Climate Week success

Over five days in five locations, a huge amount of information was shared last week as experts and practitioners came together in a series of intensive climate conversations. Climate East Midlands is now pleased to be able to share some of this with the participants and other stakeholders, via this website. If you were one of the participants, we'd love to know what you thought - please complete our short survey.

All the presentations from the five days are on this Resources Page, so if you know what you're looking for, jump straight in. If you'd like a bit of interpretation about what's on offer, then we hope the explanation below will help you find the relevant information. You may also be interested in some short interviews with some of our colleagues and partners recorded during the week by University of Nottingham PhD student Warren Pearce.

Scene Setting and Support

Mike Peverill from Climate East Midlands started each event with a short, locally tailored presentation explaining what progress was underway in tackling climate change. Partners were then introduced, each of whom had a different perspective and potential offer of support or opportunity for local authorities, communities, businesses and NHS Trusts.

• Anne Gayfer from East Midlands Improvement and Efficiency Partnership introduced the £1m Climate East Midlands Skills Programme 2011/12 which provides specific opportunities for Local Authorities and their communities (including schools) [email protected]

• Helen Ross from the Department of Health introduced the East Midlands NHS Sustainable Development Network and its work with NHS Trusts on carbon footprinting and carbon reduction, in the context of major changes in the NHS. [email protected]  

• Beverley Toone from Business in the Community introduced the Prince's Mayday Network for businesses on climate change and the 2011 Carbon Positive Awards (closing date 5th May 2011: download an application pack) [email protected]

• Chris Ward-Brown from emda introduced the challenge and opportunity of major retrofit programmes for the built environment in tacklling carbon reduction and boosting the local economy.

• Alex Hopkinson from Climate East Midlands held Adaptation Clinics in conjunction with local authority colleagues in 4 out of the 5 events. Download notes of these discussions. A new online East Midlands Adaptation Resource will shortly be online at: http://www.climate-em.org.uk/resources/  Email [email protected] for more information. 

Low Carbon Economy (LCE)

This was a recurring theme throughout the week and was first introduced in Derby by Simon Parke from TBAT Innovation Ltd. His presentation explores the value of the LCE (over £100bn to the UK and £7bn to the East Midlands) and how this breaks down into different sectors. At the Nottingham event, Emily Braham from Leicester Housing Association (LHA-Asra) introduced a major retrofitting programme being developed by registered social landlords (RSLs) under the umbrella of Efficiency East Midlands. Over 170,000 properties are managed by RSLs in this region and retrofitting provides a range of substantial benefits in addition to reduced carbon: warmer homes, cheaper fuel bills and job creation, on the back of a possible spend of £86m a year through till 2050. Chris Ward-Brown from emda  was with us throughout the week and reminded us that there are 26 million homes in the UK and only 21 million minutes till 2050 to meet the Government's 80% carbon reduction target!

Matthew Rhodes, the MD of consulting engineers Encraft (speaking in Northampton) explained how new Government incentives can make renewable energy installations and projects financially attractive as long as risks are understood and managed. Bill Rumble, speaking in Leicester, talked about how the LCE has helped his insulation and energy efficiency company (Mark Group) to grow rapidly over the last 5 years and get a toehold in international markets. Following Bill, John Bird, the MD of ThankQ emphasised the value of straightforward resource efficiency measures and illustrated some of the steps his software company has taken.

New Government Policy

Ian Trim from the Department of Energy and Climate Change opened proceedings in Leicester with an explanation of the Government's forthcoming Green Deal programme (due in late 2012) and its current state of play. The Green Deal will enable householders and businesses to finance fabric improvements to their buildings and repay the loan via savings on their energy bills. Kingfisher Group (owners of B&Q) will be one of the private sector Green Deal providers and Ben Earll talked about their role in the scheme.

Tim Saunders (at the Nottingham event) from the Energy Saving Trust introduced the Government's brand new Renewable Heat Incentive (apparently a world first), which will provide long term incentives to people installing measures like biomass boilers and ground source heat pumps, in a similar way to the Feed in Tariff scheme introduced last year for solar PV, wind turbines, etc.

On a different tack, Dr Louise Newport, speaking in a parallel session to Tim, talked about the Department of Health's evolving policy on climate change adaptation. The NHS Sustainable Development Unit published a new paper last Autumn which recommends how NHS Trusts should incorporate adaptation into their mainstream plans. Louise was followed by Dr Nebil Achour from Loughborough University who introduced his research into the resilience of healthcare infrastructure.

Innovation and new ideas

Hugo Spowers from River Simple (speaking in Leicester) turned conventional thinking on its head with his proposals for introducing hydrogen fuel cell powered cars into the UK next year - much like signing up to a mobile phone contract apparently! Martin Jones from De Montfort University talked about new approaches to understanding customer behaviour in a retail environment. Gordon Keay from Social Enterprise East Midlands (speaking in Derby)  meanwhile reminded us that sustainable social enterprises are a growing feature of the economy and illustrated this with several examples from the East Midlands, including Hill Holt Wood in Lincolnshire and Torrs Hydro in Derbyshire. Jonny Newton and Henry Unwin from Northamptonshire County Council introduced a new Carbon Trading Game that they have developed for their schools on our concluding day at the delightful Hunsbury Hill Centre near Northampton.

Local Government's role in Climate Change

Abigail Burridge from the Local Government Association (talking in Lincoln) explained their new agreement with the Department of Energy and Climate Change and its link to the Nottingham Declaration. David Hickman from Lincolnshire County Council followed on to talk about local government's new responsibilities for flood risk management and sustainable drainage. David Bole from the Forestry Commission (also in Lincoln) introduced the case for trees (particularly in relation to planning) in tackling climate change. Chryse Tinsley and Claire Pipe from Leicester City Council did a double act to illustrate how sustainable drainage schemes have been implemented in Leicester and to launch the Council's new Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) on Climate Change - another regional first for Leicester!

Visit the Climate Week 2011 Resources page for presentations, discussion notes and photos of the events.