A new green behaviour scheme to encourage residents to make more sustainable choices and win rewards for doing so will be launched this week by Newark and Sherwood District Council.

Green Rewards will allow residents to log their green activities through a dedicated mobile app or web browser, and potentially win vouchers.

The programme aims to encourage residents to take action against climate change by making sustainable changes in their daily lives that may seem small, but can make a big impact.

Allowing residents to log sustainable activities they have done to reduce their carbon footprint, such as walking to work, avoiding single use plastics, or eating a plant-based diet on some days, they will then earn Green Points, which can result in vouchers to be used locally.

Each month 2 x £20 vouchers will be awarded; one for the resident who has logged the most Green Points, and another selected at random in a raffle of all resident users of the platform. Vouchers can be used in the local area, and residents will have the choice of:

•            £20 National Garden Gift voucher
You can spend this locally in the district at Southwell Garden Centre, Pearsons Nursery, Reg Taylor’s Garden Centre and Hollybeck Garden Centre

•            £20 National Book Token

This can be spent in a selection of local book stores

•            £20 Love2Shop voucher

•            £20 Odeon cinema voucher

•            £20 Boobalou voucher

Coun David Lloyd, leader of Newark and Sherwood District Council, said: “I am delighted to announce the launch of Newark and Sherwood’s involvement in Green Rewards. We all know the effects of carbon emissions, and how we must all make a change.

“Reducing your carbon footprint is more important than ever, but it can be overwhelming to know where to start, and not everyone is aware of what changes they can make to improve.

“We are always working towards a Cleaner, Safer, Greener Newark and Sherwood and this is a brilliant scheme to get residents engaged and involved, but also rewarded! I hope residents feel motivated to be more sustainable once they see how even small changes can have a significant impact.

“I encourage all residents to sign up and I am looking forward to seeing the progress we make as a district to reduce our carbon emissions and be kinder to our planet.”

This is the latest green initiative from the District Council following the planting of thousands of trees, delivering of its first two electric vehicles, recently achieving its highest ever recycling figure and the approval of plans for solar panels to be installed on a number of council buildings, including the leisure centres in Newark, Southwell and Ollerton.

From Wednesday 16 February, residents can sign up to Green Rewards, for free, at: notts.greenrewards.co.uk. There’s also a free app for iOS and Android which can be downloaded by searching for ‘Notts; Green Rewards’ in a device’s app store.