Saving Energy has never been so much fun! Local residents played a series of games including mini-golf and badminton at BedZED last Wednesday. The games were used to highlight key energy facts and tips to inspire and build confidence about cutting energy bills at home and influencing family and friends to reduce their carbon footprints. Participants learned seven easy steps to save energy whilst competing in a series of lively activities. They also went on a guided tour of the new multi-media One Planet Experience exhibition which features the energy bike, one of the many interactive exhibits to inspire visitors to save energy and reduce waste. The event was organised by BioRegional and The U.
The workshop was the first of a series of events BioRegional will be running in association with One Planet Experience over the next 12 months. Look out for the next event in January on Draughtproofing your home.
Saving Energy at BedZED
Neighbourhood Plan Takes Shape
Hackbridge & Beddington Corner Neighbourhood Planning Group held a visioning day on Saturday 19 November at All Saints Church. Around 35 people came along to build a framework for their very own Neighbourhood Plan. Fortunately the sun was shining for the morning session when everyone split into 5 groups, each going on a different walk around the area, taking photos to highlight key issues and trying to imagine how the area could be better. For instance, how to reduce the traffice and make Hackbridge pedestrian-friendly?
After a delicious shared lunch everyone was invited to join themed discussion groups to address the different issues raised in the morning. Themes included Transport, Utilities, Environment and Local Economy. After many productive conversations throughout the afternoon the most important points that came up were:
• Develop an easy-access energy programme;
• Sign up to a business sustainability charter;
• Build a district heating network under local control;
• Create a better pedestrian experience;
• Co-ordinate public transport services;
• Reduce cars and car use;
• Encourage the move from cars to walking and cycling;
• Improve green spaces and playspaces;
• Support community-friendly shops and cafés;
• Strengthen corridors for wildlife and people;
• Make/manage open spaces to be safer and more accessible;
• Champion wildlife gardening;
• Make better connections between estates and heritage;
• Stimulate new local businesses;
• Buy and source locally;
The next task is to develop this as a draft Neighbourhood Plan and build support for it across Hackbridge. See Hackbridge.net for more information or contact Helena, hellsbar@hotmail.com.
One Planet Experience exhibition launches at BedZED
David Weir MBE, the Paralympian gold medallist from Wallington, was guest of honour at last Thursday's launch of the Defra-funded One Planet Experience exhibition at BedZED. Before cutting the ribbon, he talked of the support he received from the London Borough of Sutton after winning his first ever wheelchair race using his regular wheelchair whilst all other contestants were using special racing chairs. Having won two medals at Athens in 2004, four medals at the Beijing Games in 2008 and winning the London Marathon five times, David was an inspiration to the 60 guests attending the opening ceremony of the exhibition.
Representatives of LOCOG, Defra and Sutton Council, along with local MP Tom Brake, were also there to celebrate One Planet Experience. The new exhibition tells the sustainability story of London 2012 and has an interactive, multimedia experience to inspire visitors to save energy at home and reduce waste. Here, you can find out how many appliances you can power in the energy velodrome, how much money you can save by turning off the lights in the Carbon Calculator House and how much food we waste on average each month.
The exhibition will be open to the public from 20 October.
For more information contact Stephen Edwards, 020 8404 4896.
Confused by legislation? Join us for breakfast and learn more
Navigating your way through environmental legislation can be tricky, especially with all the recent changes.
Please join the Hackbridge Green Business Network for breakfast at The Grange restaurant on Thursday 20th October 8-8:45am to find out more.
We are fortunate to have John Mitchell, head of Blake Lapthorn solicitors' Business Regulatory team, who will:
- Update you on changes to waste, water and packaging law
- Examine what the Carbon Reduction Commitment means to you
- Review future changes and advise on how to prepare your business for the future
Please RSVP to Ben or call 020 8404 4897
Saving energy on your computer
We've been busy helping the Hackbridge Green Business Network save energy and money in their offices and wanted to share our top tips with you.
1. Use the standby function on your PC for meetings and lunch, and switch off your monitor
Why? When your computer is on (even if you turn your monitor off) it consumes 65 to 250 watts/hour. When it is on standby it only uses 1-6 watts/hour. This is a reduction in energy use of around 98%! If you do this every day just at lunch time it would save 30kg carbon dioxide per year per person.
Switching off your monitor when you go to lunch or for a meeting and when you go home saves even more as it uses 20W when it is on even if the computer is off! Together, that's the equivalent to boiling 200 kettles!
How?
- Press the shut down button on the start menu, then select standby from the drop down menu.
- When you press the power button on your hard drive it will then resume your computer in the same state as you left it, i.e. with all your applications open.
2. Turn your PC off at the plug when you go home at night
Why? Even when your PC is turned off it consumes 5 watts per hour if it is still on at the plug. Mostly we are not using our computers for 15 hours of the day. So switching it off at the plug will reduce our energy consumption by 615Wh per week each. This would save 15kg of carbon dioxide per year – equivalent to boiling 100 kettles!
3. Put your laptop in projector mode if being used with a screen
If you use a laptop as your main computer and plug it into a screen, make sure the laptop is set to be a projector so that you are not powering 2 screens. Do this by pressing Fn and F5 together.
Click here for a top tips poster to stick up as a reminder.
What’s mine is yours
Here's a short video about Collaborative Consumption that describes some new (and traditional) ideas for sharing resources. We have traditional sharing, bartering, lending, trading, renting, gifting, and swapping redefined through technology and peer communities. These ideas help us move towards One Planet lifestyles, and some are much more attractive and easy than others.
We've listed a number of links below that are mentioned in the video, and also chosen some from our waste and materials advice pages.
