The latest Council Climate Scorecards are out from the Climate Emergency UK. This assesses all UK councils on the actions they have taken towards reaching net zero; based on actions between Jan 2019 and March 2023.
The results show, as we might expect, that no council is doing it perfectly. This isn’t a surprise as there’s a lot of pressure on local councils to deliver improved services while their budgets are cut year on year. Reaching net zero is also not an easy ask and council structures can be complex. Although operational footprints of councils are generally low they do have a large sphere of influence in their local area and so are important to be leading the way on net zero plans and actions.
The average score across all UK Councils came out as 35%. This ranges from Westminster City council at the top of the table with a score of 62% to Thurrock Council only scoring 9%.
Cheshire West & Chester (CW&C) declared a climate emergency in May 2019 and has set a target to reach net zero target by 2045 so is committed to reducing its impact. They scored a (just over) average total score of 36%, from the 7 score card areas (see table below).
The highest scoring of the 7 areas for CW&C was collaboration and engagement with 76% against a UK average of 53%. They are doing well in this area by lobbying government on climate action, providing behavioural change information for residents and partnering to influence governments on climate action.
Their lowest scoring area was Transport at 14%, where they received penalty points which brought them below the UK average of 22%. Penalty marks are given where the action the council has taken is contributing to higher carbon emissions. These were received for the questions:
- Has the council approved, expanded or build a high carbon transport project since 2019
- Do the nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and Fine Particle Matter (PM 2.5) levels in a significant proportion of neighbourhoods in the council area exceed the safe WHO Air quality guidelines.
You can check the pollution levels in your area at addresspollution.org
The Waste section scored 42%, which is above the 37% UK average. This is an area close to our hearts at Eco Communities and we hope we have been able to influence a little here. Whilst CW&C scored well for its commitment to sustainable food initiatives and its kerb side food recycling it received no points for the 3 questions around reducing single use plastic in its buildings and at external events on council land, property or public space whether they have taken steps to support a circular economy locally.
Let us know your thoughts on single use plastics at outdoor events in CW&C – join our Sustainable & Plastic Free Cheshire Facebook Page and complete our poll – JOIN HERE
Eco Communities have been supported with funding by the CW&C council over recent years for Cheshire Cup club and more recently to help introduce reusable half pint glasses to our plastic free event package.
This latest data shows that there are still lots more that we can hopefully work with the council on to reduce waste at local events and to increase the support for a local economy. Supporting Hoole lights and Ho Ho Helsby this festive season with our returnable hot and cold drinks cups, running a deposit scheme stall to help reduce single use plastics. Do you think CW&C should only agree a licence for outdoor events where returnable cups are used for hot and cold drinks?
To support these score cards Climate Emergency UK have also created a 15 ways to improve your councils climate action. Assessing this against what CWaC is doing it looks like they are doing well or making progress in over half of these 15 areas so there are 7 main areas of focus for the council:
- Extend Carbon Literacy training to all senior staff and councillors.
- Transition the council’s vehicle fleet to electric.
- Sets a requirement that all new build homes must be operationally (regulated) net zero.
- Require developers to carry out a whole life cycle carbon assessment of new build developments.
- Reduce single use plastic at external events on council land, property or public spaces such as roads and parks.
- Ensure schools have one complete vegetarian meal each week.
- Stop the use of pesticides on all council owned and managed land.
You can read more about the scorecards and how to encourage your local council to act here Council Climate Action Scorecards | Climate Emergency UK.
Sustainable Cheshire 