix 1.

HC teaching staff The school systems have their own

method of communicating with

teaching staff that we should tap into

including Head teacher forums and

CPD training events.

HC manual staff Do not have access to electronic

forms of communication and would

require more face to face and written

forms.

HC management staff There are approximately 200

managers within HC that attend

management briefings and

management development training

days. In addition to the general

medias, communication should be in

the form of presentations and reports



67

at designated meetings.

HC Members There are 80 elected highland

Council members representing

communities across Highland. They

each have pigeon holes centrally at

HQ and can be contacted via e-mail.

Members will also read reports put to

committees and make

recommendations.

HC Green Ambassadors There are approximately 65 Highland

Council Green Ambassadors –

volunteers to promote green

awareness amongst fellow

colleagues. They have their own

online forum to discuss green issues

as well as a designated web page on

the intranet.

HC Temporary staff Highland Council use “Global

Highland”, an employment agency, to

hire temporary staff. Such staff do not

undergo induction training in the

same way as other HC employees.

HC Responsible Premises Officers Each Council site has a designated

responsible officer responsible for the

management of that facility. Such

officers receive training to enable

them to carry out their duties (e.g.

meter readings and maintenance

checks)

The Public Approximately 230 000 people live

within Highland. News releases,

radio broadcasts, household mailings

and the internet are the methods

used to communicate with the public

at present. The HC internet gets 7000

hits a day.

Partner Organisations 80 partner organisations from the

private, voluntary and public sectors

attended the highland Council

Climate Change Workshop in June

2008 and are moving towards a joint

declaration on Climate Change. In

addition the Single outcome

Agreement is developing

commitments with key partner

organisations, including the set-up of

an environmental forum.





68

Council House Tenants Approximately 14000 Council House

tenants are communicated directly

through the Housing and Property

Service.





Communication Action Plan



The communications action plan is a summary of intended communications actions,

their timing and responsibility. The plan has been developed based on the findings of

the communications channel audit in Appendix 1.



Progress will be monitored as part of the Carbon Management Plan monitoring

framework.



The Communication Action Plan is outlined in Appendix 2.









69

APPENDIX 1



HIGHLAND COUNCIL COMMUNICATION CHANNELS AUDIT





Internal Facing:

Communication Description Target Audience Timing Responsible

Channel Service/Officers

Management Briefing An opportunity for senior Service Managers Ongoing Employee Development

management to filter

down key strategic

messages form the

council to Service

Management Staff.

Payslips 12500 staff get payslips All Staff Monthly Finance

through the post and

there is an opportunity

to put key messages

into these.

Head Teacher Forums Head Teachers meet to Head Teachers Ongoing ECS

discuss key topics.

Service Newsletters Some Services produce All Staff Various depending on Services

quarterly newsletter Service but at least

which are available Quarterly.

under common folders

on the staff Intranet.





Council Newsletters The Council PR team Staff/members/Public Every 2 months PR Team/Services

produce a Corporate

Newsletter every two or





70

three months that is

distributed electronically

to 4500 staff. It is

expected that manager

print off a copy for

manual staff to read but

is hard to police.





Member Workshop It is proposed to hold a Members To be scheduled Weekly Business

two hour workshop to go annually Meeting/Leadership

over carbon Meeting

management issues

with ALL members. The

idea will be run past the

Weekly business Group.

Staff Workshop Green Ambassadors are All Staff To be scheduled CEXO

currently invited to a annually

Carbon management

Workshop and it is

proposed to extend this

to ALL staff.

Job Specification It is proposed that those Staff with Sustainability As and when Personnel

employees with climate issues as part of their

change responsibilities remit.

in the role should have

something incorporated

into their job description

to this effect. Currently

only a handful of staff

have climate change

mitigation in their job





71

description.

Events A programme of events All Staff Throughout the year. CEXO/H&P/TECS

is being developed to

role out to highland

council green

Ambassadors and link in

with the Highland

Environmental Networks

yearly training

programme.

Staff Intranet Use of the staff All Staff Ongoing CEXO

noticeboard and

common folders to

communicate events,

news and information

Staff E-mail All user e-mails used to All Staff Ongoing CEXO

promote events,

competitions and news

on climate related

issues.

