Earlier this year Birmingham City Council signed up to the 10:10 Initiative – a scheme which has been seeking support from organisations across the UK to pledge to cut their carbon emissions by ten percent in one year.
Here in Birmingham many things are playing a part as the council strives to meet the goal. Ten things aiding the council’s 10:10 cause are:
1. Helping the city cut 120,745 tonnes of CO2 in 2009
2. 6,000 homes and businesses targeted to save money and energy through retrofitting and micro-generation
3. Supporting electric cars and installing 8 charging points in city centre locations with 10 more to come
4. Reducing overall waste and increasing recycling rates
5. Using a more efficient energy supply through district energy with 3 new local heat networks installed in city centre and citywide expansion planned
6. Developing new offices and refurbishing old ones to BREEAM standards, make them more energy efficient and suitable for the technological demands of the 21st Century
7. Creating a Cabinet Committee for Climate Change and Sustainability, to offer strategic oversight for all of the authority’s green plans
8. Launching green restaurant awards to promote best practise in local businesses
9. Working with communities to adapt to the effects of climate change, including planting 150 trees in Balsall Heath and installing flood sentries in Selly Oak
10. Raised awareness through events such as Climate Change Festival, which collected over 600 pledges and involved over 1000 young people
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