Climate Action
We have declared a climate emergency in 2019, and will:
- ensure our own operations and activities are carbon net zero by 2030
- do our part to support the district to become carbon net zero
For more details on how we intend to achieve this, see our Climate Action Framework and our Climate Action Plan (November 2024 to April 2026).
Greenhouse gas
Total emissions in 2023/24 increased from 4,071 tonnes of CO2e in 2022/23 to 4,119 tonnes of CO2e, an increase of 1.19% (49 tonnes of CO2e).
Chart: Total GHG emissions breakdown per sector and fuel type (tonnes CO2e).
Drivers of Change
The increased emissions were caused by increases in Corporate Electricity, Leisure Electricity, Leisure Gas, Business Travel and Water emissions (+155 tCO₂e), with roughly one-third of the rise (52.4 tCO₂e) linked to a 5% higher carbon intensity of the UK electricity grid compared to 2022/23.
Additionally, a significant increase in leisure centre visitors (25,000+) contributed to higher electricity and gas usage in the leisure portfolio. These were not outweighed by Corporate Gas, Fleet and Landscape, and Corporate PV (-106 tCO₂e) and unfortunately decarbonisation equipment installed in 2022/23 did not deliver expected gas savings in the leisure portfolio.
This requires review and corrective action, which is under way and incorporated into the property capital programme alongside the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS4) programme.