Introduction

Oldham Council has a Carbon Management Action Plan to help manage its enviornmental impacts.

Objectives and target audience

The Carbon Management Strategy set out a long-term strategic vision: “To minimise Oldham MBC’s impact on climate change to improve our local and global environment.” The action plan and strategy set out how Oldham Council will reduce carbon emissions from its activities and operations over a five-year period. In order to provide a very clear focus for action planning and future policy decisions this strategy has two clear aims: To identify the tonnes of CO2 generated and released by Council activities and operations; and to monitor, manage and reduce the tonnes of CO2 released by Council activities and operations. The target audience is the employees of Oldham MBC and the borough as a whole.

Financial Resources and Partners involved

The implementation of the CMAP was paid for by Oldham MBC under its ‘Invest to Save’ policy. The Council worked closely with the Carbon Trust and Oldham Environment Partnership.

Process

Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council (OMBC) was one of the 24 authorities selected to participate in the second phase of the Carbon Trust’s Local Authority Carbon Management Programme which has provided OMBC with a comprehensive process for managing carbon emissions. The Trust worked with officers from the Council for six months, and many areas for improvement were identified. A base lining exercise was undertaken to discover the levels of carbon produced by different sources. Projections were also made for future emissions, both following the ‘Business As Usual’ model and if all the improvements identified by the Carbon Trust were identified. A Carbon Management Action Plan (CMAP) was drawn up, outlining the areas for investigation. The CMAP was the catalyst for many carbon reduction policies within the organisation.

Results

Under the umbrella of the CMAP, there have been many initiatives aimed at reducing our Carbon emissions.
•    A 1% reduction in car travel as the main mode of commuting;
•    A 6% reduction in the car being used for commuting on 5 or more days a week; and
•    An 11% reduction in the car being used for business travel

Other areas of saving eg. fleet, street lighting and building energy are to be calculated.

Critical Success Factors / Challenges

Critical success factors included ensuring that all staff are aware of the aims of the CMAP and their roles within the plan. This involves the need for awareness raising exercises and ensuring that staff are fully trained to carry out their tasks within the Plan. The lessons learnt by Oldham could easily be transferred to other organisations in the form of case studies or consulatancy support.