Decision details

To gain Councillor approval for the adoption of a new Council wide energy policy.

The Council adopts a new policy that outlines objectives as to how energy issues are going to be managed throughout all Council departments.

Due to the geographical spread of Council sites, the range of services offered and the number of employees who could have an impact on energy consumption, the implementation of the Energy Management System is the most logical way to improve performance.  The energy policy is an integral component of this and failure to adopt it would inhibit the delivery of the project.

Three main options were considered when looking at how to manage energy issues throughout the Council in the future:

Ø  Business as usual - Identifying ad hoc efficiency projects and providing generic training to staff at key carbon emitting sites.

Ø  Install an energy management system – Provides a structured approach to the management of energy issues, but to achieve this, an energy policy is required to set the context of the system.

Ø  In September 2010 a draft version of the policy was presented at the Climate Change Board for comment by key officers.

Ø  A final draft of the energy policy was presented at the Climate Change Team in January 2011 where it was agreed that it should be adopted after undertaking a delegated decision process.