Household survey summary
As many of you will know, this year we conducted a follow-up to the Household Survey of 2007. It was a huge effort that was only possible thanks to 28 volunteers kindly donating many hours of their time to survey 166 households, input the data into a central database and then analyse and evaluate the results. The results are not straightforward, but here is a summary of the interpretation that we have drawn from them. So far.
The headline figure
The average carbon footprint of the households we surveyed is 4.00 tonnes of carbon per year; this is a rise of 12% on the figure from the 2007 Brampton data, while DEFRA have published an 8% fall in the national average carbon footprint over the same period.
This suggests we have bucked the trend and, despite all our work, our community is even more carbon-dependent than we were 4 years ago.
The devil's in the detail
However, a closer look at the data reveals a much more nuanced picture. If we break the results down it is clear that on almost every measure, from loft insulation to car engine size to recycling rates, the community appears to be moving towards a slightly lower carbon lifestyle when compared to the 2007 survey results.
Figure 1: A shift towards more roof insulation.
Figure 2: An increase in the use of low energy light bulbs.
Figure 3: An increase in glass recycling, similar to those seen for tin, paper, plastic and compostable waste.
Figure 4: Although the number of people using a car daily has increased, the number of commuter miles has gone down.
The major exception to this trend is flying: long haul and short haul flights per household are up by 67% and 18% respectively. Interestingly though, the increase in flights actually came from a small number of households – in 2011, 62% of households made no short haul flights and 87% made no long haul flights; in 2007 these figures were very similar at 60% and 89%, respectively. In contrast, 2 households accounted for 16.6% of all short haul flights and 1 household accounted for 11.5% of all long haul flights in the 2011 survey. This is remarkable as each long haul flight has a carbon cost of 3.6 tonnes, by far the single biggest value in the carbon footprint calculator. In fact, the long haul flights of just 6 households account for more than the entire increase in the community carbon footprint between the two surveys. Indeed, if flight data are removed from both surveys, the community footprint shows a reduction of 6.5%, much closer to the national average.
Some context
Of course, these high-frequency flying households are a real part of the community and should be included in the carbon footprint. But it is worth noting that in a small sample like ours, the random inclusion or not of such households can have a massive effect on the final calculation. Essentially, some parts of the dataset are more robust than others, which is especially important when we are making comparisons between the 2007 and 2011 results.
To help validate the data we can consider it in the context of the local and national policies and initiatives that have come into force during this period. For example, we would expect recycling rates to go up as we now have a large recycling centre in the town; high wattage incandescent light bulbs are now less readily available, while the cost and performance of low-energy bulbs has improved; there have been numerous schemes to subsidise the installation of loft insulation; over 60's are now entitled to free bus passes, which may explain why the number of people who never use the bus has gone down from 75% in 2007 to 65% in 2011 (although this doesn't explain the similar drop in people who never use the train or bicycle).
This can provide some reassurance that our snapshot, if we put aside the flight data, is reasonable and thus probably accurate when it suggests that there has been a small shift towards a lower carbon lifestyle in Brampton.
What now?
So what do we do now? Given the huge effort that has gone into collecting, collating and interpreting the data, both from the 28 SB surveyors, inputters and analysers as well as the 166 households that agreed to be surveyed, we should do something.
In general terms we have come up with the following.
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We should celebrate the positive aspects of the survey results while recognising the gravity of the wider climate change problem.
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We should try to agree some actions that we will take individually and as an organisation based on the survey results.
As a first stab at some specific areas to examine, we have come up with the list below, which is by no means exhaustive.
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Flying is the single biggest obstacle to reducing the community carbon footprint, but is in the hands of a small minority of the population.
Should we target them directly with information and campaigning material? Or should we take a more general approach and try, for example, to work with the local Travel Agent who are keen to promote the benefits of train travel?
Train travel can be a fantastic experience. -
Home energy efficiency measures and recycling rates are improving.
How can we use this momentum to encourage even deeper changes.
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The survey did not collect information on how much energy was used by each household, but did show that in both 2007 and 2011 over 80% of houses were heated primarily by fossil fuels.
How much renewable heat can Brampton Energy provide? What about clean electricity?
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Although it didn't contribute to the carbon calculation, the survey also collected information on the community's food shopping habits: 66% of households source much or most of their food from Carlisle supermarkets.
