South Derbyshire’s Climate Change Plan is best District Council in the East Midlands
South Derbyshire District Council’s Climate Action Plan is the highest scoring District Council in the East Midlands in a report released by Climate Emergency UK.
The Council’s plan scored 70 per cent, well above the average of 43 per cent for district and borough councils, placing it in joint ninth out of all district and borough councils in the UK.
Climate Emergency UK have published the Council Climate Plan Scorecards, their assessment of councils’ Climate Action Plans where each council is given an overall percentage and a ‘scorecard’.
The scorecard shows results from themes including governance, mitigation, targets, diversity, inclusion, education and training.
South Derbyshire District Council’s plan received top marks for ‘Measuring and setting emissions targets’, as it ‘clearly measured current carbon emissions in the District and set emissions targets for the whole district’ and ‘highlighted action areas for emissions reductions and not simply carbon offsetting.’
South Derbyshire District Council is one of only 86 councils scored to have a net-zero target of 2030 or earlier.
The Council’s plan also scored highly on ‘Governance, development and funding’ because it contained ’clearly identified high level responsibility in the organisation’ and ‘included science backed net-zero targets’ and ‘set out a plan for funding and costing.’
Communications and community engagement was also commended.
Councillor Kevin Richards, Leader of South Derbyshire District Council said: “As a Council we are committed to meeting our carbon neutral ambitions and I am pleased that our Climate Action Plan has scored highly by a respected independent body.
“Having a robust plan that is fit it for purpose is a vital ingredient to successfully reaching any target. We have, and will, continue to be determined to bring life to the plan in terms of real actions and initiatives that benefit residents and businesses across South Derbyshire.
“We made some great strides in delivering our Climate Action Plan last year and this will continue in 2022”
Over the last year the Council has appointing a climate and environment officer, developed a new climate web page, improved its procurement tendering process, delivered environmental awareness training, business support and open days.
£170,000 of government grants has been spent on a Property Flood Resilience Recovery Support Scheme and the Council has ensured that 99.8% of the 5,000 private rented properties in the District meet new Energy Efficiency Regulations.
In June, the Council installed 16 new electric vehicle ‘fast’ charging points.
Councillor Kevin Richards added: “Through the hard work and dedication of Council officers and by working alongside our partners and residents we can reflect on some successful achievements from the last 12 months.
“However, there is still lots of work to do and things that we need to put in place. We are looking to install a further 16 electric vehicle charge-points and conducting a review of all our car parks to identify further electric charging opportunities.
“We are procuring two new refuse collection vehicles fitted with electric tail lifts and implementing route optimisation for all Council fleet vehicles.
“The above are just a handful of other efficiencies and bidding opportunities we are exploring. The plans we are working on give me great confidence that this year we will continue to see positive changes within South Derbyshire, and these will help us move closer to meeting our net carbon targets in 2030.
“The fact our plans have scored so highly by Climate Emergency UK is a further boost.”
To view the Climate Emergency UK’s scorecard, please visit: https://councilclimatescorecards.uk/. You can view South Derbyshire’s Climate Action Plan here.
28 January 2022