Beat the Heat Pilot
What is Beat the Heat?
Beat the Heat is an Energy Management Programme for sole traders and small creative companies, created by Julie’s Bicycle in partnership with the Environmental Change Institute, Oxford University. The Pilot ran from December to March 2008 and involved 15 SME or not for profit companies from the music and creative sectors. Julie’s Bicycle delivered the programme in partnership with the London Development Agency.
Why focus on the small companies?
The London Development Agency is developing ambitious and world leading initiatives to tackle climate change. The Mayor has committed to reducing the capital’s carbon emissions by 60% by 2025. The creative industries will perform a pivotal role in helping achieve that goal and consolidate London’s creative sector as a global exemplar on climate change.
According to research conducted by Creative & Cultural Skills into the music sector, 96.5% of businesses in the music sector employ fewer than 20 people. Julie’s Bicycle believes that the independent/community sector has a very significant role to play alongside the corporate sector in reducing emissions, both through its scale and potential to engage with and influence creators and consumers via social networking and peer-to-peer campaigning.
Who was involved?
Participation was by invitation only and reflected activity across the industry including not-for-profits and social enterprises.
What was the Energy Management Programme actually about?
Each company was provided with a free environmental audit of their office-based operations. Julie’s Bicycle audits follow a standard format and are compliant with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.
The reports identified the carbon footprint of each company and provided recommendations for reductions.
Participants then attended three seminar sessions between February and March 2008 to:
- compare and review audit recommendations, outcomes, difficulties and resource needs;
- identify money-saving opportunities;
- identify opportunities for collective procurement;
- gather advice on effective sustainability practice (particularly around complex issues such as biofuels, offsets and enterprise);
- tender with ‘green’ supply chains.
What next?
To support the implementation of audit recommendations participants will be trialling a new energy measurement tool designed by the Environmental Change Institute.
The participants are meeting again in June to review progress in reducing emissions following the programme.