How can we promote the concept of 'choose local' and encourage people to buy food both grown and sold locally? What role can the Brampton Food Network and the Farmers' Market play in this?
Vegetables from the Brampton allotments.
Please let us know what you think by adding a comment below, even if you do this anonymously. As this survey was such a group effort, it would be great to hear what you think.
If you would like to see more of the data, (from 2007 and 2011) or details on the sampling methods used they are all attached below.
Comments
Growing food (in allotments) and or buying locally sourced food (via food network etc ) is important but not everyone can do this for various reasons. I'd be interested in a campaign to get people simply to do most of their food shopping in Brampton instead of trailing off to Carlisle. Even people I know who are otherwise very 'green' concscious do this! We have an ethical supermarket in The Coop (even though it doesn't stock absolutely everything you want!), we have a good wholefood / deli shop in The Half Moon, we have two really good butchers, a bakers, a really good fruit & veg shop etc etc. And shopping in Brampton is usually a really sociable occasion. What does anyone else think? And how can we best promote it??
I think you're dead right. Interesting that the report about our High Streets that was published yesterday said town centres need to be more than just retail outlets - they can't compete with the supermarkets or the internet on price but they can offer more in the way of a social experience and the chance to meet and talk to retailers and producers.
Hi Eileen, I agree that this is a very important issue and I think SB, with its Food Network and having taken on the Farmers' Market, is well placed to really promote our local shops and producers. We also have a great Business Association which I know is actively working on a shop local campaign. I think we need to come up with some really good ideas that we can then take to the Business Association and Economic Partnership and hopefully deliver them together. One idea I think would make a difference to the shopping experience in Brampton would be to shift the emphasis towards pedestrians and somehow better control and manage the many cars. This could include pedestrianising some areas and we would also have to look at alternative parking arrangements, perhaps making the Gelt Road car park short stay and trying to establish another long stay car park on the industrial estate. What does everyone else think?
I would like to see us promoting the benefits of train travel as a positive alternative to flying. I realise that trains in Britain are a bit expensive and sometimes unreliable, but once you get onto the continent they are cheap, punctual and frequent. The Eurostar is a great way to connect to this network (and St Pancras is a wonderful station), or we have good ferry links to Belguim and Holland from the NE coast. Using the sleeper trains you can wake up in most European cities (Barcelona, Rome, Berlin, etc) leaving London the night before and its a much more pleasant experience that sitting around in airports, breathing stale air and eating plastic food.
I use both bus and train but find it very difficult, since the buses are few and far between. I use the train from Haltwhistle to both Hexham and Carlisle but always come up against the problem of how to get back to Gilsland without waiting for a very long time in Haltwhistle. Bus companies need passengers to be able to function and if car owners would only use buses once a month numbers would increase and buses would become more frequent. What happens, however, is that a small number use the buses and the rest use the car all the time.
I was really talking about using the train for holidaying, but I agree that commuting and getting around the local area by public transport is not easy. Having said that, the survey does suggest that fewer people never use the bus, train or bike than they did in 2007, so that's a start. Obviously though there's still long way to go, and how we encourage more people to support our bus and train services is a difficult question. Perhaps some information on the true cost of using a car (45p per mile according to HMRC) compared to bus and train fares might help?
I agree that it would be good if everyone either grew their own vegetables and fruit or purchased this locally BUT the reality is that few people have the land or the incentive to grow their own produce. It's all well and good blaming the supermarkets in Carlisle for their part in this situation but we must be realistic in Brampton and recognize that in general terms we are paying between ten and twenty percent more for food items in the town centre shops than we do at the Supermarkets in Carlisle and Haltwhistle. Yes I said Haltwhistle! How is it that a town the size of Haltwhistle can have a Sainsburys that competes on prices but hasn't destroyed the local shops while Brampton gets the world's most expensive Co-op and two Spar shops that wouldn’t recognize competition if they fell over it? Few shops in Brampton offer competitive prices which is why most of us shop elsewhere. It also makes sense for car owners to fill up at supermarket filling station where they can save at least six pence a litre over Brampton prices on their fuel. I haven't bought fuel in Brampton for more than twenty years - I'm not ashamed of that because I don't see why I should pay over the odds to support Brampton's fuel stations when they do nothing to encourage my custom. Shopping at major supermarkets is a win-win situation for Brampton's motorists - cheaper fuel, cheaper food and special offers that are simply not available in Brampton.
