Local Authority Carbon Management Programme (LACM).  We are committed to reducing our CO2 emissions by 25% by the end of 2012/13 and are working with the Carbon Trust to do this. The ‘value at stake’ or money saved by acting now, has been calculated to be an estimated £1.5 million which essentially means that by meeting our target we could avoid paying an estimated extra £1.5 million in energy bills between now and 2013. In order to achieve this level of reduction we have considered all areas of the Council and identified where we can make changes. The LACM Strategy and Implementation Plan has now been agreed and adopted and the first phase of projects is well underway.

The authority recognises that some investment has to be made to lower our carbon footprint, but ultimately the value of the energy saved soon covers the costs of what had to be put in. We have developed projects that will help to reduce the emissions from our buildings and make them more sustainable and respond to the Government’s energy efficiency requirements in public buildings.

Climate Change Strategy & Action Plan

Braintree District Council is committed to a cleaner and greener environment, by reducing its carbon footprint and having a clear response to the risks faced by climate change.

The Climate Change Strategy & Action Plan details a series of Climate Change objectives and related actions for the Council to make progress towards achieving our CO2 reduction targets and climate change adaptation requirements. The objectives cover to the following key areas:

Reduce our Carbon Footprint from all of our services and operations, and reduce CO2 emissions across the district.

Community Leadership through sharing best practice with businesses and residents and lead by example for others to follow.

Sustainable Services will ensure that the Councils assets and operations are able to cope with the impacts of climate change.

Using our Regulatory Powers and influence to ensure future development in the district is sustainable and prepared for climate change

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Display Energy Certificates (DECs)

Since 1 October 2008 public buildings in the UK over 1,000m2 must display a Display Energy Certificate (DEC) in a prominent place in the building.

DECs are designed to promote the improvement of the energy performance of buildings. They are based upon actual energy usage of a building and increase transparency about the energy efficiency of public buildings. The certificate looks similar to the energy labels provided on new cars and electrical appliances such as fridges and freezers – it uses a similar scale for energy efficiency, i.e. from A to G with A being the most efficient and G the least. 

Braintree District Council has nine buildings which  require Display Energy Certificates,  these are:

Causeway House, Braintree
- Causeway House DEC 2010
- Causeway House AR

Braintree Town Hall Centre
- Town Hall DEC 2010
- Town Hall AR

Braintree Institute
- Institute DEC 2010
- AR Institute

Halstead Leisure Centre
- Halstead LC DEC 2010
- Halstead LC AR

Bramston Sports Centre
- Bramston LC DEC 2010
- Bramston AR

Braintree Leisure Centre
- Braintree Leisure Centre DEC 2010
- Braintree Leisure Centre AR

Braintree Swimming Pool
- Braintree Swimming Pool DEC 2010
- AR Braintree Swimming Pool

Braintree Museum
- Museum DEC 2010
- Museum AR

Silver End Village Hall 
- Silver End VH DEC 2010
- Silver End Village Hall AR