Woking Borough Council

1. Leadership for the long term: gaining cross party consensus Woking Borough Council Sustainability South West Annual Conference 23rdMarch 2010 John Thorp MBA CBiol MSB FEI FRSA Group Managing Director Thameswey Limited

2. The Environment • Woking Borough Council • Serves a population of around 92,000 people • Covers an area of over 15,000 acres • One of the smallest but most densely populated districts of Surrey • Includes more than 1,000 acres of common land and open spaces

3. Council Governance • Governed by a Council comprising 36 elected members representing 17 wards • At officer level,  Corporate Management Group are ultimately accountable for the performance of the 12 Business areas • Business managers operate collectively on many cross cutting issues • The Council operates in a network style and has moved away from hierarchy command/control structure.

4. Changing Politics

5. Sustainable Development • In the early 1990s, following the Rio de Janeiro Conference on Sustainable Development: • Leading Councillors became interested in what their Council might do to help address climate change • This meant working out how Woking could reduce its CO2 emissions from 1 million tonnes to 400,000 tonnesannually • Woking conducted an environmental audit of its work practices and purchasing policies • Shortly afterwards Woking started energy saving schemes in council buildings and housing stock.

6. A Clear Vision • The 1995 Energy Act encouraged local authorities to promote energy efficiency • Woking’s politicians wanted to be more active than the minimum requirements of the Act • A political desire to reduce the impact of Woking on climate change and its contribution to it • Enabling the ongoing drive of officers and cross-party support from politicians • A clear vision about outcomes based on what politicians saw as important to local people • By 2002 the Council's policies were embedded in a wide-ranging Climate Change Strategy including plans to adopt a carbon-neutral approach to future services and activities

7. Key Themes • Planning and Regulation • Energy • Waste • Transport • Procurement • Education and Promotion • Green Spaces • Water • Working with Business • Community and Residents

8. A Suitable Skill Set • Woking had both the managerial and technical skills to support this ambition, and a non-hierarchical council structure • Resources were clearly directed at corporate priorities, with the management team signing off resource allocations collectively • Early work was funded through a £250,000 fund with any savings made ploughed back into energy saving projects.

9. Climate Change Working Group • The Council has monitored progress continuously and there has been ongoing political interest and support • The Council has a cross party Climate Change Working Group that monitors actions and targets under the Climate Change Strategy • Addressing environmental concerns corporately has also been important in bringing together technical and managerial skills from across the organisation

10. Moving beyond Energy Savings • Building the town centre energy station that uses natural gas to generate electricity • The Council uses some of this electricity for its own needs • The technology for the energy station was readily available and being used in the private sector • Woking's contacts in professional engineering bodies and the energy sector helped with working out the practicalities of making the project viable

11. Portfolio of Initiatives • Innovation as part of its climate change strategy • Remained at the forefront of innovation as the policy agenda and technology in this area have developed • Woking currently has 14 Combined Heat and Power (CHP) schemes that supply the Council's civic offices, other council buildings, some council owned housing and town centre customers • CHP generates electricity locally and uses the waste heat for space and hot water heating

12. Town Centre CHP Gas fired 1.3 MW electrical, 1.6 MW heating; 1.2 MW absorption cooling, island generation • Thameswey Energy Limited Project • Private Supply network • Council Buildings & Car Parks • Businesses • Holiday Inn • Big Apple leisure complex • Quake nightclub • Peacocks shopping centre • YMCA • Metro Hotel

13. Acting Locally, Thinking Globally • Corporate • Energy Consumption Savings (2008) -31% • C02 emission reductions (2008) -29% • Sustainable Energy Self Generation (2008) +41% • Renewable Energy Self Generation (2008) +2% • Borough Wide • Energy efficiency of residential property • (up to 2008) +35% • C02 emission reductions (2008) -21% • Number of households assisted with • energy conservation grants (1996 – 2008) 5,072

14. Partnership Working

15. Delivering Energy Generation • Twenty to Thirty year project business plans. • Projects progressed on an internal rate of return of circa 8%. • Economics rely upon being a generator, distributor and supplier of energy. • Comparable” charges to businesses and 5% below a basket of major energy company dual fuel tariffs to residential customers.

16. The Creativity Gap If you are trying to drive improvement or change or innovation, you have to say what you are trying to achieve, articulate what arrangements or resources you need to have in order to achieve it, and you must realise that between this and where you are now, there is a gap, and that is where innovation gets created

17. Communication • This area of the Council's activity is very technical and • not necessarily accessible for politicians or for residents

18. Leadership for the long term: gaining cross party consensus Thank You Sustainability South West Annual Conference 23rdMarch 2010 John Thorp