Reducing emissions from Council operations

Aspiration and approach

The Council's operations are a small percentage of the total greenhouse gas emissions in Gosport². However, the Council has full control over these emissions and a responsibility to lead by example by reducing these accordingly with a longer-term aspiration.

To reach this aspiration, the Council will aim to reduce measured emissions by at least 10% each year on average from a 2019/20 financial year baseline. While emissions reductions will fluctuate, with possible plateaus and abrupt reductions (reflecting technological advances or national policy), interim targets have been set to help monitor progress:

• Reduction of at least 67% compared to 2019/20 by 2029/30.
• Reduction of at least 89% compared to 2019/20 by 2039/40.

It is likely there will still be some residual emissions by 2049/50 which will need to be offset to reach net-zero, but the Council will aim to keep this as limited as possible.

 

Priorities and key aims

The Council's scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions are primarily from supported housing and operational buildings³ (see emissions reports for details) so these will be a priority for reduction effort.

The areas that are likely to contribute the most to scope 3 emissions will also be addressed: refuse collection, employee travel and procurement.

The key aims for each priority are set out below.

Priority	Short term (< 3 years)	Medium term (3 to 10 years)	Long term (> 10 years)
P1: Supported housing and operational buildings	CB1. Energy demand in operational buildings will be reduced through behaviour changes. CB2. No fossil-fuel based heating systems will be installed in new buildings. CB3. All new buildings will be as energy efficient as possible.	CB4. All Council managed buildings will be as energy efficient as possible. CB5. All suitable Council managed buildings will have solar panels.	CB6. No new fossil-fuel based heating systems will be installed in Council managed buildings.
P2: Refuse collection	CR1. Fuel used by diesel refuse collection vehicles will be minimised.	CR2. All refuse collection vehicles will use alternative fuels to minimise or eliminate emissions.	-
P3: Employee travel	CT1. Distances travelled by employees for work purposes will be minimised.	CT2. Use of sustainable travel options by employees will be significantly increased.	-
P4: Procurement	CP1. All new contracts will be awarded taking into account lifecycle emissions of products and services, and commitment of suppliers to achieve net-zero emissions.	CP2. The amount of material resources used by the Council will be minimised. CP3. Lifecycle emissions of material resources used by the Council will be minimised.	-

Further emissions reductions from these areas will be driven by Government policy, legislation and investment for decarbonisation; for example emissions from buildings will only reach zero after full decarbonisation of the UK's electricity grid.

Once major emission sources have been addressed, action for non-priority areas will be reflected in this strategy although if opportunities arise, actions will be included sooner (e.g. electric vehicles considered for purchase/lease when the present lease expires).

 

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Notes