International recognition for Council's climate change work

22 December 2005

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A prestigious award has been presented to Woking Borough Council in recognition of its outstanding contribution to the reduction of CO2 emissions and its ground-breaking work on climate change.

Woking Borough Council has been awarded the Low Carbon Leaders - City Government award at the international Low Carbon Leaders Awards. The award was presented to Cllr Jim Armitage at a special ceremony on Wednesday 7 December in Montreal, Canada.

The Low Carbon Leaders Awards are presented by The Climate Group in partnership with Business Week, the international business magazine, and are designed to recognise outstanding work in emission reduction and leadership on climate change issues. The awards have nine categories and are judged by nine independent international judges. Companies, governments and individuals that have made the most significant impact in the battle against climate change are chosen as the winners.

Woking beat off competition from many larger cities across the globe, including Toronto, Barcelona, London, Seattle and Melbourne, and was presented the award in recognition of its staggering 40% reduction in energy consumption between 1990 and 2001. Judges were particularly impressed that by 2004, Woking had reduced CO2 emissions by 77% on 1990 levels and saved £5.4million in municipal energy and water bills as a result.

Cllr Jim Armitage, former leader of Woking Borough Council's Executive, said: "This award is a reflection of the hard work, commitment and dedication of this Council. Our forward thinking and innovative developments have now been recognised at an international level and as a Borough we should be extremely proud of this achievement. The importance of this award was reflected in the attendance at the awards, which included Margaret Beckett, the UK's Secretary of State for the Environment; the Canadian Foreign Minister and many more senior figures from the business world."

For further information, please contact Mick Company, Woking Borough Council's Climate Change Project Coordinator, on 01483 743491 or email mick.company@woking.gov.uk. For a full list of winners, please visit The Climate Group website at www.theclimategroup.org