Glasgow Chamber Of Commerce

Four organisations from Glasgow have successfully graduated from the Carbon Trust's Carbon Management Programme, underlining their commitment to becoming more energy efficient.

Skills Development Scotland, Soapworks Ltd, Zebec Biogas Limited and NHS 24 were among 40 public and private sector organisations in Scotland recognised by John Swinney, Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth at an official ceremony in Edinburgh to mark their graduation from the Carbon Trust's Carbon Management Programme.

The graduation marks the ninth year of the successful programme which has seen over 150 Scottish public sector organisations develop an energy saving Carbon Management plan. Since the programme began in 2003, graduates have benefited from significant energy and cost savings and in 2011/12 public sector bodies in Scotland implemented projects which reduced their carbon emissions to the atmosphere by over 132,000 tCO₂, with associated annual energy bill reductions of £53 million. With savings like these set to continue and a further 40 organisations graduating today the benefits to both the environment and the economy are ongoing.

Given the success of the programme in the public sector, in 2011 it was rolled out to benefit the private sector in Scotland. As a result, this most recent tranche of graduates includes 20 private businesses.

The Carbon Management Programme is designed to help organisations develop a targeted framework to deliver energy saving and carbon reduction practices by establishing their current baseline CO2 emissions, assessing the risks and opportunities posed by climate change, and developing a robust strategy to reduce carbon footprints and save money on their energy bills over a five- to ten-year period. The programme aims to improve the management of buildings energy use, vehicle fleets, street lighting and recycling of waste. The programme is supported by a bespoke toolkit and also facilitates the sharing of best practice between participant organisations, enabling them to learn from each other's experience.

Finance Secretary John Swinney said: "The Scottish Government is committed to driving down our energy use across our buildings, and to helping other public sector organisations do the same. Increasing energy efficiency not only drives down bills but also cuts damaging emissions.

"It's encouraging to see so many organisations making good use of the service the Carbon Trust provides and I welcome the inclusion of private sector businesses in the Carbon Management programme."

Damien Yeates, Chief Executive, Skills Development Scotland, said: "Skills Development Scotland is committed to a low carbon future and we have set an ambition target to cut our emissions by 30 per cent by 2015. Carbon management is the responsibility of every person in the SDS team and it will take the commitment of each of us to ensure our plan works well."

Jan Zadruzynski, managing director of Soapworks Limited, said: "We were already undertaking energy management work but the business really benefitted from the third party support offered through the carbon management programme. It put us in the position of being able to sell the commercial benefits internally through hard data, which really helped."

Martin Gorevan, managing director of Zebec Biogas Limited, said: "It's essential in our business to think and operate in a sustainable way which safeguards the bottom line. The third party support delivered through the carbon management programme provided Zebec with the sounding board we needed to benchmark our consumption and find tangible efficiencies."

Robert Stewart, Director of Finance and Technology and NHS 24 Executive Sponsor, said: "Cutting carbon emissions and leading by example has been a key priority for NHS24, and it is something we are wholly committed to. The Carbon Management Plan has been invaluable in making this goal a reality and we are grateful to the Carbon Trust for their support."

Paul Wedgwood, general manager, Carbon Trust Scotland, added: "We have been delighted by the enthusiasm shown by the 2012 graduates and we're really pleased to see so many private sector organisations coming on board, recognising the need to take energy efficiency action and implement measures which reduce their carbon emissions and, in turn, improve their economic output.

"Over 90% of major public bodies in Scotland having completed the programme and we are looking forward to emulating this success within the private sector, helping businesses to take a strategic approach which will make a marked difference to their environmental performance and their total energy costs."

Public and private sector businesses interested in finding out more about developing a Carbon Management plan should e-mail scotlandoffice@CarbonTrust.co.uk