Climate Change
Climate change is an increasing concern for us all which requires urgent action to be taken. We have made adapting to meet the challenge of a changing natural environment a corporate priority.
We are committed to lowering the impact of our own operations and have set a target to be net zero by 2040 with a 45% reduction in carbon emissions by 2027. To help guide how we will do this, a Carbon Reduction Plan (PDF) [1MB] has been produced which sets out the high-level pathway to net zero.
Monitoring of our carbon emissions has been undertaken via annual carbon footprinting as shown in the Carbon Footprint Analysis for 2020 (PDF) [221KB] and 2021 (PDF) [356KB] , and a Carbon Reduction Action Plan (PDF) [150KB] has also been developed to set out a delivery pathway to achieve the Councils net zero Carbon emissions target via a pipeline of projects and actions.
We are also committed to being a strong partner in protecting the natural environment for residents and visitors. An Environment Policy (PDF) [2MB] provides the framework to ensure this is considered across our service areas by setting out priorities under four key themes:
- Protecting and recovering our natural environment
- Mitigating and adapting to climate change
- Enhancing our built environment
- Ensuring a sustainable approach to waste and resource management