The four charging points are the first of 36, which will be spread across Birmingham and Coventry as part of the CABLED project, where 110 vehicles are being tested by users across two cities.

The free charging points are housed in a specially designed parking bay on level one of Bullring’s Moor Street car park offering easy access to the centre via the Selfridges bridge link.

Charles Bradshaw-Smith, Head of Innovation at E.ON – and himself a participant in the CABLED project – said:

“It’s great that we’ve navigated to the second stage of this project bringing low carbon motoring to the streets of Britain’s own Motor City.

“We’ve got charging points right in the centre of Birmingham where they’ll be of most use to drivers. Electric cars are perfect for short commutes to work and for shopping trips to town – and we’re proud that by being the energy behind these charging points we’re making eco-driving even easier.

“In the next few weeks we’ll be rolling out more charging points in Birmingham and Coventry that will become part of a developing national network.”

Tim Walley, General Manager at Bullring, commented:

 “As the first location in Birmingham to offer electric vehicle car charging points, Bullring is helping to make eco-driving much easier and accessible to the public. It’s good to be part of what will soon be a national network ensuring that the number of electric vehicle drivers continues to rise.”

Cllr Timothy Huxtable, Cabinet Member for Transportation and Regeneration at Birmingham City Council, said:

 “This is a major landmark moment in the development of electric vehicle technologies in the city, it shows that the CABLED consortium means business and is the first step to a greater expansion throughout the city.”

 During the trial, a total of 340 vehicles will be tested across the UK, with 110 of those based in Birmingham and Coventry. The aim of the project is to find out how the cars are used – and when they need charging – to get a better idea of the driver’s experience of electrical cars.

For the first time large non-energy intensive organisations, which account for about 10% of UK CO2 emissions, will be legally bound to closely monitor and report their emissions from energy use in preparation for carbon trading.   The scheme will also give people and businesses the opportunity to compare organisations’ efforts to combat climate change for the first time.

Household names which will be involved in the sheme include Marks and Spencer, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, John Lewis, Barclays, and HSBC, aswell as manufacturers and construction companies, for example Procter & Gamble, Unilever and Balfour Beatty. The NHS, local authorities and government departments will also be pitted against each other according to their energy usage.

Julia Lockwood, a former employee of Marks and Spencers Birmingham branch, commented on the introduction of this scheme, saying:

“I think its a fantastic way of getting businesses, particularly chains such as M&S to think more about the effect they are having on the enviroment and on climate change.

In big businesses its often something which features very low on any kind of agenda they have, adding an element of competition into this sector is a fabulous way for companies to engage and in turn drastically reduce CO2 emissions. “

Businesses will be ranked depending on the improvements in energy efficiency that they make. They will also be judged on the amount of energy they waste and what they save through new efficiency programs they decide to implement.

Analysis for the Environment Agency suggests that the scheme could reduce CO2 emissions by up to 11.6 million tonnes per year by 2020 – the equivalent of taking four million cars off the road. It is also expected to save organisations money through reduced energy bills – benefiting the economy by at least £1billion by 2020.

Organisations are expected  to all be registered by the end of September 2010. Closing date for registartion is 30^th September. The Environment Agency will publish an annual league table highlighting the best and worst performers from the ‘Carbon Trading Scheme’

Tony Grayling, Head of Climate Change and Sustainable Development at the Enviroment Agency said:

“The CRC energy Efficiency Scheme is an opportunity for organisations to do their bit for the planet and save money.

“The league table is a very public judgement on how seriously you take your environmental responsibilities. If organisations don’t take up the challenge, there is a risk to their reputation and their pockets.”

The biggest CO2 savings are likely to come from hotels, restaurants, retail and the public sector.  For the majority of these organisations, better management of heating, lighting and computer systems will yield quick results.

“Carbon reduction doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive,” says Tony Grayling, “There are simple and inexpensive steps every organisation can take to cut their energy consumption – from motion sensors for lighting in offices to higher efficiency motors in manufacturing.”

