Carbon emissions
The following summaries show a quarter-by-quarter view of emissions from April 2019 for the different Council activities responsible for direct CO2 emissions. They show both seasonal differences, e.g. energy consumption and emissions peak in winter, as well as overall trends.
Note: where emissions data for the latest quarter has to include some element of a best estimate, for example where accurate billing or monitoring data will become available in future periods, figures are marked as (p) for provisional; where emissions data for the past quarter is revised, on the basis of more accurate data becoming available, figures are marked as (r) for revised. As data is being verified for the whole year at the time of writing this report, figures are marked as (r) for multiple quarters.
Two years of data has been included as COVID-19 meant that emissions in 2020-21 were unusual and so, in some cases, it is more meaningful to compare Q1 in 2021-22 to Q1 in 2019-20, rather than to last year.
Two years of data has been included as COVID-19 meant that emissions in 2020-21 were unusual and so, in some cases, it is more meaningful to compare Q1 in 2021-22 to Q1 in 2019-20, rather than to last year.
Summary #1 Council buildings
At 4,310 tonnes Co2, emissions from energy use in Council buildings in Q1 2021-22 are 19% lower than in Q1 2019-20.
This reduction has been driven by the installation of energy efficiency measures and renewable energy generation capacity, and by the decarbonisation of the national grid.
Summary #2 Streetlights
At 380 tonnes Co2, emissions from streetlights are on a downward trend due to the large-scale retrofitting of LEDs over the last few years. Emissions in Q1 of 2021-22 are 16% lower than Q1 in the previous year and 54% lower than Q1 in 2019-20.
The streetlights replacement programme is now complete and so changes in future emissions will be driven by seasonal factors only.
Summary #3 Biffa Waste fleet
At 741 tonnes Co2, emissions from the waste fleet have remained relatively consistent over the past nine quarters.
Emissions are expected to fall at the end of 2021-22 when the full complement of electric refuse collection vehicles (eRCVs) will have been received and deployed.
Summary #4 Operational fleet
At 165 tonnes Co2, emissions from the Council’s operational fleet have reduced by 27% when compared to the same period in 2019-20. This is due to the fleet’s rolling replacement programme.
Summary #5 Business travel
Emissions from business travel by council officers and elected members reduced significantly throughout 2020-21 due to COVID-19 and the changes it created to working patterns, for example, online meetings.
At 741 tonnes Co2, emissions from business travel remain much lower than pre-COVID-19 levels but are showing an increase as we move out of lockdown.
In Q1 2021-22, six domestic flights were taken by Social Services for client work. Travel by rail and by car (staff mileage in their own vehicles, taxis and car clubs) is slightly higher than last quarter in response to the easing of lockdown restrictions.
Going forward we expect business travel to continue to increase; however, we also expect the Council’s new Sustainable Travel Policy - which comes into effect shortly – must encourage modal shift as we recognise the need to keep the increase in carbon emissions to a minimum.
Totals
The figures reflect the overall downwards trend seen here in summaries 1-5, alongside expected seasonal trends. The total emissions in Q1 2021-22 are 23% lower than the same period in 2019-20 (pre COVID-19)