Posters Posters have been All Staff Ongoing – updated bi- CEXO

created in line with the annually.

Green Ambassador

Campaign to encourage

people to switch off

power, use less paper

and create less waste

as well as make

informed decisions

about the need to travel.







72

Member Champion It is proposed to select a Members, Staff and Ongoing CEXO

Member to Champion Communities

individual actions

towards reducing

carbon emissions

amongst staff and

employees.

Head Teacher As above but to Schools Ongoing ECS

Champion Champion the work

within schools.

Green Ambassadors Over 60 green All Staff Ongoing CEXO

Ambassadors are in

place to communicate

action within the work

force.

Agency Contracts Currently agency staff Temporary Staff, As and When Procurement/All

do not require to go

through an induction

and so some way of

ensuring they are aware

of Highland Council

policy on climate

change is needed.

Flexi Card Machines Staff that clock in and All Staff at clock-in sites Combine with events. Personnel

out using time cards can

be given key messages

via the machine to

coincide with events.

Screensavers The highland Council All staff with computers Ongoing – updated bi- CEXO/IS

screensaver is in need annually.





73

of refreshing with new

messages on emissions

savings.

Notice Boards Staff communal areas All Staff Ongoing All

and canteens have

notice boards where

leaflets, posters and

information can be

placed. Especially

important for manual

staff who have no

access to computers.









74

External Facing:

Communication Channel Description Target Audience Timing Responsible

Service/Officers

Publications Pamphlets, leaflets, Public Ongoing CEXO/graphics team

posters etc produced

by Services to inform

public of their current

work.







Website The One-stop shop Public and staff Ongoing PR Team/Webmaster.

for all areas of CEXO could coordinate

Corporate and relevant Carbon

Service information, Management Sites.

including ward

forums and

Community

Councils, minutes of

meetings etc. there

are over 7000 hits a

day with up to 11

000 hits during times

of bad weather.

Annual Newspaper Printed and Staff/members/Public Once a year PR Team

distributed to the (November)

public by the PR

team.

Council Tax leaflets Information on Public Once a year Finance

Council tax rates is (March/April)







75

distributed to 115

000 households

across Highland.

Partnership Workshops Through working Stakeholders Ongoing CEXO

towards a Climate

Change Strategy for

Highland

opportunities exists

to communicate with

partners in

workshops.

Site unveilings When new Public As and When Services/Pr Team

renewable energy

installations or

recycling facilities

are installed use as

an opportunity for a

press release.

Press releases Ensure we report on Public Ongoing Services/PR Team

progress in the press

and in particular,

installations as

above and events.

Waste Awareness The Waste Public Ongoing TECS

Campaigns Awareness Team

have a programme

of education and

awareness raising

and leaflets and

materials for

distribution to





76

highland Household.

National Events Tie in with events Public Ongoing CEXO

such as Energy

Efficiency Week,

Bike week etc









Staff Training and Development

Communication Channel Description Target Audience Timing Responsible Service/Officers



Management Development All Managers attend a 2 Managers Once a year Employee Development

Training day residential training

exercise once a year.









Staff Induction Training All staff work through an All Staff As and When Personnel

induction check list with

their line managers upon

joining the Council.









77

Personal Development Plans Staff are encouraged to All Staff Once a Year Employee Development

work with Line managers

to develop Personal

Development Plans aimed

at addressing any training

needs and building on

staff experience.









Responsible Officer Training All Council buildings have Staff at specific Once a Year CEXO

a nominated responsible Building Sites

officer responsible for the

day to day

Health and Safety Training Staff with specific jobs Once a Year Services









78

HIGHLAND COUNCIL CARBON MANAGEMENTCOMMUNICATION ACTION PLAN 2009-2012 APPENDIX 2



G = Completed or delivery on target A = progress with some slippage R = No significant progress P = To be programmed





INTERNAL FACING:



Action Service Time Status Comment

Frame

1.1 Explore the opportunity to add a message to Employee payslips in line with a CEXO/ Annually P Currently income is generated

national event or campaign FINANCE through advertising space on

pay slips so would depend on

available space.

