Sustainability

Sustainability within St Albans District Council

St Albans City and District Council is committed to sustainable development. Back in 1998 the Council began implementing a range of projects to improve the sustainability of the District via the Agenda 21 Action Plan.

With the growing challenge of climate change, the Council signed the Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change, a national pledge to systematically tackle climate change both within the Council and across the District.  As a signatory to this pledge, the Council set itself a target of a 3% year on year reduction in carbon dioxide emissions along with a plan of action to achieve it.

In 2007, the Council took part in the Carbon Trust Local Authority Carbon Management Programme to tackle its own emissions. Through this specialist programme of support and consultancy we were able to develop a Carbon Management Strategy and Implementation Plan. This plan should enable us to reduce our carbon dioxide emissions by 25% by 2013 (from a baseline year of 2006/07) and underpins potential financial savings to the Council of around £1.16 million.

This year, the Council is delighted to have been successful in winning a place on the Energy Saving Trust one-to-one support programme for local authorities. Through this two year package, the Energy Saving Trust will provide consultancy, training and support to enable us to consolidate our previous efforts and further reduce carbon emissions across the whole District.  This will culminate in the production of a Climate Change Strategy for St Albans.

• St Albans District Council Nottingham Declaration Action Plan 2008 (PDF - 287 kb)
• St Albans District Council Carbon Management Plan 2008 (PDF - 982 kb)

What actions we've already taken

Energy

• Solar Pholtovoltaic Panels installed to the Civic Centre Council offices.

• Energy saving lighting installed across the district offices. 

• Solar thermal panels (hot water) installed to the 'Inn on the Park'. 

• Solar Pholtovoltaic Panels installed at Jersey Farm Community Centre. 

• Undertaking a wide-scale programme to insulate all lofts and cavity walls within Council residential properties 

• Energy efficient boilers soon to be installed in the district offices.

Waste

• A waste audit has recently been undertaken to assess the types and quantities of waste being disposed of and to enable new recycling measures to be effectively introduced.

• Office paper recycling is available across the council offices. 

• Disposable cups are recycled. 

• Construction waste from housing projects is recycled.

Transport

• A Green Travel Plan has been produced and is currently being updated.

• Bicycles are available for staff to use during working hours for business or leisure. 

• Car sharing database is available to match people commuting from the same areas (www.stalbanstravel.com). 

• Interest free loans are being made available to employees for the purchase of a bicycle to encourage cycling. 

• Interest free loans are available to employees for the purchase of rail season tickets to encourage travel by rail.

• Company cars will soon be limited to emission levels of 180g carbon dioxide per km.

• The Council is investigating the purchase of a low emission or electric vehicle for staff use for business travel.  

Other Measures

• A Sustainable Purchasing Policy has been developed to ensure that the Council minimises the impact of its purchases. 

• The Councils larger contractors are required to report annually on the greenhouse gas emissions from energy use and transport during the delivery of their services. They are also expected to implement plans for the ongoing reduction of these emissions. 

• The Council is implementing a programmes of awareness raising for staff. This will include regular campaigns and newsletters reminding employees about the importance of saving resources and reducing their environmental impacts both at work and at home.