A Carbon Cutter Plan

A Carbon Cutter Plan (CCP) is a weekly/monthly plan of smart and straightforward actions which reduces emissions and helps us live a low carbon lifestyle. All the actions help slow climate change, but some will also reduce pollution, help save money on fuel bills, minimise waste sent to landfill and help promote the personal health benefits of cycling, walking and eating local food as well as helping to create safer and better connected communities.

GCNS can help design a plan to suit your lifestyle and, where needed, support you to achieve it.

Plans can be done on an individual basis but GCNS recommends carrying out a carbon cutter plan in a group setting in order to provide a fun and mutually supportive atmosphere…after all a problem shared is problem halved!

The GCNS Carbon Cutter Plan is currently the most successful template for carbon reduction engagement in the UK.

Actions

In order to cut carbon we need to understand where CO2 exists in our lives. In Scotland, our average carbon footprint is 12.7 tonnes and emissions are spread across the following key areas:

Without understanding where carbon comes from it's very easy to make savings in one area of our lives e.g heating but then, inadvertently, spend it in another e.g. food therefore cancelling out any initial savings made. A Carbon Cutter Plan helps to keep a balance and check on all areas of emissions by ensuring there are actions which help to reduce carbon in ALL areas of emissions.

Each Carbon Cutter Plan is designed to begin with relatively straightforward actions e.g switching lights off in empty rooms and then gradually, over the course of the project, the actions become more challenging e.g reducing the amount of meat eaten or leaving the car at home for short journeys.

Carbon Reduction

Each of the CCP actions has been given a carbon weighting which allows us to calculate the potential carbon savings for every Carbon Cutter Plan and GCNS is working with Caledonian Environment Centre at Glasgow Caledonian University to monitor and evaluate carbon reduction over the course of the project.

GCNS is looking to understand how much carbon can be reduced through voluntary effort. Through our Carbon Cutter Plans we’ll find out which actions are easy for people to do, which are difficult and why. We will be asking what needs to happen to make it easier for you to reduce emissions.  We will share this information with Stirling Council, the Scottish Government and relevant businesses, and work with these organisations to find a way to help everyone to keep reducing their carbon emissions.