FIGURES published last week by Climate Emergency UK, indicate a year on year drop for Wiltshire Council in their latest assessment of UK councils’ environmental performance - but, Wiltshire Council say this score is misleading and they are overall, 'pleased to be above the national average'.
Climate Emergency UK launched ther Climate Action Scorecards scheme in 2022, and in this second year scored councils using 91 questions across seven sections which are: Buildings and Heat; Transport; Planning; Governance and Finance; Biodiversity; Collaboration and Engagement; and Waste Reduction and Food. has scored above average compared to other local authorities in the Climate Emergency UK’s Council Climate Action Scorecards.
Scorecards for this year have assessed local authorities on their overall climate actions, whereas the previous year focused on climate strategies only.
The 2022 results, based solely on the written PLAN for climate action saw Wiltshire scoring an impressive 81% - ranking as the 5th highest unitary council. Results for 2023 show Wiltshire with an overall score of 40% - still above the average of (35%) for single tier councils, but the overall ranking fell to 57th out of 176 councils.
Wiltshire Climate Alliance have said ‘Delivering real change in carbon impact is much more difficult than writing a plan’.
However, Wiltshire Council have said that the original information released placed Wiltshire Council in a league table alongside London borough authorities or city unitaries, but this is not comparable. Wiltshire Council has now been correctly categorised as an ‘urban with rural areas; single tier authority’ and is ranked fifth in the UK. Among single tier authorities the council excelled under the areas of building and heating (the council scored 72% when the average was 47% and collaboration and engagement (the council scored 75% when the average was 53%). The council was scored average for Planning and Land with 35% and well above average for Governance Finance (41% score against 23% average). The council was also above average on the biodiversity section (31% against 27% but below average on transport and waste.
Cllr Nick Holder, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, said: “Overall we’re pleased to be above the national average in comparison to our local authority peers according to this snapshot data, but we are wary that league tables have to be taken with a pinch of salt as direct comparisons with local authorities of different shapes and sizes can produce varying results.
“We are proud of the huge amounts of work we’ve put into this challenging area and the great strides we have undoubtedly taken. It’s clear in looking at the scorecards across the board from other authorities that there are clear and common challenges to overcome.
“However, our careful planning, underpinned by our Business Plan and Climate Strategy, keeps us on track and confident that we’re making excellent progress. There’s always more to be done and we’ll take any lessons from the scorecard assessment, particularly where we fell below the average, and continue to work hard internally and externally to make a positive difference.
“As per our recent six-month update to Cabinet and Full Council on our ongoing response to the climate emergency, we are working on a huge number of projects that will reduce the council’s own carbon footprint as well as that of the county’s, and we remain committed to driving this work forward. That’s demonstrated by the fact that the amount of renewable energy produced on our own estate has trebled in the last year alone.
“As an organisation, we are on track to being carbon neutral by 2030 and we’ll continue to look at ways to help the county and set an example for others to follow. As we’ve always said though, this is not a responsibility we can carry alone but we’re committed to doing what we can to lead the way.”
At recent Cabinet and Full Council meetings, Wiltshire Council presented its six-month update on its response to the climate emergency. The council confirmed that it was on track to be a carbon neutral organisation and that the amount of renewable energy produced on its own estate has trebled in the last year from 550,000 kWh in 2021-22 to 1,745,060 kWh in 2022-23. This helps the council to be more self-sufficient, reducing its overall energy bill and adds more renewables into the electricity system. In addition, council carbon emissions have been reduced below the target for 2022/23 (3750t CO2e). This, and the many programmes and projects under way all contribute to the council being on track to be carbon neutral by the start of the next decade.
Looking ahead, the council will continue to develop a strategy for offsetting greenhouse gas emissions, due to be delivered in 2024, and look at climate risk and resilience and development Adaptation Action Plans in 2024. A key area of work is carbon literacy and embedding climate considerations into all areas of the council’s service delivery, procurement and supply chains.
In addition to the scorecard, in November 2022 Wiltshire Council invited the Local Government Association to carry out a Corporate Peer Challenge. Among the feedback provided earlier this year, it said the council is excelling in work to address climate change – “The council’s work to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change is impressive, with many activities that would be considered exceptional in other organisations being seen very much as the ‘day job’.”
To view all the scorecard information and read more about the work of Climate Emergency UK visit them here.
More information about Wiltshire’s Climate Strategy can be found at www.wiltshire.gov.uk/article/1004/Climate-strategy.
If people want advice and support on what they can do to make a difference, they should visit www.wiltshire.gov.uk/climate-change-individual.