1.2 Attend one management briefing session for each Service. CEXO Annually P Scope out timetable of briefing

sessions and arrange a slot on

one.

1.3 Attend a head teacher Forum CEXO/ ECS Annually P Scope out timetable of forums

and subject matter and liaise

with ECS an appropriate one to

attend

1.4 Feature Carbon management Progress in Service Newsletters ALL Annually P



1.5 Corporate Newsletter CEXO Quarterly G Progress in emissions

reductions featured in recent

edition.

1.6 Hold a series of events aimed at raising awareness amongst staff CEXO/ Ongoing G Two events have taken place

H&P/TECS with green Ambassadors and a

programme of events is being

developed.

1.7 Advertise initiatives and events on staff notice board on intranet CEXO Ongoing A More use of Intranet staff notice

board is needed.

1.8 Hold Staff workshop aimed at raising awareness of Carbon Management. CEXO Once at A One workshop held with TECS

time of Service was found to be very





79

CMP useful. Need to Role out across

Launch all Services.

1.9 Member Workshop CEXO Once at P Extend beyond the Membership

time of of the CCWG.

CMP

Launch

1.10 Poster Campaign aimed at reducing waste and energy use and encouraging CEXO Bi- G Posters have been created and

sustainable modes of transport. annually distributed across premises and

staff. Update and refresh

campaign every two years.

1.11 Energy Display Certificates Campaign H&P Bi- G Posters created for all properties

annually over 1000m2 and all schools.

1.12 Assign a Member Champion CEXO April P Invite to Launch of CMP

2009

1.13 Assign a Head Teacher Champion CEXO/ECS April P Invite to Launch of CMP

2009

1.14 Encourage more Green Ambassadors to volunteer CEXO/ 2010 P The scheme is only in it’s third

TECS/ month so a new marketing

campaign should take place

H&P

next year

1.15 Develop message on Flexi card machine to coincide with key events CEXO/ P

personnel

1.16 Update Council Screensaver CEXO April R Action delayed by IT staff.

2009

1.17 Create printed guidance for manual staff CEXO April R Web materials have been

2009 created. Need to produce a

printed version for use by all.









80

EXTERNAL FACING:



Action Service Time Status Comment

Frame

2.1 Update the Carbon Management Section of the Highland Council Website and CEXO April P

ensure linkages are made with all other relevant section on line. 2009

2.2 Hold Community Events to tie in with National Campaigns ALL Ongoing G Energy Efficiency Weeks, Waste

Awareness Campaigns and WWF

Earth Hour are examples of some.

2.3 Send a message out on the annual distribution of council tax letters CEXO/ April P

FINANCE 2010



2.4 Continue regular role out of press releases related to emissions reductions CEXO/Ser Ongoing G

vices

2.5 Conduct regular workshops with partnership organisations CEXO Quarterly G This has commenced through the

HC partnership approach to climate

change conference and will

continue.

2.6 Conduct events at site-unveilings for new renewable energy installations CEXO Ongoing P



2.7 Ensure Carbon Management features on publications distributed to the public CEXO Ongoing P









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STAFF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT:



Action Service Review Status Comment

date

3.1 Explore Inclusion of CMP priorities in induction for agency workers. Liaise with FINANCE/C P

Global Highland over options EXO

3.2 Attend Management Development Training CEXO/ 2010 P First round of Management Training

H&P has passed. Tie in with the next set.



3.3 Build CMP priorities into staff induction training CEXO/ 2009 P

Personnel

3.4 Build CMP into Personal Development Plans linking to the training CEXO/ 2009 P

opportunities on offer for staff Personnel

3.5 Responsible Officer training CEXO/ 2009 A Training has taken place in the past

H&P but needs refreshed.



3.6 Link in with Health and Safety training for certain staff groups. CEXO 2009 A Has taken place in the past through

TECS. Need to explore more

opportunities in future.

3.7 Programme of training opportunities for Green Ambassadors CEXO Ongoing G Programme developed. Linking in

with the Highland Environmental

Network.









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