Carbon Trust
Hitachi Consulting, 2004
Local Authority Carbon Management Programme
Summary
The Carbon Trust needed skilled consultancy support to deliver ambitious reductions in CO2 emissions among local authorities. Hitachi Consulting worked with 45 local authorities to identify annual emission savings of nearly 300,000tonnes of CO2 and cost savings of £27million per annum.
It is widely accepted that the consequences of increasing carbon emissions will lead to more severe natural disasters and economic turmoil. In 2003 the Carbon Trust turned its attention to the public sector. It realised that the greatest environmental benefits were through many members of staff, in many organisations, making changes to how they went about their business.
Hitachi Consulting was employed by the Carbon Trust to guide local authorities along a path toward embedding carbon management in their operations. We partnered with technical specialists, Energy for Sustainable Development (ESD), to create ‘Carbon Insight.’
Hitachi Consulting’s unique contribution was threefold: firstly, to help participants progress more effectively with a structured programme management approach; secondly, to provide experienced ‘hands on’ coaching to participating organisations; and thirdly, to implement change by engaging people from the Boiler Room to the Board Room whilst ‘speaking the right language.’
The results have been so compelling that this year we were commissioned to work with a further 62 local authorities in England and Wales and 22 public sector organisations in Scotland.
What was the problem / opportunity faced by the client?
The Public Sector accounts for 5% of the total CO2 emissions from the UK. Local authorities are by far the largest grouping within this sector, accounting for emissions in excess of 7million tonnes of CO2 per year and an annual energy bill of £1.3billon.
The aim of the Carbon Trust was to reduce emissions under the direct control of these councils – whether caused by energy use in buildings, street lighting, vehicle fleets or business travel, and in turn to influence the wider community. Carbon Trust knew that their five-step process would be insufficient to galvanise complex organisations into embracing carbon management.
The Carbon Trust knows that successful change initiatives need to be driven from the top and with urgency, but carbon management has no legislative backing or government efficiency drive behind it. To be effective it needs to permeate throughout each organisation, down to individual members of staff giving up their ‘personal kettle’ or opening the window rather than turning up the air conditioning.
The participants of the programme were all complex organisations providing many different services. The quality of relationships and personalities of the consultant team were critical to bringing about the change.
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