Going Carbon Neutral

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Going Carbon Neutral

• Dr Alina Congreve
• Housing Studies Association
• York
• April 2008

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From the international to the local

• Much of the attention on climate change has
  focused on the international level
• At City level - US Mayors Climate Protection
  Agreement - action in over 600 cities
• London - Climate Change Action Programme
• Bristol, Leeds and Manchester signed up in
  December to a new scheme - Low Carbon Cities
  Programme

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Focus on the individual
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Go Carbon Neutral

• Funded by Wates Foundation
• Centrally administered by CIVA - small NGO with
  record in youth projects
• Evaluated by the University of Reading
• Aimed at the individual and community levels

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Introducing the projects

• One project based in
• Cranberry Lane,
• Newham. Run by
• East Thames Housing

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Cranberry Lane
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Knowle West

• Second project
• based in Knowle
• West, Bristol.
• Run by Knowle
• West Media Centre

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Knowle West
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Community and individual

• At household level carbon passbooks have been
  developed by Knowle West Media Centre
• Similar to diaries used in other fields -
  transport, waste, healthy eating
• Bringing households together - so diary activity
  not isolated
• Community wide events - some fun some community
  enterprise

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Community directed

• Organising community events in community outdoor
  spaces, such as a carbon carnival or a green
  fair.
• Tree planting in public and private spaces,
  including fruit trees.
• Reducing food miles and productive use of front
  and back gardens for growing food locally.
• Bringing into use local green spaces
• Walking or cycling to school, and encouraging
  cycling generally.
• Pledges regarding flying, holidays, walking,
  cycling and other actions.
• Recycling and the composting kitchen waste.
• Involving young people in taking action in the
  school, at home and in their lives.

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Funding for project

• 100,000 strategic grant received from the Wates
  Foundation
• 20,000 (community-level have-a-go) awards from
  UnLtd.
• CLG have supported evaluation 15,000
• Local projects have put in staff.
• Potential NDC money in Newham

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Evaluating Go Carbon Neutral

• Baseline data collection - surveys of all joiners
  and a sample of non-joiners at start and end of
  projects
• Questions based on actions and attitudes
• Monitoring of energy use with meters
• Observation of events - fetes, open days etc

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Surveys

• Surveying carried out by local residents
• In Cranberry Lane every household approached
• Good response rate - 1/3 of households
• In Knowle West all of joiner (about 60)
  approached and sample of non-joiners

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Home energy meters

• Quality rather than quantity - Watsons

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Interim results from baseline survey
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Domestic energy use unchanged despite regulations
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Interim results of projects - Knowle

• Successfully recruited participants - but
  negative about level of interest locally
• Questions about how many have been involved with
  other Media Centre projects
• Produced diary resource to support project
• Rich in time - two volunteers but short on cash
• Active programme of forward event planning for
  spring/ summer
• Difficulties in larger estate to get
  neighbourhood effect
• Questions about partnerships with other bodies

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Interim results - Cranberry Lane
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Cranberry Lane

• No project activities after over five months.
• No forward planning for events to take place
  later in spring and summer
• Launch event a fiasco
• Lack of organisational priority given to project?
• Lack of community development skills in key
  staff?
• Questions over where project goes from here..

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Lessons for evaluators

• Make sure there is buy-in at all levels into the
  evaluation process
• Think carefully about advantages and
  disadvantages of employing local people
• Link evaluation and funding for evaluation into
  initial project design
• Think carefully before becoming involve with the
  actual project