COUNCIL ENCOURAGES LOCAL COMMITMENT TO CUTTING CARBON EMISSIONS

Local people have an opportunity to help cut carbon in Teignbridge by 10% in 2010, and Teignbridge Council is encouraging as many as possible to join it in signing up for this 10:10 initiative.

The 10:10 initiative is a nationwide scheme which encourages individuals, businesses and other organisations to make a pledge to cut their carbon emissions by 10% in 2010. This would be an important first step in helping the entire country meet longer term targets for reducing carbon, a commonly accepted cause of climate change.
Teignbridge, which is also one of the smallest councils in the country to have developed a Carbon Management Plan with The Carbon Trust, has already signed up for the scheme, and this week will be helping local people to do the same.

Teignbridge will be officially launching its own efforts to crack down on carbon as 2010 gets underway, and from Tuesday 5th - Friday 8th January will be hosting a 10:10 event every day during business hours at its Forde House headquarters. The events will provide the opportunity for local people to sign up to try their best to reduce their carbon emissions by 10% in 2010, with staff happy to provide hints, tips and advice in cutting carbon. The council is encouraging everybody to come along and pick up further information about the initiative, get some ideas about how to reduce carbon emissions and sign up.

Among the tips to help get everyone carbon cutting are using energy saving light bulbs, shopping locally, driving less, switching off appliances left on standby, or reducing the amount of waste they throw away. Even these small steps can help to achieve a 10% reduction in carbon emissions, and can also save people money.

Cllr Gordon Hook, Teignbridge Executive Spokesperson for Environmental Services said:

"We're dedicated to tackling climate change and helping make Teignbridge an environmentally friendly place to live. Cutting carbon not only helps achieve this aim, but it can also save money for individuals, families and organisations. We can't kid ourselves that a 10% reduction is enough in the long term, but to achieve this figure in 2010 would be a great boost in the longer term fight against climate change and in our efforts to keep costs down.

"Whatever your views on climate change, cutting carbon will undoubtedly help many people save money, breathe cleaner air, and sustain the planet's natural resources for longer. I'd hope that alone is enough to persuade people to do their bit, and I look forward to seeing local people join us in the bid to cut emissions by 10% in 2010.

"If you're in the area please do drop by our offices to find out more, or if you'd like to start by saving a journey you can log on to www.1010uk.org to find out more and sign up."

Teignbridge's commitment to 10:10 builds on many previous successes in reducing its carbon footprint. In the last few years the Council has invested in a number of projects which are intended to reduce carbon emissions. In recent years projects include installing energy saving chemical pool covers at leisure centres, becoming the first council in the country to use eco-friendly refuse vehicles, scrapping staff bins in favour of communal office recycling facilities (helping it recycle over 70% of office waste), trialling kerbside recycling collections for plastic bottles, introducing new thermostatic controls in its Council Chamber, installing new insulation for many of its heating pipes and much more. Already its Carbon Management Programme produces ongoing annual carbon savings of 256 tonnes and financial savings of £45k, and reducing emissions a further 10% in 2010 will help improve these results even further.
To find out more about 10:10 visit http://www.1010uk.org/