Issue - meetings

(Report of the Leader of the Council)

Report of the Leader of the Council to update Cabinet on progress made towards achieving Net Zero Carbon.

The Chair of the Infrastructure Safety & Growth Scrutiny Committee updated Cabinet to make recommendations to it following consideration of matters by the Infrastructure Safety & Growth Scrutiny Committee

At its meeting on 26th September 2022, the Infrastructure Safety & Growth Scrutiny Committee received the Net Zero Carbon – baseline reporting item.  This item is due to be considered by Cabinet at its meeting on 20th October 2022.

Following its consideration of the above item, the Infrastructure Safety & Growth Scrutiny Committee endorsed the baseline assessment and agreed to add a timescale to the report’s recommendation regarding the preparation of an Action Plan and accordingly the committee made the recommendation to Cabinet as set out below.

Recommendation

Net Zero Carbon – baseline reporting

The Committee RESOLVED it recommend to Cabinet that an Action Plan be prepared by 31 December 2024.

(Moved by Councillor S Goodall and seconded by Councillor S Peaple)

The Chair asked that it be noted that a letter as been forwarded by the MP regarding the third phase of the public de-carbonisation scheme  the MP added he will support any bids from Tamworth Borough Council.  (Letter attached)

(Report of the Leader of the Council)

The Chair invited the Leader of the Council and the Assistant Director, Regeneration and Growth to introduce the Net Zero Carbon – baseline report.

The Assistant Director highlighted that the baseline report had been commissioned following a competitive tender around a year ago and the Consultants were in attendance to provide an overview of the findings of the report to the meeting.

The Consultants explained the following aspects from the baseline report:

1.    Key definitions used;

2.    An overview of the declarations of net zero emissions made by local authorities across the United Kingdom

3.    The Declaration made by Tamworth Borough Council to make the Council’s activities net-zero carbon by 2050 with aspiration to achieve that by 2030 should the council be financially able to do so;

4.    The process followed by the Consultants to compile the evidence base;

5.    The areas of emissions within scope, which included council owned operational buildings, the communal areas of council owned property, relevant streetlighting, waste, the council fleet and other forms of council travel and direct emissions from specific suppliers;

6.    The process undertaken to collect the relevant data;

7.    The baseline data for 2019/20 where the two key areas identified as the largest sources of emissions were building related and related to the council waste collection service;

8.    Recommendations for improving the evidence base, in terms of collecting data from missing sources, for example working from home emissions and better seeking improved data from procurement activities.

9.    In terms of Housing, energy efficiency and decarbonisation of housing stocks was reported to be a thread of housing management over a 30 year plan, and it would be important to have projects ready to move as funding became available from central Government

10.In terms of non-domestic council building, the importance of undertaking an energy audit of the estate and to explore the building stock required.

11.In terms of business transport and travel where the core objective would be to  reduce the number and distance of such journeys and replacing short journeys with alternative methods of travel; cycle and walking and use of public transport.

12.In terms of leisure and street lighting, the programme to replace street lights with LED lights would positively impact, and whilst the council did not operate leisure services currently if it did this would tend to be a large contributor to emissions and would need to be accounted for.

13.In terms of waste this was a significant part of the carbon baseline and a shared service with Lichfield District Council and therefore recommendations would be to work jointly.  Areas to consider; the transport side looking at ultra low vehicles and ensuring any depot had the ability to charge those vehicles and to look at the location of the depot to minimise emissions to the joint service, and also to consider other areas of waste recycling which could be available.

14.In terms of procurement, to look at working with neighbouring authorities to increase purchasing power in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46