Best Initiative by a Public or Uniformed Service

in association with Tesco

WINNER University Hospital of South Manchester

University Hospital of South Manchester is proving there are financial and social benefits to cutting carbon. Cutting CO2 emissions by 26% in 2010 meant the hospital could plough £120,000 from its energy budget back into patient care. Savings have been underpinned by the installation of two biomass boilers, one of which allows its Cardiac Centre to be self-sufficient in energy. Other measures include a ground source heat pump and more efficient lighting, insulation and building controls. The hospital has also engaged staff and the wider community with a regular farmers’ market, a staff allotment and a car share scheme. http://www.uhsm.nhs.uk/news/Pages/GreenHospitalsaving.aspx

London Fire Brigade – Building Energy Efficiency Programme

The London Fire Brigade came to the rescue of the environment with a £520,000 energy-saving refurbishment of ten fire stations, finished in August 2010. Not only will the scheme save 863,000 kWh of energy per year (a 22% reduction), it is also self-financing. The savings made each year are used to repay the capital investment, and after ten years it will have completely paid for itself. Improvements range from high-tech measures such as voltage optimisation, high-frequency lighting and condensing boilers, to simple changes like insulation and putting reflective panels behind radiators. All ten fire stations remained in full service, throughout the time that the work was done. http://tinyurl.com/66djkqq

Ministry of Defence – Blandford Garrison, Dorset

In July 2009 Les Walshe started as Energy Manager at the Army’s 4,000-strong Blandford Garrison in Dorset. In eight months he reduced electricity use by 353,000 kWh, cutting carbon emissions by 700 tonnes (a fall of 11%). He trained 70 buildings managers in energy-saving techniques and ran a campaign that gained commitment from across the garrison for a sustainability plan that is now driving down energy use even further. The Ministry of Defence commented “his enthusiasm is contagious”. At the garrison, Lieutenant Colonel B J Spiers said, “Mr Walshe’s common sense approach has allowed him to identify ridiculous levels of energy wastage. In one building he reduced electricity consumption by 50%.” http://www.army.mod.uk/8596.aspx

Royal Air Force – Utility Management Bureau Service

Flying planes is not the world’s lowest-carbon activity, but the Royal Air Force has sustained a well co-ordinated attack on carbon emissions. The Royal Air Force Utility Management Bureau Service, based in St Athan, Wales, tackled energy use at RAF stations around the UK, many of which are like small towns. It developed IT resources to monitor energy use every half-hour, enabling the organisation to save a truly staggering 98 million kWh per year, leading to annual financial savings of £4.5m and annual carbon savings of 23,000 tonnes. Overall, Air Command cut CO2 emissions by 21.5%. http://tinyurl.com/6br7jvf