Elmbridge Council Ten Year Carbon Management & Reduction Plan

On Wednesday 30 September, Elmbridge Borough Council approved an ambitious ten-year action plan of projects and activities in order to become a carbon neutral organisation by 2030.

Councillor Mary Marshall, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for the Environment recognises the crucial role Elmbridge Borough Council can play in mitigating climate change and acting as a role model to the community,

“With this action plan Elmbridge Borough Council is committing to ‘getting its own house in order’ leading the way in reducing carbon emissions in the coming years. This action plan is ambitious, and shows where we must tackle carbon emissions, reducing them across our operations where possible. We will start by focusing on actions we can achieve in the short term. We are considering solar photovoltaic on council owned buildings; the electrification of our fleet and we are carefully analysing the carbon impact on key decisions going forward. This plan and its progress will be monitored annually and reported back to our residents.”

Following the declaration of a ’climate emergency’ in July 2019, Elmbridge Borough Council has taken steps to assess its own carbon footprint. Based on this work and recommendations received by ‘The Carbon Trust’, it was on this basis the ambitious ten-year action plan was produced – guiding the way to become a carbon neutral organisation.

The action plan has been developed in close collaboration with the Portfolio Holder for the Environment, Councillor Mary Marshall and officers from across the organisation, who jointly worked together to prioritise and assess any suggested carbon reduction actions, while taking into consideration the Council’s capital plan. The actions in the plan focus on Elmbridge Borough Council’s own operations. The plan proposes carbon reduction actions in the following areas:

Organisation Emissions; proposing actions such as solar photovoltaic installations
Transport and Air Quality; proposing a shift to a fully electric council fleet
Housing and Planning; proposing to engage with homeowners, landlords and residents to promote retrofitting measures and funding opportunities
Buildings and Infrastructure; making sustainability and carbon considerations integral in the development of the new Local Plan
Monitoring and Evaluation; monitoring operational carbon emissions and reporting on progress
Carbon Offsetting; proposing to consider offsetting unavoidable carbon emissions.

Furthermore, Elmbridge Borough Council endorsed Surrey’s Climate Change Strategy’s ambitions and priorities and will continue to work with partners in order to identify and implement projects to become a carbon neutral county by 2050.

https://www.elmbridge.gov.uk/news/becoming-carbon-neutral/

https://www.elmbridge.gov.uk/news/climate-emergency-update/

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