Our first project was the carbon footprint audit of the community.  This was completed in 2007, with help from the Energy Saving Trust and Suffolk Coastal District Council. The high return rate of 46% was achieved through much hard work door knocking, and generally making it as easy as possible for people to respond. The results, analysed by CRed at UEA, showed that we need to focus on specific key areas in order to reduce our carbon emissions. These included:

• Insulation – making houses more energy efficient through draughtproofing, loft insulation, cavity wall insulation, etc.  The majority of homes in the community are pre 1970.
• Transport – reducing car and plane journeys, using more public transport, car sharing.
• Changing wasteful habits
• Researching alternative energy sources

For further details, see our full carbon footprint audit 2007 and 2009 .