 Welcome to your new Climate Emergency newsletter
Firstly, we would like to thank everyone who took part in our 'What do you think of our climate emergency newsletter?' survey back in the summer.
We received more than 100 responses which included fantastic suggestions and honest feedback on our current newsletter format.
Here is what you told us about our climate emergency newsletter:
- You were satisfied or had a neutral viewpoint to the newsletter
- You always read the newsletter and found the information somewhat relevant
- You would like to know what we are doing about the climate emergency
- You would like to see more news, small and big behavioural changes and case studies in future newsletters
We have taken all feedback on board and are working to improve this newsletter to include the information you would like to see and most importantly, how you can help with climate change initiatives from the comfort of your own home.
Welcome to your new Climate Emergency newsletter, an edition featuring a case study from Finchampstead resident Eric, who has undertaken a series of home improvements to reduce his energy bill, information on a reusable period product scheme, potential changes to the waste and reycling collections and more.
Tell us what you think of our revamped newsletter by emailing us your comments.
 Case study: Eric reduces energy bill by 70 per cent
Meet Eric, a resident living in Finchampstead, who has reduced his energy bill by more than 70 per cent by carrying out a series of energy efficient measures in his home to reduce his carbon footprint.
In 2010, Eric moved into his home, which is around 100-years-old. His home had extensions dating back to the 1950/60s and early 1980s well before the climate emergency was declared. Eric improved the energy efficiency of his home by installing:
- Solar panels
- Air source heat pumps
- Additional double glazing
- Cavity wall insulation
- Increasing roof insulation to 11 inches (280mm)
- Low wattage bulbs (replacing 60 watt bulbs)
After installation, Eric noticed a 50 per cent reduction in his energy bill. During the course of a year, he was using 10,000kWh which equates to £1,150 of electricity (excluding the daily standing charge) and £50 of oil to heat his home.
Reacting to energy prices
When energy prices started to rise last year, Eric took further action and carried out the following energy saving measures to help keep his energy costs low:
- Reducing central heating temperature by 0.5°C
- Installing blackout lining to curtains
- Keeping the warmth in by installing curtains across doors and keeping them closed
Following this, Eric managed to further reduce his electricity and oil bill by more than 15 per cent, totalling an incredible reduction in energy use of more than 70 per cent.
Eric said: "In the mid 2000s I realised that as fossil fuels began to run out, the cost of energy would soar and as I was approaching retirement, we had to control our costs.
"So, in 2010, while I was still working, we invested in the necessary technology. Around the same time I became aware of climate change and realised that as well as saving money we would significantly reduce our carbon dioxide emissions – a classic win-win.
"While some of the technologies we used are reducing in cost, they are still expensive for a lot of people. So, to have the maximum impact on home emissions and costs, homeowners should focus on improving the insulation in their home."
If you are struggling with soaring energy costs, help is available through our Cost of Living webpage. Our website provides information on warm home discount, winter fuel payment, help to heat scheme and more.
Feature in our next newsletter
Would you like to feature in our next newsletter? Tell us what you are doing to tackle climate change and the savings you are making by emailing the Climate Emergency team. We are particularly interested to hear from residents who have installed LED lighting, solar panels, loft insulation and other energy efficient technologies.
 Latest Climate Emergency Action Plan progress report available
In September, the third Climate Emergency Action Plan (CEAP) progress report was approved at Full Council. The progress report contains the latest updates on our progress in delivering the Climate Emergency Action Plan and how we can do as much as we can to reach carbon neutrality by 2030.
Visit our website to view the latest Climate Emergency Action Plan progress report.
If you have a question on the progress report, you can email the Climate Emergency Team.
 Mock COP27 event to be held at Holme Grange School
Holme Grange School in Wokingham will be holding a mock COP27 event tomorrow (8 November).