Useful resources:
London Community Resource Network: a group that works to solve London's resource challenges sustainably, through community-based waste prevention, reuse and recycling
Zopa: a peer-to-peer bank
Car plus: Find your local car club
Sutton Bookshare
Sutton Bookshare is a simple free service that lets local residents list their books on a website and then share them with each other. It's very easy to use and open to everyone who lives or works in the London Borough of Sutton.
Do go and check it out if you like books, or want to get reading more: www.suttonbookshare.org.uk
Bookshare is part of a wider project called Sutton Open Library that’s about opening up the library service to innovation. The aim is to inspire people to read more. The Bookshare website also encourages use of Sutton's libraries and provides links to where you can buy the books directly.
The service was designed by local resident, Adrian Short, and funded through a grant from NESTA (a charity distributing lottery money) under their Make It Local funding scheme. Adrian Short has written an interesting blog with his thoughts about the project and is well worth a read if you would like to find out more. The scheme isn't popular with everyone though, as Amanda Craig writes in her blog. What do you think about Sutton Book Share, and will you use it?
Useful links
Sutton Bookshare: www.suttonbookshare.org.uk
Sutton Libraries: www.sutton-libraries.gov.uk/uhtbin/webcat
Sutton Open Library Project: http://suttonopenlibrary.wordpress.com
Happy St Patrick’s Day
We hope you have a brilliant green St Patrick's Day. Our plans for a green St Patrick's day involve:
1. Wearing green. Charity shops do sell quality clothes and in London, there are thousands of them. Especially shops such asTRAID and some of the retro markets at the weekend if you are after something special. If you decide to buy new clothes, look our for organic and Fairtrade cotton clothing – don't be afraid to ask in the shop if they have ethical clothing.
2. Travelling green. As always, we are using a mixture of cycling and public transport to get around. Cycling to keep us fit, and public transport for resting and reading
3. Drinking green. Local ale and ginger beer are the special selection this evening. Local ales have a lower carbon footprint than alternatives. Ginger beer is just tasty. And really easy to make: here's a recipe. Be careful with the yeast and the container. I once had a big explosion when I made ginger beer in a glass bottle – it was a very sticky mess!
4. Looking out for four-leaf clovers. Because they look nice and how long has it been since you last looked for a four-leaf clover?
Bright ideas for office lighting
Ben Gill, our business engagement chap has been busy working with businesses in Hackbridge on a project that supports them as they green their operations. Greening Businesses in Hackbridge is not just a project, it's a network for any business in Hackbridge that is working to improve their environmental impacts.
As this project goes on, we are sharing some of the top tips and advice businesses are receiving on this blog. So this month, we are focusing on office lighting. Here, Carbon Trust advice recommends the following:
Energy efficient lamps
If you have fluorescent tube lighting, changing from T12 tubes to T8s will bring energy savings of 10%. Upgrading lamps and fittings to T5 will bring even greater savings and will retain a high light output. This short video explains how to replace T12 tubes with more energy efficient lighting.
Occupancy sensors
Our experience shows many businesses are lighting unoccupied spaces. Occupancy sensors switch off lights when a space isn’t being used and can reduce lighting costs by 30%. Watch this video to find out more.
Daylight sensors
Many buildings are designed to have enough natural light during the day so you can turn the lights off. Often, working environments forget to turn lights off even when there is enough natural light. Light sensors (photocells) can switch off or dim artificial lighting when there is sufficient daylight. To see if these controls would work for your site, watch the video.
Other ideas
You may want to consider combination sensors, which are a mixture of occupancy and daylight sensing; these are widely available but more expensive. Alternatively, you might just be able to engage staff in switching lights off, through education or using "Switch it off" stickers – you can either make your own or order some from the Carbon Trust.
5 steps to sorting out your lighting
Here are the steps for acting on office lighting energy:
1) Have a walk around – investigate current lighting technologies in use and which lights are being left on by mistake or for too long. It's worth chatting to different employees to find out their experience and anything they need. Click here for an overview of lighting technologies.
2) Make an action plan – for what you want to replace, change and what sort of sensors would work best. Guidance on this is available here.
3) Check for discount opportunities – your energy efficient lighting equipment may be eligible for Enhanced Capital Allowances, so you can get 100% tax relief.
4) Find suppliers - for sensor equipment, you might already know a good electrician or building service engineer. If not, you can use Google or even Google maps to find a supplier close to home.
5) Start saving – with your new lights and sensor equipment, you should instantly start saving energy.
Free training to run sport activities
Do you want to run sports or physical activity sessions in your area?
This is a great opportunity for residents in Sutton to receive free training and support for putting on sport activities. So if you're feeling energetic and want to help others be healthy and have fun, read on.
Free training
You will have the chance to qualify as a community activator through Central YMCA's nationally accredited course. This opportunity supports each qualified activator to set up activities and provide your insurance to run community sport, health and physical sessions in your community.
The course is a four-day programme at the end of March and beginning of April at the Sutton Life Centre. Full details of the training and programme will be provided on registration.
Volunteering
If you are aged over 18 and interested in health and physical activity this may be for you. You do not need any previous experience of delivering such activity. The programme aims to help you run at least 15 hours of physical activity and volunteering in your area.
This training and programme is supported by the Sutton Strategic Partnership, Central YMCA and the Mayors Skills Fund.
How to get involved
The programme is being managed by Ottaway Strategic. If this is for you then please either email: richard@ottawaystrategic.co.uk or ring 01273 491905.
Please contact as soon as possible as there are limited places available. Registrations close on 18 March 2011.
