Climate Change

Council continues to make progress on climate targets

Chesterfield Borough Council is continuing to make progress to its target of becoming a carbon neutral organisation by 2030 and carbon neutral borough by 2050 as its Climate Change Annual Report is published.

The annual report sets out the work the council has undertaken over 2023/24 to make progress towards its targets. In the last year the council has planted more than 5000 trees, invested almost £4 million of energy efficiency improvements in its properties, funded community projects, developed a plan to reduce emissions in operational buildings, established a new community-based Climate Forum and much more.

Councillor Martin Stone, cabinet member for climate change, planning and the environment, said: “In just the last year we have seen record breaking temperatures and severe flooding, both of which have deeply affected our communities and demonstrates why we must take action to reduce our emissions, and why we must do it now.

“Becoming carbon neutral is an ambitious task and the ongoing financial challenges the council faces make this even more difficult, but we are continuing to make the changes we need to and by setting out detailed objectives on an annual basis we are delivering real progress. In February we approved our next Climate Change Delivery Plan which is even more ambitious and will a further reduction in our emissions.

“I am proud of what we have achieved over the last year but there is still lots to do to reach our target of becoming a carbon neutral organisation by 2030.”
The annual delivery plans are built around the six themes set out in the council’s climate change strategy, including buildings and energy use, travel, green space and land use, communications and engagement, data and monitoring, and council influence.

Within each theme there are specific actions, in 2024/25 these include, strengthening measures which require contractors and suppliers to demonstrate their green credentials when being considered for work, starting work on the major decarbonisation of our operational buildings, continuing to provide support to the Chesterfield Climate Forum and taking steps to move to a low carbon vehicle fleet.
The council has just taken delivery of new electric cars that will be used to deliver the Chesterfield Careline service.

Councillor Martin Stone said: “Decarbonising our fleet is a difficult task, but it is important because transport is one of the largest sources of emissions. I’m looking forward to seeing how these new vehicles perform in our fleet, expanding the number of electric vehicles and looking at alternative fuels for some of our maintenance equipment.”

The council will be introducing more electric vehicles into the fleet over the summer and these will be used to deliver building cleaning, environmental protection, and housing services.
In the autumn the council will be trialling the use of hydrotreated vegetable oil to power vehicles like a road sweeper where electric alternatives are currently unavailable.

To read the full annual report and find out more about what the council is doing to meet its commitment to tackling climate change visit: www.chesterfield.gov.uk/climate-change

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Climate Change Forum to launch in Chesterfield

Chesterfield Borough Council is getting ready to launch a climate change forum and is looking for Chesterfield based representatives to get involved.

Climate change is a huge issue, and everyone has their own view on how Chesterfield Borough Council can make a difference in our communities. Therefore, if you are part of a community group or organisation and could spare a bit of time, the council wants to hear from you.

The forum is planned to launch in September and will meet in person around once each quarter.

The representatives involved will be asked to act as a sounding board, comment on current projects, suggest new ideas and help Chesterfield Borough Council to raise awareness about climate projects happening either through the council or locally. The plan is to create a wide consultative process, in which the council is working closely with a variety of community representatives.

No experience of climate projects is required, just an interest in helping to shape plans in relation to climate change in the future.

Councillor Martin Stone, cabinet member for climate change, planning and environment, said: “By joining the group you will have the opportunity to network, collaborate, and discuss how climate change will affect your communities of interest and what we can do to support an effective change across the borough.

“We always welcome new ideas and community views, so if you do run or attend a local interest group and would like to make a difference to Chesterfield and its future, consider applying to be a part of the climate forum.

“Taking action on climate change is a collaborative process, and we can work together to find new ways of making changes in our communities.”

The council launched a new seven-year climate change strategy (2023-2030) earlier this year that is based around several themes including: buildings and energy use, travel, green space, land use and offsetting carbon emissions. This is Chesterfield Borough Council’s formal commitment to putting climate change at the centre of everything it does, ensuring this is always considered as part of service output and decision-making processes.

The creation of the climate forum will help to build and shape the authority’s future plans and will allow it to get an insight into how community groups or organisations could play a part in the communication of messaging and get involved in climate projects.

Councillor Stone continued: “I’d like to encourage representatives from our communities to join us in progressing our efforts to becoming a carbon neutral organisation by 2030 and help to reach the goal of being a carbon neutral borough by 2050”.

If you would like to be part of the forum, please contact the climate change team at Chesterfield Borough Council via email climate@chesterfield.gov.uk.

The first session will contain a training element, so individuals are requested to get in touch with the team at their earliest convenience.

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Chesterfield residents, businesses and community groups encouraged to have their say on climate change

Residents, businesses and community groups across the borough are being invited to have their say on local plans to reduce the impact of climate change, as part of Chesterfield Borough Council’s ongoing commitment to tackle the climate emergency.

By taking part in the new survey, people can help shape the council’s next climate change strategy which will set out how the authority will continue to reduce its own environmental impact, while working with the community to lower emissions across the borough.

The updated strategy will build on the success of ambitious work already underway to help the council become a carbon neutral organisation by 2030, and to lay the groundwork for Chesterfield to become a carbon neutral borough by 2050.

Councillor Amanda Serjeant, deputy leader of Chesterfield Borough Council, said: “Since we declared a climate emergency in 2019, we have taken clear and effective action to lower the environmental impact of our services – focussing our efforts where we can make the biggest difference.

“This includes a £13.7m programme to reduce carbon emissions from our council homes, at least 1000 trees being planted each year since 2019, a switch to renewable energy purchases for electricity, and policies across the council which builds a consideration of climate change into all that we do.

“We’re now moving to the next phase of these plans and this updated strategy will underpin our ongoing efforts to achieve our robust targets – ensuring we continue to act now, to safeguard our future.”

Residents, businesses, or community groups can comment on the strategy themes by visiting the council’s website where they can find a background document, glossary, and link to the online survey until Monday 12 December.

Councillor Serjeant added: “The climate crisis is one of the biggest issues facing our communities, now and in the future and we know it’s important to local people and businesses. But we can’t tackle this alone. We need to work together to understand what we need to do and commit to taking further action in the areas we can make the most difference – such as how we use land and buildings across the borough, the transport networks we have and the amount of energy we all use.

“We’re urging residents, businesses and community groups across the borough to review and comment on our plans, to help make sure we create a borough which is safe and sustainable for everyone.”

The council is committed to work towards meeting the 2030 target by eliminating greenhouse gas emissions within its direct control and offsetting those emissions that cannot be eliminated by 2030. The council also aims to work with the community to support the transition to a carbon neutral borough by 2050 at the latest.

The first Climate Change Action Plan was officially adopted by the council in 2020 – and has made strong progress against the 45 actions which were identified for the council to take between 2019 and 2023.

The new strategy builds on these achievements and aims to ensure progress can be maintained to reach the target in 2030.

Annual delivery plans will be developed to support the new strategy and will also be shared with the community to comment on and get involved in the plans.

To take part in the survey please visit the council website before Monday 12 December: www.chesterfield.gov.uk/climate-survey

 

 

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