Oldham Council has an Affordable Wamrth policy to tackle Fuel Poverty and increase the energy efficiency of homes. Oldham has a high number of people who are vulnerable to fuel poverty, i.e. the elderly and the poor. This leads to around 155 excess winter deaths per year. Working with various partners, Oldham MBC set up a plan to ensure that residents are given the opportunity to access energy efficiency assistance and advice. OMBC was also at the forefront of establishing an Energy Efficiency Advice Centre. An ‘Affordable Warmth Access Referral Mechanism’ was introduced. This involves front line staff being trained to recognise the causes and effects of Fuel Poverty. So far 170 staff have been trained in this area.

Green Champions is an internal scheme that encourages council employees to act more sustainably at work and at home. They are given information on the little changes they can make to their everyday lives, and are encouraged to persuade other to live more sustainable. Any employee can join up to the scheme and do as much or as little as they choose. Champions receive a regular email with energy saving hints and tips, as well as details of campaigns they can choose to become involved in. Since it’s launch in 2005 the scheme grown to over 900 members across the Local Authority. The scheme was awarded a prestigious Green Apple Award for Best Practice in 2006.

W4E was a project initiated by three Manchester-based organisations with the aim to deliver locally relevant messages about climate change to a deprived area of South Manchester, Wythenshawe. From the outset, the project was designed and delivered by the people of Wythenshawe, working alongside artists, experts and partners and because of this a sense of long-term ownership was created, reaching far beyond the scope of short-term projects delivered by external agencies. In total the project saved 6,972 kg of CO2 but more importantly locally relevant messages were produced for people living in one of the most deprived areas of the UK.

Hulme Energy Action Team (HEAT) is a local initiative started by Action for Sustainable Living to help Hulme residents save money and reduce CO2 emissions through community energy saving measures. It is a local partnership of residents and organisations working to develop sustainable energy solutions which will run alongside Manchester City Council’s fuel poverty relief programme and enhance them. The project supports local training and the development of local ‘energy champions’, as well as setting-up co-operative buying systems to deliver affordable warmth across all neighbourhoods in the Hulme community.
HEAT has been established so that Hulme residents can: Bulk buy energy efficient products and services, source funding for large-scale energy saving campaigns, understand local attitudes and practices around energy use, assist local people to create local solutions, whilst developing local skills and involvement, and work together as a community.