Details of the Big Carbon Challenge Competition for groups that ran from 2010 - 2011.

 

The Big Carbon Challenge competition was organised by Oxfordshire ClimateXchange (CXC) and Oxfordshire Rural Communities Council (ORCC) under the Oxfordshire County Council funded Low Carbon Communities programme. The aim of the competition was to help new groups take action on climate change through providing support, tools and resources. It was launched in October 2010, with the competition period running from December 2010 until the end of May 2011.

 

The competition was sponsored by Oxfordshire Rural Housing Partnership and Cottsway Housing Association, which provided the budget for training and materials start up costs for community groups and the £1,500 prize fund.

 

All groups were supported through visits and liaising with ORCC and CXC.  Additional training for running Carbon Conversations was provided, together with all the materials needed to run a Carbon Conversations group.

 

After six months of activities, the groups produced a report of their activities, a summary of which is  included in the report, which you can download below. The groups were judged according to their overall carbon reduction and their engagement strategy and plans for the future.  An extra prize was included for existing groups who entered. The organisers would like to express their appreciation and gratitude to all the groups who took part and worked really hard over the competition period, and to the sponsors of the competition for their support.

 

DOWNLOAD FULL REPORT HERE

 

Prizes

The group that cuts its carbon footprint the most: Shrivenham

Shrivenham achieved a reduction of 5.4 tonnes of CO2, which included an increasing amount of renewable energy production through installation of solar PV panels.

The second placed group: Hendreds Environment Group

Hendreds Environment Group achieved a reduction of approximately 5.2 tonnes of CO2 from 10 people.

Continued group engagement and development of plans: Green TEA - Transition Eynsham Area

Green TEA impressed the judges with the range of outreach from an existing group, liaison with Siemens, plus their ‘Enjoy the challenge' day.

 

The group demonstrating the most inspiring community engagement strategy: Hendreds Environment Group

Hendreds Environment Group impressed the judges with the range of new people the group had managed to engage, through the Carbon Conversations course, the work with the schools, Tea on the Green and the outreach talks, plus the continuing momentum of the projects initiated.

The second placed group for community engagement: Hailey Parish Action Carbon Reduction PACO2

Hailey PACO2 impressed the judges with their activities, the Spring Green Fair and initiatives that came out of it, such as the litter pick, the school eco project, the energy saving actions of Abingdon and Witney college, plus their future plans.

 

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The Big Carbon Challenge 2010-2011

 

Entry Form and Guidelines

 

Sponsored by:

 Introduction

 In April 2010 Oxfordshire County Council launched The Low Carbon Communities programme.  The initiative will help local people reduce their fuel bills and carbon dioxide ( CO₂ ) emissions by:

 ·        providing a single, high profile service which improves access to energy efficiency advice

·        administering a countywide energy incentive grant scheme,

·        supporting a programme of community engagement

As part of this project Oxfordshire Rural Community Council and Oxfordshire ClimateXchange are launching a carbon reduction competition- the Big Carbon Challenge- for new Oxfordshire climate action community groups. 

 

The competition will run from October 2010 until June 2011.

  

While this is a competition, the aim is also to help new groups through providing support, tools and resources to encourage action on climate change.  You'll be competing as part of a team against other new groups in Oxfordshire, but we hope that there will be a healthy camaraderie between the groups too!

  

Your Group

 A ‘community group' is defined in the widest sense.  For example, your group could be a parish council, a church or business group, or a simply a community of individuals.  The group can be as large as you'd like, but as guidance, between 5-20 individuals is recommended to enable good group process.

You can find heaps of ideas and information about other groups in Oxfordshire in the new Oxfordshire Climate Change Community groups Handbook 

 

Judging Criteria

 The groups will be judged by:

·        Average of CO₂ savings made over the competition period per person in each group

·        Total amount of group CO₂ savings over the time period

·        Community engagement:

What has the group done to promote carbon reduction in the wider community?

What are the group's carbon reduction and climate action plans after the competition?

 

More information on the judging criteria will be available at the beginning of the competition.  

The Competition Process

1. The group will measure its carbon emissions at the beginning and the end of the competition period - we'll provide help and tool to do this.  To facilitate this process:

 

2. 1-2 people from each group will be trained in carbon reduction methodology and techniques by ‘Carbon Conversations', a tried and tested methodology for small group work to reduce carbon footprints.

 

3.  Supported by ORCC and ClimateXchange, these facilitators will host sessions for their group across the competition period. The specific timetable will be agreed by each group.  These sessions will cover:

• Looking for a low-carbon future

• Home energy

• Travel and transport

• Food and water

• Consumption and waste

• Moving on

 

Ideas for activities could be built into these sessions.  For example, making draught excluders and thermal curtain liners, energy efficiency clinics, energy talks, case-studies, micro-generation talks. 

 

Remember, community engagement beyond your group is also part of the judging process!

Each group will be expected to record (written and photographic) their activities, plus their community engagement events (what the event was, how many attended etc.).  These record forms shall be provided by the competition organisers. A draft can be found in Appendix 1 of this document.

 

Funding

Around £150 start-up costs will be allocated to each group entering the competition by the competition organisers.  This could be used to cover room hire costs and refreshments for public events, creating publicity material, or gadgets (such as an energy monitor) for your group.

Prizes

 

There shall a total prize fund of over £1500.  Prizes will be awarded by the Judging Committee (the organisers and a representative from Oxfordshire Rural Housing Partnership) for:

 

• The group that cuts its carbon footprint the most

• The second placed group

• The individual across the groups who reduced his/her carbon footprint the most

• The group demonstrating the most inspiring community engagement strategy

 

Timeline

(exact dates to be confirmed)

 

November 2010              Competition Launch

November 2010              Weekend training session for group facilitators

November 2010                 Start the group meetings

Mid-March 2011                Mid-competition ‘surgeries'- the organisers shall visit each group to check on progress and offer support

End May 2011                    Final group results submitted

June 2011                          End of competition event- winners announced!

 

 

 CLOSING DATE: 31st October 2010

 

DOWNLOAD ENTRY FORM HERE