Public
Sector Sustainable Development Group Meetings
Date: 11th March 2004 - Meeting #7
Venue: Hampshire Fire and Rescue
Service, Eastleigh
Theme:
Utilities: Energy and Water Services
7.1
Public Sector Group Terms of Reference:
Phil Cross of HM Prison Service – Winchester
is unable to continue in his position of Chair of the Group. However, he is still interested in being involved with the
group; he is transferring to the Haslar Detention Centre in Gosport
and has offered the centre as a venue for future meetings.
It has been agreed that this would be a potential venue for
one of the meetings. All
are agreed on the appointment of Phil Wheaton as the new Chair and
Tony Hubbard has volunteered for the post of Deputy Chair.
LC to update Terms of Reference and circulate to the group
LC
7.2
Minutes and Actions of Meeting held 9th December
2003:
PW agreed to bring the MoD’s Energy and Water
Strategy policy to the group for reference – documents handed out
at the meeting.
PC distributed copies of the Waste Management
Case Study at RNAS Culdrose, now being used as an example of ‘Best
Practice’ in RN. However,
the case study applications would only apply to large sites.
For smaller sites, a central collection point would need to
be provided.
LM was due to go around Winchester Prison with
Phil Cross; however with the changes that have since occurred,
opportunity didn’t arise. LM
researched where recyclate from Basingstoke & Dean Borough
Council ended up and looked into how recycling scheme was set up at
the Borough Council to see if it could be developed into a case
study to be used to champion recycling in local government county
wide. Unfortunately,
the agreement between the council and Onyx is a ‘one-off’ and is
not standard policy. However,
there are people within the Borough Council who are looking at ways
of working with businesses to recycle waste.
LC is working with other members of HNRI to
look into a pilot project to provide SME’s with a recycling
collection. HCC is also
negotiating a new contract for Recreation & Heritage sites and
Schools in Hampshire to help them recycle more.
However, it is noted that there is nothing in place generally
for the public sector, which would be a good target group to look
at. RM raised the point
that transporting waste is a concern – it may be free for
hospitals, but other
groups would need a licence.
GS was to send figures to LC about bin fires in
the county, the 2nd guest speaker at this meeting will be
addressing the subject.
MF action – no update available.
Campbell Williams sent out questionnaire
following last meeting to all members about issues relating to HNRI,
the new Material Resources Strategy and who needed to do what to
improve sustainability. Some
confusion over questions and what is the Material Resources
Strategy?
LC – The MRS is a way of looking at waste as
a resource in its entirety. What
we are trying to do with the strategy is to get change happening
within business; to engage the process chain within 4 specific areas
viz. Sustainable design, Lifestyles and Consumption; Retail and
Procurement and 10 different resource streams (such as biowaste,
plastic, glass, tyres, metals, etc).
The next workshop, on March 31st, is aimed at
engaging stakeholders in these issues and discussing how changes are
going to be made within each sector and resource.
Following this the MoD have identified finance
as a major issue. TH
raised the concern that businesses are not being engaged.
The group of Trusts that TH is responsible for
are now using the Lamp Recycling Co in Aldershot to dispose of their
fluorescent tubes; the company has proved to be cheaper than the
contractors originally engaged and when first used, a pack is sent
out with the copies of the all the licences the company holds to
transport and dispose of the waste. IB has come across Norman Kemp of the Lamp Recycling Co with
regards to the disposal waste, was not aware of lighting disposal,
will now look at using the company in the future.
Basingstoke & Dean Borough Council (LM) also use their
services. Normal Kemp
can be contacted on 01252 311007or by e-mailing lamp.recycling@virgin.net
7.3
Maintaining and building the capacity of the group; future plans:
LC assured the group of its continuation with
top-level support within HCC from Bob Lisney.
Need to encourage other groups to join such as Schools,
Universities and Marine & Coastal Agencies.
We now have representation from the police through Doug
Barrow. However, PC
raised the point that we need to manage numbers in terms of hosting
future meetings. LC does have 2 contacts to follow up for potential members.
7.4 Next
Meeting: Date, Venue
and Topic
The next meeting is on Wednesday, 23rd
June 2004 at Harness House at the North Hants Primary Care Trust in
Basingstoke from 10-2pm (this has been confirmed by VH).
The topic for the next meeting is Audits. TH is going to look
into a guest speaker possibly Ray White, a registered environmental
auditor.
Suggested topics for future meetings were:
Utilities, Sustainable Procurement and upcoming hazardous
waste regulations. Visiting
places that are fully self-sustaining and sustainably built,
however, obtaining funding for such activities may be an
issue.
7.5
Fire Training:
On-site fire training with members of Hants
Fire Service
7.6
Round table update focusing on utilities use:
Phil Wheaton / Paul Cook – Royal Navy:
The MoD have imposed energy (1% per annum) and water
(140Ltrs/Person/Day) saving targets. There is now a Utilities policy
for navy as well as an audit strategy.
