Climate change and related environmental issues pose a very real threat to the future of our communities.

In 2019 the council declared a Climate Emergency and with support from members of the local community this led to the creation of our first Climate Change Action Plan.

This action plan listed 45 actions to undertake during 2019 to 2023. Since approval of the action plan by full council in February 2020, the council has been busy:

Homes and buildings

• a £13.7m programme of carbon emission reduction improvements to council homes is in progress
• approximately £1.5m of funding is being used to improve the energy rating of private rented sector and privately owned homes with energy ratings of D or below through Green Homes Grant
• sustainability and climate change is a central theme of the latest Local Plan, which includes provision to require electric vehicle charging, a higher water efficiency standard, biodiversity net gain, and a requirement for a sustainability statement for developments

Transport

• the most recent Local Plan prioritises walking and cycling
• a borough-wide integrated transport assessment is underway
• we’re working on a plan of further investment in decarbonised fleet vehicles for staff to use around the borough

Power and electricity

• all light fittings in and on council operational buildings are being replaced with LED units at end of life
• we have switched to a renewable energy supplier for all electricity purchases

Agriculture and land use

• a tree canopy cover assessment has been undertaken to better understand where our most valuable trees are, and where there are gaps; this is being followed up with a more detailed piece of work looking at the value of trees within the borough, and further tree planting options across the borough
• we have reduced mowing of verges by more than 50% since 2017 in order to help local wildlife
• we have planted almost 6000 trees over the life of the plan
• the council is a key delivery partner for Derbyshire Wildlife Trust’s rewilding funding which includes planting on council land as well as wider habitat management outcomes

Waste and consumption

• plans are in place to develop a waste policy that reflects the challenges of waste and recycling, the government are developing changes to national policy around waste and recycling we are awaiting more details before finalising our policy
• we are promoting community sharing and reuse schemes and working to develop further plans
• we are developing educational materials for schools on sustainable waste management

Industry and business

• we have developed a sustainability business award in partnership with Destination Chesterfield
• we are working with Destination Chesterfield and internally within the council to set up mentoring and support networks to support businesses wanting to reduce emissions

Policy and communications

• we have ensured all council reports now include climate change impact assessments
• we developed a process to use Community Infrastructure Levy funding to support community led climate projects
• we developed a climate action brand that can be used by the community and council to support events and activities that will help reduce the borough’s carbon emissions
• we are committed to carbon accounting within the council

Together the actions within this plan have led to a reduction in the organisation’s emissions by about one third.