A decade ago, global warming was only a concern for hardcore environmentalists. Today, few people doubt the threat it poses.
Most councils are aware that careful consideration of the way in which their activities are carried out could play a major role in cutting carbon emissions.
So far, 230 local authorities have signed up to the Nottingham Declaration, which pledges to actively combat climate change, and all Scottish and Welsh authorities have signed up to similar pledges.
No-one is suggesting there are easy answers, and there is no statutory guidance for local government, despite its key role. But mainstreaming carbon reduction by taking a corporate approach to sustainability, designing local services so they are brought closer to local people, and taking environmental issues into account during procurement decisions will all contribute to a draft Climate Change Bill target to reduce national carbon emissions by 60% by 2050.
The first step is assessing your council’s current carbon footprint, and while the vast array of local government’s services and responsibilities make gauging the emissions they produce a complex task, it is possible to establish the carbon consequence of miles travelled, energy consumed, work patterns and procurement policies for most activities.
The Government is now introducing a personal carbon calculator to allow individuals to measure their carbon footprint. Tools such as the University of East Anglia’s carbon counting system exist for local communities. And the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) is developing indicators which measure the carbon impact of specific local authority services through its Performance Network benchmarking model.
For example, APSE is working on benchmarking the ‘environmental impact’ of waste services in a way which balances factors such as landfill reduction achieved by recycling against miles travelled to collect recyclables.
And local authority catering managers will, for the first time this year, be asked to complete data on a ‘suite’ of environmental indicators looking at local food procurement, energy supply to school kitchens and procuring food deliveries through more sustainable logistics plans.
Considering carbon emissions when planning and delivering individual services will help. But the scale of the problem requires a holistic approach.
Making sustainability a corporate priority and using local government’s community leadership role will enable national policies such as the Government’s waste strategy, Energy White Paper and consultation on carbon reduction to be linked with local procurement, sustainable community plans, biodiversity targets and planting to offset emissions. There is no shortage of innovation in local government. Clackmannanshire is one of Scotland’s smallest councils, but its acclaimed Black Devon Wetland project saw the council save both money and carbon emissions. By purchasing poor-quality grazing land adjacent to a landfill restoration project, Clackmannanshire was able to save the carbon costs of transporting 100,000m3 of soil by road and reduce the cost of the landfill restoration by £244,000.
The Local Government White Paper suggested that Local Strategic Partnerships and Local Area Agreements could be used to address climate change holistically. Islington LBC, for example, has undertaken a carbon baseline study and set an LAA target to cut carbon emissions by 15% by 2010.
Another theme of the White Paper is devolution to the neighbourhood level and a natural way of cutting the local government carbon footprint is bringing services closer to the public.
Another important way in which local authorities can reduce their carbon footprint is by using their buying power for sustainable procurement. The UK Sustainable Procurement Strategy wants to see the £150bn of public sector expenditure used more effectively in developing environmental solutions.
In Hampshire, 11 councils have come together to create a market for renewable energy, and the first domestic wind turbine went into action recently.
The global scale of the problem is now obvious but there is a long way to go. The test now will be for Gordon Brown’s new government to drive forward the innovative practices that many local authorities have already started to develop. w
Paul O’Brien is chief executive of APSE
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