Surrey County Council has approved a plan to cut its carbon dioxide emissions by 20% and save an estimated £11,000,000 on its energy bills over the next four years.

At a meeting of the Cabinet, Dr Andrew Povey and his leadership team approved the Carbon and Energy Policy which sets out a series of measures to cut the council's carbon footprint and save money on its energy bills by 2014.

These include:

• Improving the energy efficiency of council buildings by 20% by 2014. Examples include replacing old boilers with more efficient heating systems and better insulation of properties
• Reducing CO2 emissions from council premises by 20% by 2014 and if this is reached early, a further goal of a 30% reduction. Examples include using low carbon technology such as solar water heating and installing automatic lighting
• Reducing carbon emissions from streetlights by 20% by 2015 through the introduction of energy efficient smart lamps
• Buying at least 50% of the council’s electricity from low carbon sources
• Fitting 1,300 more smart meters in council properties to measure energy use

Dr Povey said: "We are committed to reducing our carbon footprint and our aim is for Surrey to have the lowest carbon emissions of any council in the country. Cutting energy use will also reduce our energy bills, providing better value for money for Surrey taxpayers. We all have to work together to tackle climate change and it is important the council sets a good example and does all it can to reduce its carbon footprint."


(CD)