19/10/2006
How green is your council
LIVERPOOL City Council is setting a green example to residents as it undergoes its biggest ever environmental audit.
A massive survey is taking place across all council services to find out how environmentally friendly the authority is, and what improvements can be made.
The initiative is the first step in making the council one the greenest in the country.
Energy experts have been brought in to review every council department and see what they do to help the environment, and make recommendations about what they can do better.
Areas being looked at include:
how paper is recycled
what waste is produced (e.g. toners for a fax or photocopier)
how much water is consumed
how departments dispose of waste
use of energy (are lights or computers left on)
do offices have air conditioning
how staff travel to work
The council's executive member for environment and heritage, Councillor Berni Turner, said: "We are always telling residents they should be environmentally friendly and recycle as much as they can, so it makes sense that the council looks at itself to see how green we actually are.
"Many departments are very environmentally aware and recycle paper regularly, car-share their journeys to work so they reduce emissions or simply work from home.
"But with over 19,000 staff, so much more could be achieved and we want to do everything we can to give this authority the title of greenest council in Britain."
The outcome of the environmental audit and proposals for the green future of the council will be presented to the Executive Board in December.
ENDS
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