8. Carbon Management Action Plan
Based on the preceding analysis, below are high-level short, medium and long term actions to reduce internal emissions for ADC, subject to funding and available resources. Actions related to monitoring and data improvements to enact and fulfil the CMP are included in Section 10.
High level actions to reduce ADC emissions
Fleet use
- Increase the share of ADC’s ULEV fleet, including the share of electric machinery, such as strimmers and lawn mowers.
- Timescale: Medium term
- Conduct a fleet management review and use to improve the efficiency of Council fleet including an in-depth assessment into key fleet use sectors: Waste, Environment and Housing.
- Timescale: Short term
- Investigate further use of telematics to inform behaviour change campaigns.
- Timescale: Short term
Gas and electricity consumption
- Reduce energy consumption, particularly gas, for example through employee behavioural change campaigns and investment in new technologies.
- Timescale: Medium term
- Ensure ADC’s estate is as energy efficient as possible, including through invest to save practices where available (e.g. SALIX finance)
- Timescale: Medium term
- Increase the proportion of renewable energy generation to help decarbonise heating for the ADC estate (e.g. shift away from gas heating sources to heat pumps), and maintain these to ensure operating effectively. Recommendations were included for 6 archetype properties as part of the energy audits.
- Timescale: Medium term
- Install solar PV systems at Hucknall Leisure Centre and Lammas Leisure Centre, as outlined in the NCC Solar feasibility studies
- Timescale: Medium term
- Install solar PV on all viable ADC properties. Preliminary proposals completed by NCC Energy Services and summarised in Section 7 outline some properties where solar may be feasible.
- Timescale: Medium term
- Investigate electricity storage for the ADC estate to allow maximum use of locally generated energy.
- Timescale: Medium term
- Ensure low cost technologies, for example replacing any residual non-LED lighting as suggested in the NCC Energy Services audits, are rolled out across ADC’s estate to reduce energy use.
- Timescale: Medium term
Fugitive emissions
- Consider creating guidance for use of air conditioning systems in ADC buildings and vehicles.
- Timescale: Medium term
Procurement of Good and Services, and Capital Goods
- Assess ADC’s procurement framework to include considerations of travel distances, methods of transport and fuel type to transport goods and services to the Council.
- Timescale: Medium term
- Promote low carbon and sustainable procurement, including the addition of required net-zero and sustainability related questions and KPIs. Consider review of Contract Procedure Rules/Sustainability Policy, and implement Procurement Guidance.
- Timescale: Medium term
- Investigate the potential to include technologies to improve water efficiency, such as rainwater harvesting, grey water systems, and water efficient technologies.
- Timescale: Short term
- Improve behaviours to reduce water demand, for example through behavioural change campaigns
- Timescale: Short term
Waste Generated in Operations
- Reduce the total volume of waste generated where possible through greater reuse, and behavioural change campaigns
- Timescale: Medium term
- Investigate why there has been significant increases in total volume of depot non-household waste, and aim to reduce and reuse where possible.
- Timescale: Medium term
- Investigate the potential to increase water reuse, for example through grey water recovery systems to reduce wastewater
- Timescale: Short term
- Investigate ways to eliminate the remaining waste going to landfill and implement into ADC policy
- Timescale: Long term
Business Travel
- Consider ULEV pool cars for business travel use and other carbon reduction options.
- Timescale: Medium term
- Encourage, and assist (where possible) low carbon modes of business travel (e.g. train travel compared to single occupancy car travel).
- Timescale: Medium term
Employee Commuting
- Promote car sharing to reduce single occupancy car journeys.
- Timescale: Medium term
- Increase the number of available electric vehicle charging points for council staff and prioritise ULEV car parking spaces.
- Timescale: Short term
- Continue to refine the ‘agile’ agenda to reduce the need to commute (e.g. home/flexi working) and the need to travel for business (e.g. conference calls).
- Timescale: Short term
- Assess ways to promote low/zero carbon methods of transport for staff e.g. increase the number of places for safe cycle storage and assess the available public transport services.
- Timescale: Short term
Investments
- As the largest proportion of ADC’s emissions, consider undertaking a detailed analysis of investment emissions.
- Timescale: Medium term
- Investigate ways to reduce investment emissions (for example sector investing in) and implement into ADC policy.
- Timescale: Long term
Additional Council Actions
- Consider establishing Green Champions who actively promote actions towards ADC’s carbon reduction ambitions within their own work and service area.
- Timescale: Short term
- Carry out Carbon Literacy/Awareness Training for ADC employees.
- Timescale: Short term
- Assess alternative investment/income sources for taking climate action e.g. Carbon offset funds and green bonds/investment.
- Timescale: Short term
Area Wide Actions
- Implement Towns Fund or other funding projects to facilitate improved infrastructure, including encouraging increased walking and cycling, investigating methods of reducing transport emissions within the ADC area, such as increasing the uptake of active travel, reducing the need to travel by car, reviewing the available public transport and improving low carbon transport infrastructure provisions (E.g. EV charging and cycle lanes).
- Timescale: ongoing
- Reduce the amount of waste generated in the area (E.g. Reuse, reduce and recycle), alongside eliminating waste going to landfill, refining the Council’s approach to waste to ensure it meets the Government’s Waste Strategy, and aim to exceed 2023 targets.
- Timescale: ongoing
- Conclude the development of, and implement, the Local Plan, incorporating Climate Change requirements.
- Timescale: ongoing
- Improve the energy efficiency of Council and private buildings (commercial & households), reduce energy demand and increase the uptake of low carbon or renewable heating sources; including bidding for relevant funding to facilitate.
- Timescale: ongoing
- Conclude the completion of the Environmental Charter.
- Timescale: ongoing
- Encourage and assist (where possible) increase of local, affordable and accessible low carbon and renewable energy generation across the ADC area.
- Timescale: ongoing
- Investigate methods of removing carbon from the atmosphere, such as tree planting and woodland management.
- Timescale: ongoing
- Investigate potential actions to ensure resilience to future climate change impacts (e.g. floods and heatwaves).
- Timescale: ongoing
- Investigate ways to improve biodiversity across the area, such as creating a bee friendly district, improving habitat networks, increasing woodland cover and eco-friendly agricultural practices.
- Timescale: ongoing