Agenda item - Chairs Communications

62.1         The Chair provided the following communications:

“Last month saw the launch of WARPit, a website that council staff can use to redistribute resources such as furniture, fixtures and fittings and stationery.

All items are free, so WARPit can make significant savings on purchasing. It also avoids waste disposal costs, stops usable items going for disposal and reduces carbon emissions.

The site launched a month ago and already has over 100 members, saved over a tonne of CO₂ and £1880.

Congratulations to Deputy Head, Nigel Watson who has been awarded the national Modeshift Award for his ‘Contribution to Sustainable Travel to School’. Nigel, together with the Good Life Reps, have worked hard to encourage more families to walk, scoot and cycle to school and as a result are also the first school in the city to achieve a Silver STARS award for reducing the number of people driving to school through their School Travel Plan. They also achieved the Sustrans ‘Gold Bike It’ Award earlier this year.

The council was awarded an Honourable Mention in the World Green Building Council’s Government Leadership Awards. This was for our planning guidance which highlights the opportunities to grow food in buildings, such as on rooftops, balconies and walls.

A number of initiatives around in the city have been contributing to achieving our One Planet City objectives.  Case studies have been developed to example how each of the 10 One Planet principles are being met. One example offered is the partnership proposal developed by the Saltdean Lido CIC which is seeking to employ carbon and cost efficient energy solutions, sustainable water and site waste management measures.

Other case studies cover development of a fair trade film by pupils of Cottismore school; the range of benefits and achievements of the Level redevelopment including the highly sustainable new café Velo; and the on-going great achievements of the Harvest project which has been named 'best community food growing project' in the  Local Food Awards.

I will ask officers to circulate to members the full list of case studies as I can’t do justice to those achievements here.

And finally, I would like to offer members the opportunity to join with me in congratulating staff and our contractors Wettons for their tremendous achievements in scooping so many awards at the Loo of the Year Award. As one officer remarked to me, “we wiped the floor at the award ceremony”, taking awards for toilets in crematoriums and historic buildings, and for our public toilets. We become the premier league winners, the championship league winners, and overall Loo of the Year Award winners 2013.  This tremendous achievement was complemented by the recognition of individual high standards attained in our 34 inspected public loos, 18 of which received 18 platinum and 16 gold awards.

Well done and thank you to everyone that has contributed to this success; it is very important and reassuring to residents and visitors to know they can depend on our high quality services”.