SB also seems to have forgotten the effect of the internet - where I live at least five of my neighbours have the supermarkets deliver their groceries each week. Although they pay a delivery charge they get low prices, special offers and a wide choice without getting up from their armchairs! How can Brampton’s shops ever hope to compete with that level of service without some radical shift in the business model of our commercial community?
And let’s not forget that there are still pockets of deprivation in Brampton - not everyone can afford to pay out the extra 10 - 20 per cent on prices that Brampton shopkeepers demand. Before anyone dismisses my claims as fanciful I suggest that they visit the Co-op and or Spar in Brampton and make a note the prices of a range of branded and own brand staple goods and then check them on-line against the prices charged by major supermarkets. I’ll wager they’ll all be shocked.
We also seem to have the same blinkered approach to public transport in Brampton. I agree that the train is a great way to travel but our railway station is two miles out of town and on the rare occasion that the trains to Carlisle and Newcastle stop at Milton you are faced with a fare that's usually twice the price of using the bus. Why would anyone living in Brampton bother to use what is in effect an expensive service that doesn't start from where they live and never delivers them to where they want to go? While the bus service is cheaper the frequency at certain times of the day and week mean that it's not a serious option for the majority of the people of Brampton. We will only give up our cars when there is a cost effective alternative to bus and train. To date no one has come up with a solution to this problem; which is really a problem of geography and the need for people to get from where they live to where they want to go at a time they wish to travel. I dare to say that if a transport solution to this problem existed someone would already be a billionaire from the proceeds of their superior intellect!
Overall our problems are those of a rural community that has a poor infrastructure and a lack of effective competition. Regrettably that is a situation that has been allowed to develop by our local planners on the City Council. All we can ever hope to achieve through SB is to promote the need for infrastructure and business community change. If we do not do that then we will see more shops close in Brampton and those members of the community who cannot easily access the facilities available in Carlisle will be condemned to pay ever increasing portions of their income for their basic food and transport needs.
On issues such as insulation of our homes; has anyone else noticed that there’s a correlation between the amount of energy you save through insulating your home and the increase in fuel costs? I recall some years ago forecasting that as we used less fuel the companies that produce it would want to recoup their losses by putting up charges. We may have saved a few grams of Carbon but our pockets are still being picked by the vested interests of the power companies. Maybe SB could do a survey to find out how many people in Brampton live in fuel poverty; now that might be a figure worth publicising.
Sorry for the anonymity but having been involved for years in SB I’m beginning to despair about Brampton’s economic situation and the seeming inability of our community to recognize the real HUMAN issues we face here.
Hi Nonnymoose!
I am a regular visitor to Brampton & eventually hope to move there. At the moment I live in a very rural location 9 miles away.
I am really interested in helping the community in Brampton and if possible would like to be involved in some way with the issues the people in Brampton are facing. Is there a anything in place already?
Hi
I shop in Brampton on a regular basis, but do go to the supermarket in Carlisle. I do this mainly to buy organic fruit & veg. We grow what we can in our garden, but in Winter we find our veg is very limited and we have no fruit growing then.
We have tried the organic box delivery in the past, but unfortunately it didn't work for us & we thought it was expensive.
I buy organic meat from the farmers' markets and try to be as economical with it as possible e.g. when I cook a pack of casserole meat, it will last us for 2 dinners.
I know organic food is not for everyone, as different people have different views and different incomes, but I would definitely buy organic meat and fruit & veg in Brampton if it was available and this would cut down on trips to Carlisle supermarkets.
I agree there are things that Brampton could do to make itself more attractive to shoppers - I know the parish council and the Chamber of Trade are working on this, and I hope SB are working with them. The parking issue is a hot potato! In the end we all make our own choices about how and where to shop, and have good reasons for our choices. The most frequent reason I hear for not shopping in Brampton is that it is 'so much cheaper at T***o'. It would be interesting to do a price survey - compare prices in shops in Brampton with those at one of the big supermarkets in Carlisle, then factor in the price of driving to Carlisle so that we know what the difference actually is. If the difference is not as great as people think it may encourage them to shop locally, help to keep the town centre alive and make shopping an enjoyable social experience instead of a stressful chore! Just a thought.
I don't live in Brampton but I've just had quick read of the survey – really interesting reading and analysis. There’s a lot to say below the headlines and you’ve illustrated the complexity well. Good luck with reducing your carbon footprint in 2012.
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