What are we doing in Conwy?
We have made a net zero plan that says how we aim to become a net zero council by 2030.
The Council has set up the Climate Challenge Programme to deliver our vision to lead our communities in delivering a net carbon zero county.
The programme objectives are to:
- reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the Council’s estate, fleet, staff commuting, business travel, supply chain and street lighting to achieve net zero emissions
- offset the remaining emissions by 2030
- develop and implement a local area energy plan for Conwy County by 2030
We have set up 8 projects to deliver the decarbonisation plan.
Climate Challenge Programme: projects
Each project focusses on an area that generates emissions and will look to change the way we deliver services to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Buildings
We will make improvements to buildings to reduce energy consumption.
Update: We are using energy data to develop a decarbonisation strategy for Council buildings.
Staff travel
We will work develop a workplace travel plan to reduce the number of business and commuting miles travelled and encourage staff to reduce their commuting miles and choose low carbon and active travel commuting options.
Update: We have carried out a travel survey to capture staff commuting and business travel choices. We will collate this information periodically to keep information relating to staff travel behaviours and working practices up to date and consider current and future working models.
We have developed staff travel guidance and promoted this to all council staff to encourage more low carbon travel.
Carbon offsetting
We will use opportunities for carbon offsetting on Council owned land.
Update: We are collecting data to establish the impact of urban trees on Conwy County Borough Council’s carbon footprint, including the estimated canopy cover, urban tree species, diameter and height. We are developing a method to capture the required tree data for all tree planting schemes in Conwy.
We have constructed a tree nursery to facilitate growing locally-harvested trees and seek to maximise harvesting species with the greatest carbon absorption potential.
Since the Council declared its Climate Emergency in May 2019, an additional 2,073 trees have been planted in Conwy County.
3 new areas of land have been identified for development to enhance its sequestration rate.
Fleet
We will reduce emissions from fuel use in the fleet by using electric vehicles.
Update: We have installed electric vehicle charging infrastructure at 3 Council sites, Builder Street depot, Bron y Nant depot and Blackmarsh Road, giving a total of 18 charge points.
We have taken delivery of 4 electric recycling vehicles and they are in frontline service. The remaining electric recycling vehicles are due to arrive in the next 12 months.
We are investigating additional sources of funding to replace more fleet vehicles with low carbon alternatives.
Local area energy plan
We will develop a plan to decarbonise the energy system within Conwy County.
Update: The final plan has been produced and received democratic approval from Economy & Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee and Cabinet.
The local area energy plan delivery programme is complete. We are discussing with Ambition North Wales Energy team a way forward to deliver the 7 interventions proposed in the plan.
Street lighting
We will reduce emissions from street lighting using low carbon technology.
Update: The Street Lighting LED Carbon Reduction Project objectives have been delivered, with all street lighting lanterns replaced with LEDs where possible.
Supply chain
We will work with suppliers to decarbonise Conwy’s supply chain.
Update: We are analysing spend data and the carbon impact of the Council’s key suppliers including supplier location, supplier type and spending department.
The Corporate Procurement Strategy has been reviewed and now includes reducing carbon emissions as a priority.
Questions are being drafted for potential suppliers to establish how they monitor their carbon emissions.
Public Electric Vehicle charging project
We will produce a strategy for public electric vehicle (EV) charging facilities in Conwy County that will make sure there is a coordinated county-wide approach to EV charging.
Update: Sites are currently being profiled as potential public EV charging locations.
The project team is preparing a strategic report setting out how we will deliver EV charging in public places.