News archive - Week ending 12th October 2007

Bank of Scotland Goes Carbon Neutral

The Bank of Scotland is aiming to be the first major Scottish company to go "carbon neutral". Its first annual Climate Change Report shows that it has reduced its UK emissions by 65 per cent over two years, from 163,000 tonnes of CO2 in 2004 to 57,000 tonnes in 2006. It also claims to be the only UK bank to offset unavoidable emissions using only 100 per cent "Kyoto compliant carbon credits".

The Bank only buys 100% renewable electricity in Scotland, has introduced new software to reduce electricity wasted by PCs when not in use, installed low energy light bulbs in 80% of the group's buildings in Scotland and has plans to use recycled paper.

In the near future it will be opening Europe's first carbon neutral Web Saver account, a green mortgage and already provides paper-free statements to over a million customers.

Campaign to Reduce Unwanted Mail

The Scottish Waste Awareness Group (SWAG) is urging householders to reduce unwanted mail. The new campaign was launched at the 6th Annual Scottish Waste Management Conference in Glasgow.
It is estimated that over a third of direct mail is currently discarded unopened. The aim of the Unwanted Mail campaign is to raise awareness of the impact of this unwanted mail on the environment and help householders take action to reduce it.
It promotes five quick and effective steps that people can take to reduce the amount of unwanted mail that they receive: Write to sender, Register with the Mailing Preference Service, Register to opt out of the Royal Mail's Door to Door service, Opt out of the edited version of the electoral register and Use online services.

An email will be used to promote the campaign, following consumer feedback, which highlighted a willingness among householders to take positive action to reduce unwanted mail and share how to do this with their friends.

Fife's Energy Superhero

The latest superhero is aiming to help the residents of Fife reduce their fuel bills. ?Energy Action Hero? is the idea of Changeworks, who have joined forces with Fife Council to launch Energy Action Areas Fife. This is an initiative to encourage around 8,000 private sector householders to claim a free home energy survey, worth £100, which could help them to save up to £7.30 a week on their fuel bills.
Fife Council Housing Services is offering householders living in Energy Action Areas a free National Home Energy Rating (NHER) survey, the results of which will show them how they can save money on fuel bills and make their homes warmer and more comfortable simply by improving the energy efficiency of their property. The project will also help householders with the installation of energy efficiency measures such as loft insulation, cavity wall insulation and central heating. To do this Fife Council has teamed up with Action for Warmth.