County Council reduces carbon emissions by nearly 50% since 2009/10

When taking into account, steps the Council has taken to go greener, such as purchasing accredited green electricity for all council buildings and street lighting  – the Council’s net carbon emissions have reduced by 49% since 2009/10.  

Absolute carbon emissions covers aspects of council operations and activities including the Council’s own buildings, fleet vehicles, street lighting, staff mileage, and also emissions from the disposal of waste from households across the county.

Net emissions include carbon benefits, or offsets, against the absolute emissions total including the benefit of purchasing 100% accredited renewable electricity for all council buildings and street lighting.

The Council has been able to make significant reductions in emissions over recent years in a number of key areas.

Much of this has been through making improvements, such as making council buildings more energy efficient through better insulation and lighting, switching street lighting to more efficient LED lamps and investment in renewable energy, such as solar panels and renewable heating systems in some Council buildings.

Councillor Tony Miller, Cabinet Member for the Environment said: “I’m really pleased to see the positive progress we have made in this area continue over the last year and to see our net emissions reduce by almost half over the last decade is a real statement. I’m looking forward to seeing changes continue as the net zero carbon plan develops.”

In 2019, the Council agreed to work towards the national net zero target set by Central Government, aiming to reduce the Council’s carbon emissions to as near to zero (net zero) as possible by 2050.

The council’s Net Zero Carbon Plan was approved towards the end of 2020 and sets out how the council will aim to meet net zero emissions by 2050.

To view the Net Zero Carbon Plan and the 2020/21 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Report, please visit the Net Zero Carbon pages on the County Council website.