What Southwark is doing Energy use in buildings is responsible for 85 per cent of the direct carbon dioxide emissions in Southwark. The council is tackling its emissions in a number of ways including
- Increasing energy efficiency in the council’s housing stock
- Increasing energy efficiency in all residential accommodation
- Tackling fuel poverty
- Setting high standards of energy efficiency for new buildings
- Improving energy efficiency of its own operations
Increasing energy efficiency in the council's housing stock
The energy management team is responsible for managing energy use in the council's housing stock, with a particular focus on community heating systems. Not only does this contribute towards the council's carbon dioxide reduction targets, it also helps minimise energy costs to the council and its housing tenants. The council manages around 90 central boiler houses which supply 22,000 council dwellings with heating via district heating networks providing great scope for increasing energy efficiency
Increase energy efficiency in all residential accommodation
The energy management team is responsible for meeting the statutory requirements of the Home Energy Conservation Act (HECA). This requires every UK local authority with housing responsibilities to significantly improve the energy efficiency of all residential accommodation in their area. Since 1996, we have helped to increase the energy efficiency of the existing housing stock in the borough by 23 per cent and are working well towards our target of 31 per cent by 2011.
Tackling fuel poverty
Fuel poverty can occur when conditions of low energy efficiency, low income and high fuel prices coincide. Southwark is committed to reducing the number of households in Southwark suffering from fuel poverty and in February the energy management team launched the Affordable Warmth Strategy outlining action to improve the energy efficiency of households affected by fuel poverty.
Setting high standards of energy efficiency for new builds
Other teams in Regeneration and Planning are making sure that new buildings are energy efficient and increasingly use renewable energy sources. This is being achieved in regeneration schemes through the development of energy strategies with tough carbon dioxide emissions targets and by ensuring that planning policies include energy efficiency and renewable energy requirements for new buildings
Improving performance of own operations
Some of Southwark’s initiatives include reducing energy consumption in schools through the eco schools and building schools for the future programmes and running part of our fleet on bio-diesel made from recycled cooking oil.
Climate change strategy
The work of the energy team is vital in meeting the targets of the over arching Southwark climate change strategy, which aims to reduce our CO2 emissions by 80 per cent of current levels by 2050.
Contact us
Energy team
Tel: 020 7525 2000
environment@southwark.gov.uk
30-34 Penrose Street
London
SE17 3DW
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