If you want to show you are doing your bit for the environment, you can!  A site has been set up by Birmingham Environmental Partnership to encourage the people of Birmingham to pledge what they promise to do to ensure their lifestyles are greener. The site will then calculate from the information provided what the promised action equates to in terms of a C02 level. 

The city is working towards its goal of cutting carbon emissions by 60% by 2026 and this scheme will help the city reach its goal if enough people pledge their support and will power to stick to what they promise.

Cllr Paul Tilsley, Chairman of the Be Birmingham partnership, said:

“Whether you live or work in the city or both the birminghamcuttingco2 website gives you ways to focus you green efforts.

Everyone has a role to play in cutting carbon emissions and the benefits are huge – saving money on fuel bills and improving the environment in terms of reduced emissions being the most significant.

It only takes a few minutes to pledge and I would encourage people to take a few moments out of their time because the end result is well worth it.”

Government, business and voluntary sector organisations are all working together on this initiative to ensure to the best outcomes in 2026, and the best possible outcomes for the city and our environment now.

New figures on where we are at, at this stage are due to be announced during Climate Change Festival, which begins on Saturday 5^th June.

To get involved and pledge your support visit here.

Visit ‘Be Birmingham’ for more information on the partnership involved with the initiative.

For ways to tackle your c02 emissions and ideas about what you are going to pledge see here.

Climate change festival is returning to Birmingham this year on 5^th June, and will run until the 7^th June.  The festival aims to better inform the public about what we can do to help combat climate change.  

The festival will feature a solar powered green circus and road show, ethical and fair trade market, solar powered stage with music and a biodiversity zone.

Activities will be primarily based in Centenary Square, despite their being other events taking place within the same period, such as the BRMB Walkathon, which helps to reinforce walking as a sustainable method of travel for citizens. This event will take place across several distracts in the city.

Cllr Paul Tilsley, Deputy Leader of Birmingham City Council, said:

 “The Birmingham Climate Change Festival is a fun, entertaining and informative way for people to learn about what is being done to make Birmingham green for those that live, work and visit the city.

“Everyone had a role to play when it comes to cutting carbon emissions and making Birmingham green. I hope the wide variety of activities that we have organised will lead to a good turnout inspire people to do their bit.

The Recycling Pledge

The festival also wants to encourage people of the West Midlands to do more recycling. A big part of the festival this year is promoting this particular campaign ‘breast talk bra appeal’ this is a campaign which encourages women to recycle their bras. The campaign will run throughout the duration of the festival, and ‘Bra banks’ are conveniently situated across Birmingham city centre for women to dispose of their bras.  Bras will then be distributed to developing countries who don’t have access to these types of garments or who don’t have the money to afford them.  

Getting Involved

Sharon Lea, Strategic Director of Environment and Culture, said:

 “I urge all the women of the West Midlands, particularly Birmingham women to look into their underwear draws find all those bras out that they no longer want and recycle them, they will go to somebody that needs them and will also raise money for charity”  

Cllr Paul Tilsley, Deputy Leader of Birmingham City Council, said:

“The bra bank is a wonderful no-frills idea which has so many benefits – we avoid spending unwanted items to landfill and help people in developing countries. Combined this perfectly captures the spirit of sustainability.”

There are many organisations which support the event, who will be there offering advice and information to help reduce yor carbon footprint. The organisations will also be offering activities for the public to get involved with. Organisations include, Northfield Eco Centre, Friends of the Earth, Revolver T-Shirts, Traidcraft, Smurfit Kappa, Veolia, Real Nappies, RSPB, Family Housing, Birmingham Nature Service, Forestry Commission, Birmingham Organic gardens, along with others.

An annual update on Birmingham’s progress towards its goal of cutting carbon emissions by 60 per cent by 2026 (when compared to 1990 baseline levels) is also expected to be announced during this three day event.

Visit here to see how the bra’s are going to be recycled.

Here is a step by step programme of the first day of the festival – 5th June – which also coinsides with World Enviroment Day.

