Manchester City Council has become one of the first authorities in the country to monitor what each of its departments is doing to cut carbon emissions.

Departments across the City Council are publishing information about what they have done over the past year to become more environmentally friendly as well as what they aim to do over the coming year.

This includes work which is being done to make buildings ranging from offices and leisure centres to children's homes and depots become more efficient - expected to cut electricity bills by as much as 30 per cent in some locations.

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It also includes providing smart meters - which allow users to become more efficient by seeing how much energy they are using in 'real time' - in offices and depots.

Elsewhere, departments will start using technology such as Skype so staff can avoid having to travel across the city to attend meetings and encouraging staff to use car share schemes or public transport rather than taxis or their own vehicles.

A plan, entitled Manchester - A Certain Future was launched in 2009, coordinated by the City Council and developed by more than 100 organisations, describing how the city's CO2 levels will be reduced by 41 per cent over the next decade.

The new proposals have been published as part of the City Council's own delivery plan, outlining how it will help achieve this target by cutting its own emissions and supporting partner organisations to reduce theirs.

(CD/GK)