Net Zero Week
Today is the first day of Net Zero Week!
So, what does being Net Zero mean, and why is it important?
The Net Zero Awareness Week defines it as ‘reducing emissions to their lowest amount through energy efficacy measures and then using offsetting as a last resort to balance the remaining hard to remove emissions’. It is important that everyone tries to reduce their carbon emissions (released when fossil fuels are used) as much as possible to help fight against global warming.
As a Council we are working hard to reduce our emissions. We have installed PV on the roof of our Civic Centre and use solar power to run our ticket machines in car parks. The installation of more energy efficient technologies will also help reduce emissions. An Example of what we have done can be seen at the Wave Leisure Centre, where we have installed a combined heat and power (CHP) plant. This piece of technology allows for the generation of electricity on site (meeting the base load of the building). The heat produced during this process is then utilised to maintain the temperature of the building and pool. This not only helps us reduce our emissions but also is a great way to recycle the heat produced when the CHP operates.
We have also developed a ‘Energy Efficiency and Fuel Poverty Strategy (2020-2025)’ to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions generated from poorly insulated buildings. By adopting this strategy we have been able to assist vulnerable residents of park homes to install wall insulation to their properties, helping them reduce bill costs and so in turn reducing their emissions. There are plenty of other exciting projects happening at ADC and we will continue to work on reducing our emissions, through behavioural and operational changes.
If you would like to get involved click here for ideas and tips on what you can do to reduce your emissions. 33% of emissions are generated from our homes and cars, so its important that we all work together to reduce our emissions.