University of East Anglia gives CRed-ability to Birmingham’s low carbon campaign

8th July 2010

People living in Birmingham will be reducing their carbon footprint thanks to a joint venture between the city council and the University of East Anglia.

From switching off lights and turning the heating down to recycling and using public transport, the community will be encouraged to make simple pledges to reduce carbon emissions.

The university’s Low Carbon Innovation Centre (LCIC) is helping the council meet its target of reducing carbon emissions by 60 per cent by 2026* through its Community Carbon Reduction scheme – CRed.

The ‘Birmingham Cutting CO2’ drive will follow the CRed blueprint to communicate the issue of climate change, help people reduce their carbon emissions and record the results.

The CRed system has been in operation since 2003 and launched with just seven simple pledges. It now has more than 70 pledges and has developed a unique system of pathways to provide people with guidance along their low carbon journey.

With many partners from individuals and businesses to local authorities, government departments, schools, colleges, universities and other public bodies, CRed has helped more than 50,000 people lead more environmentally friendly lifestyles.

Birmingham City Council is the UK’s largest local authority and was one of the first councils to sign up to the CRed system in 2007. It has now renewed its contract for the Birmingham Cutting CO2 drive.

CRed plays an important role in assisting local authorities meet their carbon reduction commitments, especially by communicating energy-saving messages to the community.

It acts as a trigger for behaviour change, focusing on domestic energy efficiency. And the ability to record the results swiftly and accurately presents local authorities real-time feedback on the success of their engagement campaigns both in terms of the numbers of people engaged and the amounts of carbon saved.

Dr Chris Harrison, chief executive of LCIC, said: “It is testament to both the new design and functionality of the updated system and to Birmingham’s continued commitment to carbon reduction that they have become the first local authority to renew their subscription. We look forward to many years of sustained community engagement with our partners in Birmingham.”

A website for the drive has been set up at www.birminghamcuttingco2.co.uk which is being run by the Birmingham Environmental Partnership - part of the Be Birmingham local strategic partnership.

Birmingham Environmental Partnership manager Keith Budden said: “We are delighted to be using the CRed system to enable anyone who lives or works in Birmingham to make simple pledges to make their lifestyles greener. This helps us encourage everyone to do their bit to improve the environment and reduce carbon emissions.”

For more information about the CRed System, how to reduce your carbon footprint and improve your organisation’s energy efficiency contact the Low Carbon Innovation Centre at info@lcic.com or log on to www.lcic.com.

* Compared to 1990 levels.

Notes for editors:

The Low Carbon Innovation Centre was established by the University of East Anglia to provide the strategic, administrative and academic umbrella for all its low carbon and climate change innovation activities and includes CRed and Carbon Connections.

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Matt Dolan, Marketing Manager