West the best on emissions

West Lothian Council has won an award for cutting carbon emissions.

Its carbon management project took first prize in the "Promoting Sustainability" category of the 2011 Excellence Awards run by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities.

The council said the project had delivered real savings in terms of energy, carbon and cost both by reducing the council's direct carbon emissions and the carbon emissions of West Lothian. Council chief executive Graham Hope praised the efforts of staff in achieving the award.

Cosla president Pat Watters, who chaired the judging panel, said: "The Excellence Awards celebrate the very best of Scottish local government.

"At a time when there is a huge amount of interest in public sector reform, our winners provide further evidence that the future of excellent public services lies in focusing on better outcomes for the people of Scotland, not in a pre-occupation with structure as the sole route to better public services."