Carbon emissions
Up to 2020
We reduced the Council's direct CO2 emissions by 54% in the ten years prior to 2020. The current Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP) has a target to reduce our direct emissions by a further 50% over the five-year period of 2020-25.
2020-25
The CCAP also sets a carbon budget of 119,988 tonnes of CO2 for the five-year period of 2020-25, which has been calculated using science-based targets. To stay within this carbon budget, and achieve the overall 50% reduction target, we must reduce our emissions by 13% every year, for five years.
Progress against budget
The budget for the period of this report (2020-21) was 31,099 tonnes of direct CO2 emissions. We emitted 25,501 tonnes of CO2, which is 82% of the available budget ie: less than the maximum cap for the year.
31,099 tonnes CO₂ – Emissions budget 2020-21
25,501 tonnes CO₂ – Emissions released 2020-21
These emissions are associated with Council buildings, streetlights, waste collection, operational fleet and staff travel. Alongside the carbon savings created by a range of proactive measures (detailed throughout this report) additional savings were delivered by the decarbonisation of the national grid and by the changes in Council operations brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Percentage reductions in emissions relevant to previous years
- 2018/19: -21.3%
- 2019/20: -13.2%
- 2020/21: - 21%
Breaking down our direct emissions
Buildings are the most significant contributor to the Council’s direct emissions (75%), followed by the waste collection fleet (12%) and streetlights (10%), all of which have been targeted for proactive change, which is detailed later in this report.
#1: Council buildings
Emissions from energy use in Council buildings have steadily declined over the twelve years since 2009-10 and (at 19,166 tonnes of CO2 in 2020-21) are now 60% lower.
Looking at the data for 2020-21 the total energy used (kilowatt hours of gas, electricity and oil) is 16% lower than the year before (-17.2 million kWh) and the resultant CO2 emissions are 20% lower than the year before (-4,904 tonnes of CO2); the latter figure being higher due to the decarbonisation of the national grid.
Reduced energy use has been driven by the proactive installation of energy efficiency measures and renewable energy generation capacity across the Council’s estate, plus the decarbonisation of the national grid and changes to building use during the pandemic.
#2: Streetlights
Emissions from streetlights have significantly reduced over the past three years due to the large-scale retrofitting of LED lightbulbs. At 2,429 tonnes CO2 in 2020-21, emissions are 85% lower than in 2009-10. The streetlights replacement programme was completed in 2020-21 and the full impact of this work will be seen in 2021-22.
The total energy used by streetlights (kilowatt hours of electricity) in 2020-21 was 26% lower than the previous year (-3.3 million KWh) and the resultant emissions are 32% lower (-1,150 tonnes CO2), again the difference is due to the decarbonisation of the national grid.
#3: Waste fleet
Emissions from our waste fleet have remained relatively consistent since Biffa began delivering our household refuse collection and street cleansing services in 2015. As part of this change, 28 road sweepers and 40 refuse collection vehicles were transferred from Manchester City Council to Biffa and the emissions from this equipment transferred from operational fleet to waste collection.
At 2,991 tonnes of CO2, emissions from the waste collection fleet in 2020-21 are 3% lower (-86 tonnes CO2) than in the previous year (2019-20). Our £9.8million investment in new electric refuse collection vehicles (eRCVs) will convert 50% of the fleet to electric over the course of next year (2021-22), which will reduce emissions as the vehicles are received and deployed.
#4: Operational fleet
Emissions from our operational fleet have reduced by 78% over the last twelve years. In 2020-21 they were 20% lower (-162 tonnes of CO2) than in the previous year (2019-20), Changes to operational activities caused by the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to this reduction, alongside switching some fleet vehicles to electric.
#5: Staff travel
There has been a 63% reduction in emissions from business travel in 2020-21 (-481 tonnes CO2) compared to 2019-20. COVID-19 forced significant changes to working patterns, which has contributed to this reduction eg: using video conferencing for meetings.
The miles travelled by car (eg: mileage in staff's own vehicles, taxis or car club) reduced by 52% compared to the previous year, and miles travelled by rail and air were down by 93% and 94% respectively. All air travel was undertaken by Social Services in relation to client work, such as health and safety foster carer assessments, which needed to be done face to face.
Total emissions
The Council’s total emissions over the last twelve years reflect the overall downward trends seen in the different workstream.
At 25,501 tonnes of CO2, emissions in 2020-21 were 21% lower (-6,783 tonnes CO2) than in the previous year (2019-20), and 63% lower than in 2009-10.
A detailed review of emissions data for 2009-10 to 2017-18 took place in April 2021, which resulted in a few minor amendments being made to increase the accuracy of reporting. The impact of these amendments is that the Council’s emissions reduced by 1,265 tonnes of CO2 over this twelve-year period, equivalent to a -0.23% change.