Students in nursery, early years and education system (EYES), Pre-Prep and Prep school will take part in a range of activities that are being discussed at this year's COP27 climate change conference in Egypt. The school will address sustainable development goals, education, leadership, skills, competency and empowerment.
Holme Grange School's mock event will follow the same format of the actual COP27 conference. A draft document of thoughts and recommendations from local students will also be sent to the COP27 leaders.
Further opportunities will be given to Year 11 students to act as photographers or journalists to facilitate discussions with students in the lower years, helping to capture the mock event.
The mock COP27 event is expected to see schools from the Berkshire Schools Eco Network, a student led group who discuss climate issues and share ideas and actions, take part. Executive Member for Climate Emergency and Resident Services, Cllr Sarah Kerr is also attending the event.
 Energy efficient leisure centre nominated for award
We are delighted that our flagship Carnival Hub, has been named as a finalist for Development of the Year at the Thames Valley Property Awards. The awards will take place on Wednesday 16 November.
The multi-million-pound hub, which is home to a leisure centre and library, opened its doors in July.
Carnival Hub represented our desire to deliver one of the most energy efficient leisure centres in the UK and a vast improvement on the old site in Wellington Road.
Features to achieve this include solar panels, air source heat pumps on the roof and significantly improving the thermal fabric of the building.
All of these changes saw a huge 87 per cent reduction of Co2/m2 in operation. Actions that contributed to the reduction of the amount of energy used included:
- Enhancing the thermal performance
- Managing external glazing to balance user activity with solar gains and heat loss
- Reducing the area of external fabric and the building volume
 Coming soon - reusable period product scheme
Environmenstrual Week took place recently with the theme of period shame including period poverty, reproductive health, continence and the shameful persistence of stigma and taboos around menstruation.
We are pleased to announce we are working on a reusable period product scheme to help tackle period poverty, and offering sustainable and affordable alternatives for people who menstruate.
The scheme will also help to reduce the amount of disposable period products from being incinerated. The final details of the scheme are being agreed to provide items such as Mooncups and reusable sanitary pads at discounted rates for residents. These reusable products would be available through local and national partnerships.
Free reusable period products will also be available to residents who are struggling with period poverty through the local voluntary and community sector.
The facts
Period poverty can affect people of any age and is not always income-based.
A standard pack of disposable sanitary pads contains the same amount of plastic as five plastic carrier bags, with 200,000 tonnes of menstrual waste going into landfills every year in the UK alone.
While this waste is not avoidable for everyone, using reusable options even some of the time can have a significant impact on the waste a household produces.
Disposable products can cost around £10 per month, according to estimates from Bloody Good Period. This also requires buying new products every month. Whereas reusable period products can last between five and ten years.
We’ll have more information on how you’ll be able to get cheaper reusable period products in our next newsletter.
 Potential changes to rubbish and recycling collections
Have you taken part in our waste and recycling consultation? It seeks your views on potential changes to the rubbish and recycling collections that could see the borough's weekly collections change to be more in line with the majority of other areas across the country.
We are proposing to keep weekly food waste collections, but move away from having general rubbish and recycling collected weekly. This is due to unprecedented financial pressures, new government legislation and to help meet our climate emergency goals.
We are committed to increasing our recycling rate from the 2021 rate of 54 per cent to 70 per cent by 2030. Other councils' experience shows that changing from weekly to fortnightly or three-weekly general rubbish collections will cause an increase in the borough’s recycling rate. In both options, we would continue to collect food waste weekly.
Collecting general rubbish less frequently limits the total amount of general rubbish each household is allowed to put out for kerbside collections, which encourages people to recycle more.
Take part in the consultation before 5 December by clicking the button below.
Keeping you informed on all things climate
- Thank you to everyone who took part in the 'Let's Talk Climate' survey. We are currently analysing the survey results. Keep a look out in our newsletter and social media for updates
- Do you have a question on climate change or want to know how we are delivering the Climate Emergency Action Plan (CEAP)? Send us an email to find out more, we would love to hear from you
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