Portsmouth Naval Base has gone green in its latest efforts to save taxpayers money. The Base has focused on cutting energy consumption and reducing environmental pollution as part of £13 million savings that have been achieved during the current financial year.

A series of initiatives led by Team Portsmouth, including Fleet Support Limited (FSL) which manages the Base estate, has helped to cut carbon emissions into the local atmosphere by nearly 20 per cent in this current financial year compared to 2005/6.

The Base’s War on Waste campaign, persuading workers to switch off lights and make other energy savings, has spearheaded the initiatives, while other moves to reduce power consumption have included better operational management of the steam heating system and improvements in the way quayside berths are used.

Over the past three years, the improvements have been even more dramatic, with emissions having almost halved as a result of replacing diesel with gas piped into the Base from outside as the main fuel for steam heat generation. The move has provided a further boost to the environment by reducing the number of road tankers delivering diesel to the Base, which can sometimes be up to three times a day during the winter.

Increased fuel efficiency will mean that energy output in the Base, which is working towards the latest British Standards environmental accreditation, will be some seven per cent lower this year compared to last.

Recycling has also shown a dramatic increase with some 25 per cent of materials, such as wood, metals, cardboard and paper, used in the Base set to be recycled during the current financial year. This compares to around 16 per cent the previous year and is well above the local authority average in the UK. Indeed, recycling saves some 1500 tons of material being buried in local landfill sites.

“We are now looking to work more closely with suppliers on energy saving initiatives, sharing the benefits of any cost savings that are made,” explains FSL Energy and Environmental Manager James Pollington.

Building on this success, the Base is targeting further reductions in energy consumption with the aim of cutting emissions and power by at least another five per cent next year.