There is no low cost quick fix that will make your building ‘green’, but there are usually a lot of small, low cost changes you can apply that will make a significant difference to your carbon footprint and the cost of running your building.

This is a key message to get across because if everyone just feels bad about the size of their carbon footprint and powerless to change anything, they will give up. And the cost of running your hall will continue to rise. Saving energy and costs involves how people behave when using the building, not just capital spending on insulation, solar panels etc. Changing how building users behave is a key part of self help.

So it’s very important that more than one person takes the lead on the greening mission. It’s a big subject. You need a small team to take it on with each member having one area of knowledge to absorb.

The process should start with a full environmental audit of the building and gathering all the information about what it costs to run.
You will then have a list of ways of saving energy by using the building more efficiently. Having done this, it’s important to look at low cost, self help, ways of saving energy before you consider the expensive solutions.

It will usually be sensible to start by maximising the insulation. There is no point in putting in a greener heating system if the heat continues to pour out of the building.

Things are moving fast in the energy saving technology field: new sources of funding; new views on what technologies are best for community buildings; which offer best value for money. So it makes sense for you to check regularly on what you think you know, to go back to possible funders websites to look for any changes on what they will fund. Because the technologies are relatively new, there are only a few possible suppliers for the various kinds of equipment and prices are reckoned to be high because of lack of competition. With some of the key funders there is a requirement that you use approved suppliers /contractors for alternative energy technologies.

(Reproduced with kind permission of Rob Grunsell, Community Buildings Adviser at Community First)