Home About Us Moving to the Low Carbon Economy Who We Are Carbon Neutral Vehicle Leasing and Asset Finance How We Work Benefits Financial Products Who We Finance Businesses Reducing Their Environmental Impact Businesses in the Green Sector What We Finance Carbon Neutral Car Leasing Carbon Neutral Van Leasing Carbon Neutral Micro-Car Finance Carbon Neutral Hybrid Vehicle Leasing Zero Emission Vehicles - Electric Cars Zero Emission Vehicles – Electric Vans and Commercial Vehicles Renewable Energy Technology Finance Wind Turbine Finance Packages – Domestic and Light Commercial Carbon Neutral Asset Finance Who We Support Work For Us Contact Us Environmental Links Carbon Neutral Vehicle Leasing and Asset Finance Bridgegreen offset CO2 emissions for the duration of all vehicle contracts. Our asset finance also includes carbon offsetting, which we believe is unique in the UK market. more Who We Support The Centre for Alternative Technology The Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) was founded in 1973 on the site of a disused slate quarry, in Mid Wales. It is now Europe’s leading eco-centre and a world-renowned centre of excellence for sustainable ways of living. CAT demonstrates technologies and practices related to renewable energy generation, eco-building, energy efficiency, sustainable waste disposal and re-use, and organic food growing. CAT explains the impact we have on our environment and helps both individuals and businesses take steps to reduce that impact, offering a wealth of practical experience gleaned from over three decades of experimentation with sustainable ways of living. CAT plays host to over 60,000 visitors a year and runs a free information service, answering enquiries on a wide range of environmental topics. It also provides a consultancy service, publishes a series of books written by CAT experts, and offers residential courses on all aspects of sustainable living. 13,000 school children come to CAT every year on organised day visits, or for a residential stay in CAT’s unique Eco-cabins. The WISE project CAT is constantly developing in response to society’s increasing awareness of sustainability issues. The growing popularity of their courses has meant that the teaching and accommodation facilities are in urgent need of expansion. CAT’s latest project is a £6 million institute for sustainable education, known as the WISE project. WISE will make learning in sustainable technologies accessible and affordable to thousands more people and provide a venue in which students and conference participants can meet. Due to be completed in early 2008, the WISE buildings will represent the very latest thinking in environmentally conscious design. Innovative features will include rammed earth walls in the Institute’s lecture theatre, the use of natural ventilation, natural day lighting, passive solar heat gain, a biomass-fuelled combined heat and power (CHP) system, and solar photovoltaic cells on the roof. These features will help keep the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the building low during its operation. The energy contained in the construction materials is also a significant factor in reducing the CO2 emissions the building will be responsible for. The use of local, low embodied energy materials, such as timber from stewarded forests in the area, will reduce the CO2. The rammed earth walls, which are load-bearing and made of excavated subsoil, also exemplify this approach. Additional features of the WISE buildings will include comprehensive monitoring of all resources used, with energy audits carried out to achieve the lowest carbon footprint possible, both during the construction process and once the buildings are operational. Visitors to WISE will be able to monitor exactly how much electricity, water and fuel they use during their stay. It is the innovation of this exciting development, underpinned by the philosophy that CAT has had since its inception, that continues to keep CAT at the forefront of its field and why Bridgegreen is so pleased to be able to support its work.