A corporate Sustainability Steering Group has been established. This is made up of directors and other senior council officers.

Earlier this year, Swindon Borough Council was accepted onto the Carbon Trust’s Local Authority Carbon Management Programme (LACM). The Council is one of the 45 new local authorities participating in phase 5 of the programme, which is designed to deliver improved energy management to reduce emissions under the direct control of the local authority.

The programme helps reinforce the Climate Change Action Plan and supports the positive work of the Council’s Renewable Energy Task Group. It will also look at cutting energy and emissions in schools, sheltered accommodation and council offices, council vehicles, street lighting whilst helping to protect the environment and save the Council money.

In June 2007, staff and senior management took part in a workshop, which provided advice, guidance and ideas to enable us to embed carbon management into the day- to-day business of the Council. The 5^th phase of this programme will run until March 2008.

Further details about the Carbon Trust can be found at www.carbontrust.co.uk

Manage Your Energy (MY Energy) Project

Swindon Borough Council is working with Severn Wye Energy Agency (SWEA); a not-for-profit local environmental charity, on a year-long project called Manage your Energy (MY ENERGY).

MY Energy is a staff awareness programme to encourage each of the eight thousand council staff members to switch-off office appliances and lighting when not in use.

The project is about providing people with the information and the ability to make the right choices and to understand that each of us combined together can make a difference about doing something positive about climate change and protecting our environment.

Thirty Council buildings have been identified to work with on the project and staff from these buildings have become champions and have promoted energy efficiency. So far in the project they have conducted energy spot checks, attended training sessions, put up displays and posters in their service areas and spread the word about energy efficiency. To the year-long campaign there are four quarterly themes, these are:

• Theme 1 - PC and IT peripheral equipment
• Theme 2 - Office Equipment
• Theme 3 - Use of ventilation, air conditioner and fans
• Theme 4 - Lighting

Saving energy is really simple thing to do and the first thing everyone should consider if they want to live a greener life.

The Green Champions Network

The project is being led by the Green Champions Network (GCN), which is made up of approximately 40 Council staff. Staff are dedicated to promoting the MY Energy project and other green issues within the Council. The network has developed it’s own logo (as shown below) and meets approximately every six weeks to take forward sustainability in the Council.