A database has been developed for each establishment to keep
track of what’s going on –KWh per person per day and litre per
person per day is calculated and kept track of.
PC is part of the team that assesses how things are working
e.g. the kitchens or galleys which is one of the highest utility
users in an establishment.
The MoD have
met all targets they have set themselves and those set by the
government. However,
all water targets have been missed due to the fire strikes last year
– the strikes cost
the MoD thousands of £’s in water and training.
PW to check contracts with MoD contracts branch, but they
saved between £1-£2million p.a. Unfortunately, they are now coming to plateau where it is not
going to be possible to save money unless money is spent on
implementing systems.
Graham Starke – Hampshire Fire &
Rescue:
Hants Fire & Rescue moved out into a combined fire authority
last year – initially part of HCC – however, they still
‘buy’ utilities through HCC and any benefits gained come through
the buying team (service level agreement) based in Winchester –
totally rely on this group. No
targets have been set in terms of reducing utility use.
However, some measures being put into place are, the
introduction of waterless urinals, starting to put in place double
glazing in some stations. There
is a difference between water used to run a fire station and water
used to fight fires, which is free.
Waste is dealt with through the council (individual district
councils)
Lucy Martins – Basingstoke & Dean
Borough Council:
The Borough Council is looking at 100% green tariffs, with an energy
consultant looking into the proposal’s viability.
Some of the proposed green energy is sourced from France –
predominantly hydro power. Concerns
were expressed about the ‘green’ supply being nuclear power from
France, however the supplier has not confirmed this. The Council
also has an out-of-date energy policy which is currently being
assessed for updating and they are starting to bring in taps that
are going to shut themselves off, however one of the primary
problems is the heating/cooling system.
The recent CPA audit, although ‘excellent’, did criticise
sustainability within the borough council, the Directors and
management team are now behind the process of making sustainability
council policy, this will hopefully provide good strong support. The
Carbon Trust sponsored the Basingstoke Sustainable Business award
and in exchange are offering Action Energy audits for free.
Tony Hubbard –
Portsmouth City NHS Primary Care Trust:
They have a reporting system called NEAT which assesses utility data
obtained from the trusts. Tony
then assesses data obtained on water, sewerage, etc.
Energy management systems are in place, but no action
happening as yet. NHS
buy utilities through national contracts which is then used by the
trusts, so it will be difficult to influence energy savings at this
level. They are looking
for a specific estate to use as a benchmark.
A suggestion has been made for a full-time energy officer to
be employed to cover all the trust TH is responsible for.
Libby Cranham – Natural Resources
Initiative (HCC):
There are some things happening within the council such as
calculating how much energy is being used within the castle complex,
however data is very difficult to come by as there are little or no
measuring systems in place. PW
noted that this seems to be a common problem across all councils; RM
concurred and stated that this problem is not restricted to local
government, that it’s an issue in hospitals also.
LM pointed out that within councils / local government there
is also the political element i.e. having to get the councillors
behind the issues before changes happen.
Val Hudson, Cathy Miles and Ian Burrows –
North Hampshire Primary Care Trust:
IB spoke for the group. The Trust takes advantage of national
utility contracts for electricity, gas & oil.
They do have a borehole on site for water, but meters are
monitored and then checked against the bills.
Scottish Power are on site – CHP (Combined heat &
power) managed by them – as well as boilers, etc.
BMS system in place controls power as opposed to monitoring
the power on the wards. However, it is an old building with draughty windows, etc
which does create an unnecessary drain on resources.
There are some water controls on urinals. However, there is
no Energy Manager currently due to funding cuts.
Energy and associated issues are not considered serious
issues.
VH – They are trying to get a general
environment review in place; hopefully once the surveys have been
carried out, they can then go back to the management team to back
the request for an Energy Manager.
However, it’s not known how much water is used.
PC made the suggestion that the return to
sewer rate should be checked– if the return to the sewer is
less than the usual 98% rate charged, the organisation can apply for
a rebate and backdate it by up to 6 years.
It is noted
that Winchester hospital have no on-site laundry –
it is cleaned in KENT!!
TH - Primary care trusts are small
organisations and so energy bills are small, especially when
compared with general hospitals
There are 3 trusts at the moment, an option would be to
perhaps getting a shared energy officer.
Roger Mole – Winchester & Eastleigh
Healthcare:
There are 2 CHP’s on site which used to be run for them, however
the contract was very expensive.
When the contracts expired, maintenance and running of the
CHP’s were brought back in-house.
However, there is now a problem in that the units have broken
down and they are unable to fix them.
They have just challenged water and had a 98% return.
No zoning of the old buildings; i.e. heating
controls are located in the warmer southerly building which is of no
benefit to the colder northerly building.
The other issue is that environmental issues are not high up
on the list of priorities for management – they have other things
to spend their money on.
It was noted that it would be an interesting
exercise to compare the benchmarking figures used by each
organisation one meeting.
