East Cambridgeshire District Council has been working for two years to reduce the impact that its head office, The Grange, has on the environment.

Its hard work hasn't gone unrecognised, and the district council has now been awarded a silver accreditation in the Investors in the Environment scheme.

The Ely-based council signed up to the scheme two years ago and was awarded a bronze accreditation within its first year for its efforts.

East Cambridgeshire District Council has taken steps to reduce its impact on the environment and is hoping to become a Carbon Net Zero council by 2036.

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Some of the steps taken by the council include setting up an in-house Green Team at the Ely head office.

The Green Team have helped staff at East Cambridgeshire District Council reduce their carbon footprint.

They have also introduced a transport to work policy which encourages staff at The Grange to think about sustainable travel, like cycling.

East Cambridgeshire District Council has also made changes to The Grange to make it more environmentally-friendly.

These changes include insulating its loft, changing the light bulbs to very low energy LED bulbs, and ensuring that all new appliances are low-energy rated.

Electricity use at The Grange is down by 24 per cent, while gas use is down by 17 per cent. Business travel has dropped dramatically by 49 per cent, while paper usage has also been cut by 18 per cent.

The environmentally-friendly changes have not only led to the council receiving an award, but have also saved it a "significant amount" of money, a spokesperson confirmed.

East Cambridgeshire District Council staff and councillors are all undertaking an environmental training programme to make sure that they understands the scale of the climate crisis.

The training, also knows as 'carbon literacy training', is also teaching staff and councillors how to tackle the climate crisis.