Council working to reduce its Carbon footprint

The Council hopes to tackle its carbon footprint and tackle climate change after signing up to a project that aims to help the authority become more energy efficient.

Run in partnership with the Energy Saving Trust the project will result in valuable CO2 reductions across the council.

Rochdale Council is one of only 30 other local authorities in the UK that have been selected to work alongside the EST in this programme, which is funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

Barry Simons, Service Manager for Sustainable Development at the council, said: "We are serious about doing all we can to reduce our CO2 emissions.

"I'm looking forward to working closely with the EST over the coming months on this project. After all, we are asking residents and businesses to reduce their emissions so we have to show we are prepared to do more than our share and set the tone for tackling climate change in the borough."

The council made a public commitment in November last year by signing the Nottingham Declaration - a pledge by local authorities to take action on climate change.

Councillor Wera Hobhouse, cabinet member for environment and sustainability at the council, added: "Climate change is real, and as a responsible and caring council we must take action at a local level. We will look at all council operations - from housing to fleet - and look at how these essential areas can become less damaging to our environment."