Equivalent tonnes of CO2 emissions from WSCC activities
In April 2019, the Council
acknowledged the threat of climate change and passed a motion pledging to try
to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2030. This pledge was based on a long record of work to reduce our
emissions.
We were one of the first local authorities to set a carbon
reduction target, and in 2011 pledged to reduce our emissions by 50% by 2020.
We introduced a corporate wide energy and water management
programme that assessed the energy performance of our estate and identified
areas where we could improve efficiency and operating costs. We rolled out
comprehensive programmes to improve our building management systems, improve insulation and upgrade lighting both in our own buildings but also in street
lights across the County. We have also invested in renewable energy with solar panel
installations installed on a range of our corporate buildings including
administration hubs and libraries.
As result of this work, and a general reduction in the size
of our corporate estate, at the end of 2019/20 we met our target and reduced
our corporate carbon emissions by 51%.
Despite this success, the Council’s pledge to net carbon
zero demonstrates we understand that we need to lead by example and do more,
faster. In reflection of this, we used the opportunity of the new
commitment to review the scope of the emissions included within the target and
have chosen to broaden the scope.
In addition to emissions from our corporate estate, highway
street light and signs, and business miles we also now include emissions from
the school estate and water use. Emissions have
also been incorporated representing the broader indirect carbon emissions
caused by our energy consumption. Often referred to as Scope 3 emissions, these
inclusions cover for example the emissions generated by transmission and
distribution of grid electricity that we consume, as well as emissions
generated by production of the fuel we use within our vehicles. It does not
include emissions stemming from contracted services or emissions embedded into the
materials we utilise.
More detail about the scope of our target and our plans to
achieve it can be found in our Carbon Management Plan
March 2024 performance
Preliminary
recorded carbon emissions for Q4 23/24 totalled 9,728 tonnes. Note, this is the
first fiscal year of emissions reporting under a new baseline and thus these
changes to the emissions categories will have some impact on totals. Also, data
presented is preliminary as there are delays in reporting some finalised
consumption datasets. Confirmed data will be logged at the next reporting
period, causing changes to this quarterly preliminary data.
Our
Q4 emissions were dominated by streetlighting, schools and corporate estate
which make up 78% of the total. Of note, with the updating of our work from
home and employee commuting data obtained through responses to our 2023 Climate
Change Awareness and Commuting Survey, these emissions categories have
increased since previous reporting. This increase doesn’t reflect a sudden
change in activity at the council but rather a better and more updated
reporting of existing activity.
Year
over year total emissions data reveals that while preliminary 23/24 emissions
are up 10% year over year (29,948t in 23/24 versus 27,264t in 22/23), they
still are down 11.4% compared to our baseline year (33,798t). This is due to
continued decreases in our corporate and schools' estate being offset by
increases largely in transportation (with the inclusion of employee commuting
into the category in 23/24) along with the inclusion of the “other” category.
March 2024 actions
Work continues on the actions set out in the Carbon Management Plan to achieve net zero carbon by 2030.