Wirral Council: Active Wirral Energy Efficiency Programme

In January 2023, Wirral Council’s leisure service Active Wirral faced two pressing issues. In the short-term soaring energy costs, estimated at the time as a 45 per cent rise in electricity and 112 per cent in gas, threatened the financial sustainability of the service; in the medium term the council's commitments to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030. 

Due to the energy intensive services provided by Active Wirral including heated swimming pools, air-conditioned fitness suites, and the sheer size of the service's buildings, Active Wirral is one of the largest consumers of energy across the council. It accounts for 41 per cent of corporate electricity usage (excluding street lighting), 53 per cent of total gas consumption, and 49 per cent of total emissions from electricity and gas.

To address these challenges, a comprehensive energy efficiency project was instigated to deliver energy reductions across the service through the 2023/24 financial year. 

This was delivered through assembling a cross departmental task force to design and deliver a suite of high impact interventions grounded in best practice research and operational insights from staff. 

Such interventions included the installation of pool covers, repairing solar panels, installing low flow showers, and developing a culture of energy conscientiousness amongst staff.

Importantly, interventions also included increased resources for ongoing planned preventative maintenance and optimising building management systems to ensure that equipment was running as efficiently and to demand as possible. The overall capital investment totalled £350,000.

The project was extraordinarily successful, overdelivering on its financial target by 66 per cent to deliver a cost avoidance of £231K and a payback period of 18 months.

As these reductions are ongoing, this will lead to a cumulative cost avoidance of £1.23 million by 2028. It also achieved over one and a half times its emissions reduction target to save 335 tonnes CO2e contributing to 23 per cent of the council’s total emissions reduction target for 2023/24.

To put this into perspective, this is equivalent to the total emissions generated by a small Wirral village of 30 families, driving around the globe in an SUV ten and a half times, or nearly all the council’s Guinea Gap Leisure Centre’s annual emissions.

The new approach is being sustained through two new posts to deliver the planned preventative maintenance and optimisation programme, with an annual revenue of £50,000 to support this. In addition to this, an ongoing staff engagement programme through an energy champion programme is sustaining a culture of energy conscientiousness and continuous improvement.

This is not only through continually providing information on best practice to operational staff but also by feeding back staff thoughts on opportunities for waste reduction and efficiency improvements that can be considered through the optimisation programme.

The success of the approach has secured senior officer buy in to commence a second round of interventions across the council’s wider asset base. To support this, an undergraduate work-based placement student from the University of Chester has been secured to assist in the research, analysis, and design of this second round which will be implemented through the 2024/25 period.

There were several lessons learnt from the project.

Firstly, recognising the significant impact that investment in Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) and an optimisation programme can make, particularly when supported by a Building Management System (BMS) expert familiar with the assets.

Engaging operational staff from the outset proved essential, as they often possess insights into hidden waste and are eager to contribute ideas; however, it's crucial to demonstrate the tangible changes resulting from their input to maintain enthusiasm. Co-designing the engagement approach with staff or a focus group was also instrumental in securing buy-in.

Showcasing the short return on investment was powerful in capturing the interest of budget holders.

Drawing on a diverse range of colleagues and expertise was vital in delivering optimal outcomes. For example, input from the council’s Organisational Development team led to the project undertaking and delivering a participatory approach to staff engagement. Regular problem-solving meetings, especially with key senior officers, helped address obstacles efficiently.

Monitoring progress was critical; having previous year energy data for comparison and taking monthly meter readings enabled impact monitoring and mitigated issues with delayed utility invoicing.

Leveraging project management automation features in tools such as Sharepoint proved invaluable for reducing resource intensity throughout the project lifecycle.

Jake Williams

Email: [email protected]