7.7
Presentation by Martin Walters - AML Consultants
AML Consultants deal specifically with energy
efficiency within public sector bodies and has in the past (and
currently) carried out a number of consultations with the MoD.
MW has come to speak about Utilities Best Practice – a programme
being carried out through Action Energy. The Action Energy programme is funded by the climate change
levy. The Carbon Trust
budget is responsible for a high volume of spending and Carbon Trust
is operated by DEFRA.
The purpose of the scheme is to encourage
industry, commerce and public sector to implement effective energy
management techniques and measures with the overall objective of
saving money and putting into place sustainable business practices.
It’s a 2 phased scheme where Part 1 involves
the initial opportunities assessment and the part 2 the specific
opportunities available. There
is a revisit after the initial assessment to ensure that the project
continued i.e no sudden
halt to proceedings. The
benefits of this 2-phased approach is that a range of opportunities
are identified and a focus for further action is provided.
While phase 2 (which is the feasibility study) gives the
opportunity for specific issues to be addressed.
For a multi-site organisation such as Hampshire
County Council, it would have to be decided by the organisation
which site would be assessed. During assessments really looking to
reduce the consumption profile.
Useful related websites:
http://www.eca.gov.uk/
http://www.actionenergy.org.uk
http://www.thecarbontrust.co.uk/
An example of one of the past MoD consultations
is: Consumption profiles within the Royal Marines carried out a few
years ago, which involved an analysis of electricity, gas, oil,
water, VAT (because if there is accommodation on site then the VAT
rate goes down to 5%). Approximately £320K was saved on tariffs,
with £204K saved on VAT. Other
examples are the ‘Return to Sewage’ as mentioned earlier by PC.
Questions:
Is there a time scale to Action Energy
offer?
- No, but as it’s a government scheme that may well change.
Who are the carbon trust?
- It was developed about 2 years ago by the Government, funded by
the climate change levy. Action
Energy is one of the projects that they’re involved in.
Would a school be assessed?
- Yes, but usually only for a 1-day assessment
7.8
Presentation on Community Fire Safety – Dave Norgate,
Divisional Officer - Hampshire Fire & Rescue
Fire Service and the environment: Fires do have a negative impact on society and the
environment which is now a recognised issue.
Community Fire Safety is about encouraging the public to take
‘better care’ in the home, not only through fire safety
awareness, but though small changes in lifestyle such as smoke
alarms, etc.
Abandoned vehicle fires:
A project (Project Car-Clear) was put in place for a small housing
estate in Southampton where the local fire service was taking old
car wrecks away to prevent serious arson fires – resulted in a
large amount of spin-off benefits being produced.
The fire service as a whole then started to address the
issues in other estates of the region.
Project Car-Clear now operates city-wide and the fire service
is looking into taking the project into a wider area. Trying to
develop partnerships with local police and other partners.
Bin fires:
The Government have set targets for the reduction of arson attacks
such as bin fires by 30% by 2010. 80% plus of arson fires are set by
children ‘as a laugh’ on easy targets such as piles of rubbish,
abandoned cars, etc.
Mainstream schools tend to suffer the most with
deliberate fire, set mostly by the pupils who attend the schools
(and mostly set at night / holidays).
What are the fire service are doing about it?
Last year 6 schools in Hampshire were affected by fires (2nd
lowest figure in the UK). As
a result wheelie bins are either chained up or staked to the ground
i.e. moved away from the school buildings.
This has resulted in some ‘quick wins’ within the county
in preventing bin fires. Schools
are now doing a phased introduction of (earlier) automatic detection
systems. Getting the
education authorities involved keeps it an ongoing process. By
keeping partners involved, changes happen more quickly.
There is also an educational programme with schools in
Hampshire for all Key Stages, to educate them about fire safety,
this is in partnership with Hampshire constabulary and the Prison
Service.
There is a new programme that has been set up
– the ‘Fire-setting intervention programme’ – for parents,
teachers, etc to help people stop their fire-setting behaviour,
however, the programme is still in its infancy and is currently
over-subscribed.
Questions:
The Environment Agency’s involvement in
environmental fires?
- In Hampshire, their involvement is 1st class.
It is now standard practice to involve other agencies for
large / unusual fires such as the Met office, neighbouring councils
to ensure co-operation in preventing fires from becoming a major
disaster. Prevention of
severe environment impact is something that’s now taken into
account at fire incidents.
7.9
AOB:
Basingstoke & Dean Borough Council is
putting together a procurement strategy, LM will hopefully be able
to circulate it at the next meeting.
LM
SEEDA have a directory of local companies
called the Environmental Suppliers Directory.
VW is currently updating the HNRI website (www.hnri.co.uk)
and will be creating a new public sector section with useful links
and information. If you
have anything you would like added to this section, please contact
VW on 01962 845381 or vicky.webb@hants.gov.uk.
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