Climate Change Information

 

We pledge as a Council to assist as many residents to make changes to improve our Carbon Footprint, as well as doing so ourselves. No matter how small the change, we can make a difference individually. Here is a list of ideas for you to change through the year. We are asking you to change one thing per month. Start with the easiest as you will need to do this for 12 months and the most difficult in December 2022. We are hoping these changes will just become part of our daily routine and last a lifetime. Let us know how you are getting on by visiting and posting photos on our Town Council Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/cranbrooktowncouncil

Reduce, Reuse & Recycle campaign for change

      Energy

  1. Change to energy-efficient light bulbs
  2. Wash clothes at lower temperatures
  3. Hang-dry clothes when the weather is nice
  4. Install a programmable thermostat
  5. Unplug computers, TVs and other electronics when you’re not using them
  6. Look for the Energy Star label when buying new appliances
  7. Drop your heating by 1 degree
  8. Only wash clothes with a full load
  9. Have shorter, colder showers under 4 minutes
  10. Use the microwave for cooking times under 5 minutes

Cranbrook Town Council has been certified as having an Eco Energy Supply.

Households

  1. Recycle or sell old clothes
  2. Stop using products with micro beads
  3. Learn how to upcycle one thing or more if you enjoy
  4. Donate all good quality furniture or household items to charity
  5. Use eco-friendly washable nappies
  6. Use dishcloths instead of paper/kitchen towels
  7. Print two-sided copies
  8. Repair Electrical equipment
  9. Do not use plastic bags and invest in cloth ones
  10. Hold garage sales monthly and invite your street
  11. Invest in an eco laundry egg and save money
  12. Repair toys, appliances and furniture
  13. Invest in a compost bin and use in the garden
  14. Buy Second hand
  15. Use cloth gift bags
  16. Use Water Butt to harvest water
  17. Update your computer or donate old computers to charities for regifting
  18. Use Cloth napkins
  19. Donate unwanted craft items to schools or craft clubs
  20. Avoid buying aerosols
  21. Use recycled material for pet bedding
  22. Recycle unwanted candles to the recycled Candle Company
  23. Extend the life of your clothes – Organise a swap party with friends
  24. Insulate your home as much as possible
    • Thicker curtains, blankets and rugs
    • Keep room doors closed
    • Use draught excluders

Food

  1. Become vegan or vegetarian twice a week
  2. Buy organic and local food whenever possible
  3. Don’t waste food – freeze or donate as much as possible
  4. Grow your own
  5. Don’t buy single use plastic
  6. Use Cloth bags for shopping, fruit and Veg
  7. Eat local seasonal fruit and vegetables
  8. Use reusable coffee cups and water bottles made of recyclable material
  9. Buy in bulk where possible to avoid multiple trips to the Shops
  10. Avoid goods that are over-packaged
  11. Refill as many products as possible using sustainable jars

Travel

  1. Holiday locally!
  2. Consider electric and hybrid travel
  3. Walk, cycle or take public transport for all journeys under 2 miles
  4. Leave your car at home

Work

  1. Reduce paper and implement a paper free policy
  2. Switch to a green pension and an ethical bank
  3. Print on double sided paper
  4. Use recyclable paper
  5. Use green cleaning products

Read on to find out what’s been happening in Cranbrook

Before many organisations declared climate emergencies, the Town Council had developed an environment policy and established a climate change working group. It has been operating paper-free since its creation, generates renewable energy and plants hundreds of trees across its 35-hectare Country Park, nature reserve and other public open spaces. It commissions an electric vehicle and is installing electric vehicle charge points across the town. Staff deliver countless campaigns and events to connect people with the natural environment on their doorstep and deliver education in schools.

We are working on many more initiatives so please watch this space and if you have any ideas on how we can combat climate change together at local level we would love to hear from you.

Planting Trees

To date, Cranbrook Town Council’s Country Park Ranger has planted more than 1,000 trees across areas of public open space in Cranbrook with the help of volunteers and partner organisations. Cranbrook’s tree cover is 14.3% and we are working hard to increase it. We phased out plastic tree guards last year in favour of cardboard replacements.

Check out these facts and figures relating to Cranbrook’s exisiting trees.

If you would like to help at one of our future tree planting initiatives, please do get in touch with us.

The Younghayes Centre

The Council’s building, the Younghayes Centre, was constructed to BREEAM standard Excellent. BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) is the world’s longest established method of assessing, rating and certifying the sustainability of buildings.

The Council employs a commercial cleaning provider who uses green cleaning products which are made using sustainable manufacturing practices and naturally derived, safe, non-toxic, and biodegradable ingredients which do not negatively impact the environment.

Solar Panels

After the Younghayes Centre was constructed in 2012, E.ON donated solar panels which are installed on the roof of the building. By November 2021, the panels had generated 59 MWh in energy in total and achieved a carbondioxide saving of 34 tonnes. The Council invests the income received from the feed-in tariff into community projects via our community grants scheme.

Electric Vehicle

The Town Council operates an electric vehicle and was the first local authority in the country which operates a 100% electric fleet.

The Town Council’s energy provider supplies us with renewable eco-electricity.

Electric Vehicle Charge Points

The Council installed the first of what it hopes will be a series of electric vehicle charge points in the Younghayes Place car park.

Edible Planters

With financial help from the Town Council, local organisation Grow Eat Do is maintaining several planters with edible plants dotted around the Younghayes Place car park for residents and visitors to enjoy.

District Heating

Although not a Town Council initiative, the development at Cranbrook is served by a district heating scheme locally administered by E.ON. The facility provides a sustainable and cost-effective source of heat and hot water to businesses at Skypark and homes at Cranbrook 24 hours a day, with surplus electricity generated fed into the national grid. The system could provide an estimated 13,000 tonnes of carbondioxide savings per year, the equivalent of removing 5,200 cars from the road. It will potentially make Cranbrook one of the largest low-carbon communities in the UK to deliver Combined Heat and Power (CHP) to all residents.

Combating Food Waste

Local organisation Grow Eat Do is campaigning against food waste and has procuced this leaflet.

Paper-Free Operations

Staff at the Town Council have been operating a paper-free organisation since the Council’s creation in 2015.

Cranbrook's Carbon Footprint

Information on Cranbrook’s carbon footprint is available via the parish-scale carbon footprinting tool by the Centre for Sustainable Energy and the University of Exeter. According to the tool, Cranbrook has a per-household territorial footprint of 25.1t CO2e per year. CO2e stands for “carbon dioxide equivalent” and is a standard unit of measurement in carbon accounting. It expresses the impact of a number of different gases collectively as a common unit.