Energy Efficiency and Sustainability

Ombudsman scolds LG for ‘washing hands’ of waste collection services

23.08.17: The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGO) has today issued a stark warning to councils that too often they are dealing with waste collection complaints in the wrong way. In a new report ‘Lifting the lid on bin complaints&rs...

Sheffield wins High Court battle to stop campaigners protesting tree felling

17.08.17: Sheffield City Council (SCC) has this week won a High Court battle granting it an injunction to stop campaigners trespassing on its land in protest of it felling trees. The authority had been locked in a court battle with campaigners, inclu...

Helping reduce energy costs

16.08.17: Joseph Ernst-Herman, director of utilities and fuels at the Crown Commercial Service (CCS), discusses the launch of the new Demand Side Response (DSR) framework to help the public sector reduce energy costs. With public sector organisations...

Dundee green-lights new EV charging hub as part of ‘quiet revolution’

11.08.17: Dundee City Council has officially given the green light to plans that will see an electric vehicle (EV) charging hub built in a currently vacant yard at the centre of town. The package, part of a £1.86m award granted to the city by t...

London councils called to bid for £86m neighbourhood transformation fund

31.07.17: A new £85.9m fund has today been announced by mayor of London Sadiq Khan designed to improve and transform town centres and neighbourhoods across the capital. Called the New Liveable Neighbourhoods programme, it focuses particularly o...

Council hits back at Whitehall’s ‘woefully inadequate’ Clean Air Strategy

27.07.17: A major council has today slammed the government’s Clean Air Strategy that was released yesterday, branding it “woefully inadequate”. The £3bn strategy, designed to control pollution generated by cars in Britain, out...

Council yields £70,000 savings by installing solar power on buildings

25.07.17: A council has today announced that it found savings of £70,000 through the installation of solar powers on its public buildings and offices.  Herefordshire Council installed the eco-friendly technology on 15 of its buildings over...

Leeds gives green light to eco-friendly energy system for 22,000 homes

20.07.17: Leeds City Council has this week backed plans to introduce a major new scheme to provide residents with low cost, more environmentally-friendly energy. At a meeting on Monday, councillors endorsed plans to create a “district heating n...

Councils warned to look out for five key ‘financial warning signs’

07.07.17: Councils have been told to watch out for five key ‘warning signs’ of financial pressure, including a rapid decline in reserves, in order to build resilience into all aspects of planning and operations. The message has been sent...

LAPFF enters new partnership to improve engagement on climate risk

06.06.17: A new partnership between the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) and the 50/50 Climate Change Project has been announced today in an effort to drive the fund’s engagement with companies on green issues and climate risk. The Cl...

Council-led energy company aims to tackle fuel poverty in Liverpool

27.04.17: A not-for-profit energy company has been set up in Liverpool that aims to save residents hundreds of pounds and tackle fuel poverty in the area. Named the Liverpool Energy Community Company, or LECCY for short, the organisation is hoping to...

Public sector can lead the UK to an ultra-low emission future

25.04.17: Poppy Welch, head of Go Ultra Low, explains why the public sector has the potential to shape and accelerate the UK automotive market to be entirely ultra-low emission. The public sector is more plugged in to electric vehicles (EVs) than eve...

Clean growth and the role of UK infrastructure

21.04.17: A renewal of the UK’s infrastructure – from telecommunications to energy, roads and buildings – rightly sits as one of the pillars of the government’s Industrial Strategy. But how can we ensure the infrastructure of tomor...

Stepping up to London’s contactless bus network

18.04.17: Reading Buses, the innovative operator wholly owned by the local borough council, has become the first town-wide contactless bus network outside London. PSE reports. Reading Buses, the council-owned organisation that strives to reduce car d...

Lead by example on carbon reduction

13.04.17: PSE reports from this year’s Carbon Trust Public Sector Conference. One of the key messages to come out of this year’s Carbon Trust Public Sector Conference was that the sector needs to highlight the importance and business case...