Last week ‘Bikeability’ rolled out fully across Birmingham to help equip children with the skills and confidence to ride their bikes on today’s busy roads.

Birmingham City Council and Solihull Council are both involved in pushing this initiative and getting schools involved in providing this scheme to all secondary schools.

Eileen Brown, Head teacher at Hodge Hill Girls School said,

“We had to put a bid in to take part in the ‘Bikeabilty’ scheme, it has been well worth the time and effort the school has put in, and the children have really embraced and enjoyed the scheme so far”

What is it?

The scheme is a reformed cycling proficiency test designed for the 21^st century. As well as teaching children safety and observation skills, the scheme is also designed to encourage the use of bikes as an alternative method of transport.

‘Bikeability’ is intended as a fun challenge, split into three levels, children are always working towards their next goal, and this then gives them the motivation to sustain what they have learned.

Secondary schools have to prove they have secure storage for bicycles to take part in the scheme. Depending on the school or the local authority involved.

Walk to School Week

Bikeability follows ‘Walk to School Week’ which finished last Friday. The week is in place to encourage parents and children to think about their journey to school and how they make it. ‘Walk to School Week’ is designed for primary schools, but ‘Step Up’ is the secondary school equivalent which also runs within the same week in May.

‘Walk to School Week’ and ‘Step Up’ are both organised and funded by the Living Streets organisation.

Cllr David Sparks, the Local Government Association spokesman on transport, said:

“Encouraging parents to walk their children to school, where it is possible, makes perfect sense. It means children are more savvy about road safety, it keeps them fit at a time when obestiy has reached record levels and it means less traffic congestion within school zones at drop off and pick up tomes. At a time when petrol prices are soaring, it will also save parents money..”

Statistics

 50% of children don’t walk to school regularly this in turn is contributing to increased childhood obesity and reduced physical activity as well as urban congestion and air pollution.

Cars consume most fuel and pollute more at the start of their journey when the engine is cold, therefore, cycling or walking for short journeys, especially to school, will help reduce the amount of CO2 emissions by a disproportionate amount.

More statistics can be found here.

Visit here for a frequently updated map of participating ‘Bikeability’ schools and organisations.

The new cars are an improved version of the well loved Fabia and Roomster models which are already popularly stocked across Birmingham.

Several Midlands dealerships are thought to be stocking the new green Fabia and Roomster models in their branches, however have yet refused to comment on the latest development in technology of Skoda cars.

The Government Pledge

This comes at a time were a plea of support from the coalition government states they intend to fulfil ambitions for a low carbon and eco-friendly economy, accelerating the development of a ‘small electricity grid’ to kick start an electric vehicle revolution.

What’s inside?

The Skoda car will include the latest in green technology, including a three cylinder ‘super charged’ engine with a fuel consumption rate of just 3.4 litres per 100 kilometres and a carbon emission rate of 89 grams per kilometre.

The car also boasts a ‘Start Stop’ system, enabling drivers to reduce emissions while the car is stationary. Hopefully going someway to meeting Government aims of radically reducing C02 emissions by 2012. Here you can find further details about the technology with features in the new designs.

The garden will help mark the International year of Biodiversity.

The garden is being designed ready to be unveiled at this year’s Gardeners World live show at the National Exhibition Centre from the 16^th to 20^th of June. Following this, the garden will become a permanent fixture in the Borough for everyone to enjoy.

The gardens design has been inspired by the new ‘Alice in Wonderland’ film that was released in the earlier part of last month. The students have taken inspiration from the film in order to create some inspiring designs.

Students from Park Hall Academy, Kingshurt Academy, Smiths Wood Sports College, Archbishop Grimshaw Catholic School, and Grace Academy are all schools involved with the project.

As well as the student’s contribution, the project is also being supported by local professionals and the council’s ‘environmental champions’ – a group set up to tackle environmental issues in the area, including everything from graffiti to cutting back vegetation.

