Local councils and police sign up to 10:10

Author: The Guardian - Sep 14, 2009

Six local councils representing over 1.4 million people and a police authority have signed up the 10:10 climate change campaign. The new sign-ups, which include Cambridge, Nottingham and Coventry, boost the number of councils to 16, while Cheshire police is the first of the UK's police forces to join the campaign.

The new arrivals join a cross-section of UK society including nearly 16,000 individuals, over 600 businesses including the Royal Mail, the entire cabinet and Tory front bench, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club and Tate Modern, as well as numerous celebrities, schools, universities and hospitals.

The campaign, which was launched two weeks ago, is encouraging people and organisations to cut their carbon emissions by 10% by the end of 2010. It aims to build a coalition from all sectors of society to put political pressure on the government for more robust action on climate change. It is supported by the Guardian.

Simon Chubb, sustainable city manager at Cambridge council said that the 10:10 campaign offered a good opportunity to communicate the council's climate policies on climate change to the people in the city. "[Councillors] saw that as an opportunity to remind people that it is one of our key priorities," he said.

He said the council will target its car parks that have electric lighting 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. "They have some of the largest electricity bills in the council," he said. It plans to invest £120,000 in more efficient lights and cut energy use by around 75%. He calculates that the investment will pay back in just over three and a half years.

A spokesperson for Nottingham City Council said that it would soon be moving its operations from two sites to one, which would cut down on energy use.

Stoke-on-Trent, Camden and Haringey councils are three other recent council sign ups who join a diverse group of over 300 large and small organisations including Cambridge University Conservative Club and West Leeds Rugby Union Football Club, which describes itself as "probably the most social rugby club in Leeds".

Karen Wickstead, Cheshire Constabulary's environment officer said that 10:10 was a "small step towards making a big difference".

"As staff within the organisation are extremely keen in reducing their carbon footprint it took literally minutes from sending an email highlighting the 10:10 event to the first member of staff registering – showing that staff are aware of climate change and are committed in doing their bit for the environment," she added.

Other recent signees include Brighton and Hove Primary Care Trust and Sherwood Forest Hospitals Foundation Trust as well as the Danish Embassy in London's Sloane Square.

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