The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has introduced a range of initiatives to help make its West Cumbrian offices greener.
Herdus House, its base at Westlakes Science and Technology Park at Moor Row, near Whitehaven, has had 130 solar panels and new air source heat pumps installed.
The collaborative project with the NDA’s facilities management partner, Mitie, was delivered using £257,000 of funding secured from the Government under the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, which aims to reduce emissions from public sector buildings by 75 per cent by 2037.
New air conditioning installed in its server room has also saved around 50 per cent in electricity use compared to its old system, the authority said.
The authority is charged, on behalf of the Government, to decommission the nation’s oldest nuclear sites.
Steve Hardy, NDA director of environment, said: “Our mission to decommission the UK’s earliest nuclear sites is one of the most important environmental programmes in the world, protecting people and the planet.
“How we go about our work is very important to us and we are committed to delivering results safely, responsibly, and sustainably across our sites and offices.
“These innovations demonstrate our commitment to protect the environment, reduce our carbon footprint across our estate and for the NDA group to achieve carbon net zero by 2050, in line with the Government’s ambitions.”
The NDA is part of the Greening Government Commitments scheme, which aims to improve environmental sustainability in government departments.
So far the NDA has met all the original targets since the scheme’s inception in 2009/10, it said and has reduced carbon emissions from use of gas and electricity by 51 per cent from the GGC 2017/18 baseline and around 70 per cent of waste was now recycled.
