THE Highland Council has launched what it says is a ‘first for a local authority in the UK’ online energy benchmarking tool.
Benchmarking energy performance is a process that either compares the energy use of a building with other similar structures or looks at how energy use varies from a baseline.
The system helps identify building upgrade opportunities that can reduce expenditure by lowering energy and operating costs, whilst also facilitating continuous improvement by providing diagnostic measures to evaluate performance over time.
The Highland Council said that the tool will provide it with ‘invaluable’ information and will play a ‘major’ part in helping it to realise its net zero ambitions. The tool will provide open and transparent information about where council property related carbon emissions come from, which will then help the council to make informed decisions around energy expenditure.
Created by the local authority’s climate change and energy team, the tool is designed to provide meaningful analysis and information in relation to the energy consumption, costs, and relative performance efficiencies of the non-domestic property estate.
Chair of the Highland Council’s climate change committee, councillor Karl Rosie, said, “This is a fantastic tool which supports Highland Council’s aspiration towards greater openness and transparency with respect to the data it holds.
“Understanding where the Council’s property related carbon emissions arise from, will enable more informed decision-making around the Council’s energy expenditure and net-zero obligations.”
