City of York Council has published its first-ever Annual Carbon Emissions Report ahead of the next phase of reducing the carbon emissions of the organisation to net zero.
The report is ready for scrutiny committee members to discuss on 12 October 2021, with a final report published at a later date for the Executive Member for Environment and Climate Change Decision Session on 10 November 2021.
Annual reporting will now take place every year to monitor the council’s corporate progress to reduce its carbon emissions to net zero by 2030. The report identifies priority areas for decarbonisation, as well as some of the key steps already taken by the council to reduce its carbon footprint.
The report currently focuses on scope 1 and 2 emissions, such as corporate vehicles and purchased energy, which are directly under the control of the council, rather than the city as a whole. The publishing of council corporate emissions is part of the evidence base that will support the city’s first Climate Change Strategy due to be published early next year.
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Cllr Paula Widdowson, executive member for environment and climate change, said: “We all have a part to play in reducing our carbon emissions and creating a carbon net-zero York. The council represents less than 4% of the city’s total emissions and is committed to being carbon net-zero by 2030.
“I’m pleased to see that our next steps for decarbonisation have been mapped out, so we can look to tackle the biggest emitters that remain across the organisation and encourage our staff and residents to consider their energy usage at home.”
In the report, the council identifies that its fleet and gas consumption account for over 98% of corporate emissions. To reduce these emissions the council has developed a four-year fleet replacement programme to swap all combustion engine vehicles for electric vehicles by 2024.
Replacements have already begun with zero-emission ‘eCollect’ refuse collection vehicles (eRCVs) known locally as ‘Thundertrucks’. Thundertrucks are used six days a week on commercial waste collections across the city with zero emissions and quieter operations.
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Across York, transport is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions, at 27.9%. To support the ambition of York becoming a net zero carbon city by 2030, the council has launched a range of initiatives to support residents and businesses to reduce emissions.
These include Tier e-scooter and e-cycle trials across the city, as well as the recently announced Active Travel Programme 2021, which aims to support residents to walk or cycle when making shorter trips across the city. The council is also preparing to open Hyper-Hubs across three of the city’s park and ride sites to boost EV charging provision.
