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Cardiff Hotel Wins Carbon Clean Up

Posted: 12/10/2006

The winners of a competition that challenged organisations to cut their carbon emissions have been announced at a ceremony in central London. Winners of the 100 Days of Carbon Clean-up challenge included the Copthorne Hotel and the Peacock Group.

Some of the 550 companies and public-sector bodies that took part in the scheme managed to cut emissions by 10% in 100 days, organisers said. The Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers hosted the event. The institute's president, David Hughes, said the challenge, which ran from June to September, had passed all expectations. "We were overwhelmed by the response to our campaign, which illustrates just how keen companies have become to do their bit to fight climate change," he said.

Mr Hughes added that the carbon savings made by some of the participants highlighted how quickly emission could be reduced. The award for the largest percentage reduction of carbon went to the Copthorne Hotel, Cardiff. Its staff managed to cut its emissions by 10.2% in the 100 days of the challenge.

The Peacock Group picked up the prize for "best multi-site carbon saving campaign". The retailers set up an "Energy Saving Group" and held themed weeks during the campaign to encourage the workforce to reduce their energy use. The competition was supported by the Carbon Trust. Its networks manager, Karen Germain, said the scheme should encourage others to look at ways to cut their emissions. "If measures implemented in just 100 days can save businesses up to 10% of their carbon emissions, a longer-term energy efficiency drive should be a no-brainer - the financial and environmental benefits are obvious," she said.

Fulcrum Consulting, which kept a diary of its efforts during the challenge on the BBC News website, was runner-up in the "best carbon saving campaign" category. Susie Diamond, a building physics engineer at Fulcrum, said they were disappointed not win the top prize but it had been a "great learning experience".

"I would encourage anyone to spend even just half-an-hour thinking about their energy use and making some simple changes to reduce consumption," she said. "We have had so much positive feed back that it is clear people want to know how they can cut their carbon emissions, and of course their bills."

BBC News  
 

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