The early parts of the gardens design include seven mosaic stepping stones which are there to represent the seven steps to biodiversity. Helping to sculpt this part of the design is professional artist – Karen Wydler.

Councillor Mrs Kate Wild, Cabinet Member for Community Services, said:

‘This garden is a wonderful project that will bring together lots of boroughs young people and give them some great experience of working with professionals to make their plans a reality.

They will also hopefully have a lot of fun!’

This will mean that you will no longer need a phone charger or panic if you have one bar left on your phone as just moving around will ensure that your phone will never run out of battery life.

The process would work through the use of piezoelectric crystals, a substance that creates an electric current when bent or compressed in any way, the procedure is similar to the igniter in a cigarette lighter or a gas oven. More detailed claims and the technology behind the idea can be found here.

Scientists have spoken about the logistics behind this technology, for example if a person quickly walked down a street, as their feet hit the ground they could create around 70 watts of energy. That would be the equivalent to running a computer screen or lighting a bulb.

When charging your phone with a regular phone charger, this in itself wastes energy, especially if the phone is switched on whilst in this process. The new phone is thought to be able to cut wasted energy costs in half.

Statistics show that just UK gadgets alone that are left on standby squander electricity worth a monumental £740,000,000.

Representatives from Nokia will not yet reveal when this device will hit the market, yet a spokesperson for the company has said:

‘Power management has been an important topic since the early days of mobile communications and so continues to be one of the areas for research, but we cannot comment on whether or when inventions described in patent applications will actually appear in products.’

A representative from a Birmingham branch of Carphone Warehouse that stocks Nokia phones said;

‘The idea at the moment seems rather farfetched, although I suppose originating from America it would do.

However, anything that would cut energy costs can only be a positive thing. I for one would be interested to see what it would look like and how well it would sell.’

Despite the association being tight lipped about the specific Birmingham restaurants that will be signed up a spokesperson for the SRA did say;

‘Well, restaurants decide if they want to be accredited after joining. We don’t give out names of anyone considering becoming members.’

Many London restaurants have already been accredited and their details have been released, these restaurants include; Barrafina, Benares, Feng Sushi, and Hawksmoor.

The SRA is an ongoing programme that awards restaurants for their sustainability, along with other policies that can be read more about here.

It is in the best interests of the restaurant to consider becoming a member of the SRA as it boosts credibility within the industry and more so with customers.

The group said it wanted to:

‘Help as many restaurants as possible and as a result had kept membership terms and conditions as Simple and flexible as possible.’

Therefore it is up to the restaurant to put themselves forward for the accreditation.

The plans received the final stamp of approval by the council in February and the redevelopment is due to start at the end of this year until 2015.

The ambitious redevelopment project will aim to lure people away from the not so eco friendly cars that reap the city with carbon emissions and create a happy network with links all across the city, not just in the centre.

The new station will give passengers an all together more comfortable experience as well as reaping £2bn economic benefits for the city.

Disagreements

It’s not all sweetness and light though, before the final stamp of approval the development faced these issues from the council committee, they felt the positioning of a new footpath that would lead up the moor street station needed to be looked into as it would block the rear entrance of some local businesses.

Despite this rumble the process continued and the planning permissions were approved.

Support

Network Rail, Birmingham City Council, Centro, Advantage West Midlands and the department of transport are all working as part of the Redevelopment.

Jo Kaye, route director for Network Rail, said:

“New Street station will be transformed into a a 21^st century transport hub. With the backing of the planning authority we are one step closer to realising this vision.

We will continue to refine our plans so that we five New Street the new start it deserves and keeps the impact on peoples journeys to a minimum.”

The new station is not only boasting start of the art new technologies but also all together better links and pedestrian links all across the city.

Benefits

For the well travelled people of Birmingham this will mean better connections and ease to their working day.

Leader of Birmingham City Council Mike Whitby said:

“The redeveloped New Street Gateway will provide a focal point for far winder regeneration of the entire city over the next 10-15 years, and is one of the main components of the city’s £6 billion worth of publicly funded regeneration projects currently on our books.”