About
JUNE 2011 UPDATE: Carbon Co-op is incorporating, see here for more information.
A group of South Manchester residents who’ve begun to carry out these changes in their own houses and communities, who teamed up with a team of local architects to look at what more we can do in our areas.
The idea is that tenants around South Manchester band together in a bulk buying co-operative. We purchase low carbon technologies, everything from energy monitors to solar panels. Because we’re part of a co-op we can buy equipment at a discount. The more people join the co-op, the cheaper the technologies and the more money members of the co-op save.
Both the Government and the Council are putting lots of public money into reducing the amount of energy our communities use, we want to make sure this gets put to good use and that our community benefits directly. We think that this money should benefit those on lower incomes, reducing energy bills, providing income for community projects, creating jobs and strengthening the local economy.
Most importantly of all we see this as an opportunity to get communities together to improve the area and the lives of the local residents. We see the move to low carbon living as a chance to reassess what’s important, become more efficient and smarter about how we use resources. Rather than worrying about energy price rises, we should be taking control now, so that we can feel secure about the future. This booklet contains stories of groups that have done just that and have strengthened their own communities in the process.
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Carbon Co-op sit on the Greater Manchester Housing Retrofit Steering Group, part of the Low Carbon Economic Area.