The Highland Council's Carbon CLEVER commitment to achieve a carbon neutral Inverness in a low carbon Highlands by 2025 took another step in the right direction today (28 May 2014) with Members' approval to reduce the council’s reliance on paper reports at committees.
Members of the Council’s Resources Committee approved a ‘Carbon Clever Committees’ initiative that will modernise the Council’s committees by reducing reliance on printed documents and providing access to electronic agendas and reports.
Through the Council’s ICT refresh programme over the next two years the introduction of tablets, keyboards and docking stations will enable Members and officers to work in a paperless way and thus reduce the council’s carbon footprint.
The transfer of Council Members to using IT to access committee papers will be an incremental process in the run up to the Council election in 2017, following which all reports for council meetings will be sent to all Members electronically.
Chairman of the Council’s Resources Committee, Councillor Maxine Smith welcomed the paperless initiative, she said: "Carbon Clever Committees are the way forward for how we will carry out Council business and they will be introduced in a flexible way over the next two years to allow Members to adapt and adopt the new methods. Not only will this initiative save the Council £28,000 each year in printing and distributing committee papers it will make a significant impact on the Council’s climate change and Carbon CLEVER vision of the Highlands becoming a Carbon CLEVER region by 2025."
Vice Chair of the Resources Committee and Depute Leader of the Council, Councillor David Alston added: "Having information presented to Members online will help us to make better decisions. The ability to have information and images in full colour will significantly improve our ability to have better informed debate in making decisions that will impact on Service delivery."
