St Andrews cuts carbon costs

As well as being Scotland’s first university, the University of St Andrews is now aiming to be one of the nation’s greenest.

The University is currently working towards a target of reducing its carbon dioxide emissions by 31,000 tonnes by 2012. This equates to a saving of £500K based on forecast 2012 energy prices.

The Carbon Trust’s programme is designed to help organisations develop a targeted framework to deliver carbon reduction practices by establishing their current baseline emissions, assessing the risks and opportunities posed by climate change, and developing a robust strategy to reduce carbon footprints over a five to ten year period.

Roddy Yarr, the University’s Environment and Energy Manager said, “The Carbon Trust’s Carbon Management scheme has helped the University to get a better understanding of where its carbon emissions are generated.

“By getting a good cross-section of participants involved from students, academic and support staff, we are now better able to roll out the actions that we think are necessary to reduce our carbon footprint.”

Launched in 2003, the Carbon Trust’s Carbon Management Programme is designed to deliver improved energy management of buildings, vehicle fleets, street lighting and landfill sites. The programme is supported by a bespoke toolkit – a web based manual that gives detailed guidance on the programme’s process and technical advice. It also facilitates the sharing of best practice between participants, enabling them to learn from each other’s experience, thereby optimising results.

John Stocks, Manager, Carbon Trust Scotland, said, “St Andrews now has in place a very good plan and I applaud the tremendous engagement across the whole university, which is essential for their actions to be effective.  The financial and environmental incentives to cut carbon are clear.

“The good news is that through the Carbon Management Programme, energy can become a controllable overhead for organisations. Implementing good carbon management can lead to significant cash savings. As well as releasing funds which can be better spent on resources and services, this will enable St Andrews to cut carbon emissions, reduce its environmental impact and improve its reputation within the community.”

The University is one of fourteen public sector organisations in Scotland graduating from the fifth phase of the Carbon Management Programme this year. With twelve organisations from previous years, this brings the total number of organisations that have completed the programme to twenty-six. Collectively they have identified a total opportunity to reduce emissions by over a quarter of a million tonnes of CO2, reducing their energy bills by £20 million.

The twelve earlier participants are experiencing success in implementing their plans and have so far collectively reduced their emissions by 65,000 tonnes of CO2, with an associated energy bill reduction of £5m.

ENDS

NOTE TO EDITORS:

Dr Roddy Yarr is available for interview on Tel: 01334 463995 or Email: [email protected]

For further information about The Carbon Trust please contact Amanda Sutcliffe or Emma Davies at Smarts on 0141 222 2040 or [email protected]

The Carbon Trust

·         The Carbon Trust is an independent company set up by government in response to the threat of climate change, to accelerate the move to a low carbon economy by working with organisations to reduce carbon emissions and develop commercial low carbon technologies. The Carbon Trust works with UK business and the public sector through its work in five complementary areas: insights, solutions, innovations, enterprises and investments. Together these help to explain, deliver, develop, create and finance low carbon enterprise.

·         The Carbon Trust is funded by the Scottish Government, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), the Welsh Assembly Government and Invest Northern Ireland.

·         For further details visit www.carbontrust.co.uk or call the Carbon Trust Advice Line on 0800 085 2005.

NOTE TO PICTURE EDITORS:

IMAGES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THE PRESS OFFICE – CONTACTS BELOW.

Issued by the Press Office, University of St Andrews
Contact Fiona Armstrong, Press Officer on 01334 462530 / 462529, Mobile: 07730 415 015 or Email: [email protected]
Ref:  Carbon trust 16/09/08
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