15/07/2024 - Permalink

Rise in carbon emissions reported but council remains committed to net zero target

Related topics: Climate change / environment

Note: this is an updated and amended version of a story originally published on 9 July 2024.

Shropshire Council has published its annual Corporate Carbon Performance Monitoring Report for 2022-23, which shows a 6% increase in gross carbon emissions compared to the previous year.

The council is one of the few local authorities in the country to report on its emissions and has set an ambitious target of achieving net zero by 2030.

The report highlights the challenges and opportunities that the council faces in reducing its emissions and outlines the actions that it is taking to address them.

The report, which will be considered by the council’s Cabinet at a meeting on Wednesday 17 July 2024, shows that the council’s gross carbon emissions for 2022-23 were 82,028 tonnes of CO2 equivalent, an increase of 4,757 tonnes (6%) from 2021-22.

Activities which have contributed to the net carbon increase include:

  • Spend increase across all services, most notably the health and social care market sector (6% increase).
  • A 4% reduction in negative emissions due to changes in the domestic recycling contract and decarbonising of grid electricity.
  • Post pandemic recovery, returning to work after restrictions:
    • A small increase in demand on buildings (2% – corporate heating).
    • A small increase in transport fleet usage (1%).
    • A small increase in staff travel (1% commute and business travel).

Live initiatives and activities intended to make carbon reductions include:

  • A greater awareness across service areas and staff behaviour change.
  • Improved heating and electrical systems and smart meters in council buildings.
  • Implementing energy efficiency measures such as insulation, double glazing.
  • Continuing to adopt a green electric tariff which is zero carbon.
  • Engagement with efficient pool-vehicles, active travel, and public transport.
  • Flexible working arrangements, optimised use of buildings and office space.
  • Improved recycling rates (domestic and commercial), and re-use initiatives.
  • 102,000 trees have been planted since declaring a climate emergency.

The council has taken steps to reduce carbon emissions by implementing the following measures.

    • Installing solar panels on council buildings, generating renewable electricity.
    • Replacing streetlights with LED lamps, annually saving electricity.
    • Introducing electric vehicles and charging points in the council’s fleet.
    • Implementing energy efficiency measures in council buildings, such as insulation, double glazing, and smart meters.

Keen to lead the way, Shropshire Council is also working on a number of ambitions projects which aim to accelerate its progress towards achieving net zero emissions.

One of these is its investment in a pyrolysis plant as part of a joint venture with Woodtek Ltd, based at its Carbon Hill Farm in Powys. This agreement is the first of its kind for any council in the UK. Once up and running later this year, the plant will be used convert waste into energy and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill. It will also be used to produce biochar, a wonder substance that can be used for many different purposes.

A significant proportion of the council’s carbon emissions are produced by external contractors that it procures to deliver essential service such as social care. Shropshire is a large rural county and demand for social care is increasing, meaning more journeys and more miles to provide support and care for some of the county’s most vulnerable residents.

In order to address this, the council is improving its procurement processes, to ensure that environmental and social factors are considered when buying goods and services.

And the council is also developing a Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan, which will set out the council’s vision, objectives, and priorities for tackling climate change across the county.

Ian Nellins, Shropshire Council’s deputy leader and Cabinet member for climate change, said:

“We are proud to be one of the few councils in the country to report on our carbon emissions and to have set ourselves a challenging target of net zero by 2030.

“We recognise that we have a lot of work to do to achieve this, especially in the light of the 6% increase in our emissions in 2022-23. However, we are not disheartened by this, as we know that many of the factors that contributed to this increase were beyond our control and related to the unprecedented circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are confident that we have taken the right steps to reduce our emissions in the long term and that we have a clear plan of action to deliver on our net zero commitment. We are also determined to work with our partners and communities to make Shropshire a greener and more sustainable place for everyone.”