Kingston-upon-Hull United Kingdom - 230 000 inhabitants
Presentation of the organisation:
Hull is a major maritime city, standing at the Humber Estuary on the east coast of England. For centuries is has been a strategically important port, traditionally built around the fishing industry in the North Sea.
Hull was a thriving city in Victorian times and in the early part of the 20th Century, but suffered extremely heavy damage during the Second World War. The city was extensively rebuilt during the 1950s/1960s, and the majority of buildings in Hull date from this age.
It is currently undergoing a major regeneration programme, building on its favourable waterfront location. Major new developments, such as 'The Deep', are putting Hull on the map as a tourist location.
Hull is a small, densely-populated city, covering an area of only 30 square miles, and is almost exclusively urban or suburban
Actions implemented in the field of building performance:
Hull City Council have responsibility for over 500 public buildings, and currently have an annual energy and water spend of approximately £5.5 million.
It operates a programme of energy efficiency improvement work to its existing buildings. Measures installed over the last 5 years include small-scale Combined Heat & Power units to leisure centres, cavity-wall and loft insulation improvements, swimming pool thermal covers, water-saving taps and urinals, condensing boilers, building energy management systems and variable speed drives in a number of locations.
The Council currently buys more than 60% of its electricity from accredited green sources and is actively pursuing the development of zero emission generation methods such as biomass heating, wind and photovoltaic panels.
Five high-rise blocks of flats and six sheltered housing sites already benefit from a centralised group heating systems, with tenants paying only for the heat they use.
The council operate a large fleet of electrically-powered vehicles in an attempt to reduce traffic emissions in the city. Where these vehicles are charged from buildings supplied by 'green' electricity they represent zero emission operation.