Zero carbon strategy

Our Zero Carbon Strategy [PDF, 5.5MB] started in May 2020. This plan will help our community reduce carbon emissions and protect the environment.

Zero carbon, or net zero, means no longer adding to the total amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Our plan to reduce our council's carbon footprint

We have set out the following plan to reduce our carbon footprint:

improve the energy efficiency of our office building by installing renewable energy technologies
replace our vehicles, including bin lorries, with low or zero-carbon vehicles.

In order to reduce our carbon footprint, have set out the following goals:

based on emissions in 2019, we plan to reduce our carbon emissions by 45% by 2025
based on emissions in 2019, we plan to reduce our carbon emissions by 75% by 2030
we aim to reduce our carbon emissions to zero by 2050.

Our plan to reduce South Cambridgeshire’s carbon footprint

Transport

Transport is responsible for around 50% of all emissions in South Cambridgeshire. In order to help reduce these emissions, we want to achieve the following:

improve walking, cycling, and public transport between villages and workplaces
make sure new homes and jobs can be easily reached by low carbon travel options
install electric vehicle charging points
urge taxis to switch to electric vehicles
plan new transport routes like the East-West rail line to help the environment.

Homes

In South Cambridgeshire, 20% of carbon emissions come from new homes. To help reduce these emissions, we plan to:

create planning guidelines that outline how to cut carbon emissions from new homes
improve our existing council housing to lower emissions and cut costs.

Businesses

Businesses emit 30% of all carbon emissions in our district. To help reduce these missions, we plan to:

advise businesses in our district on how they can improve their energy efficiencies
help businesses to invest in renewable technologies.

For more information for businesses please visit our webpage.

Support for Communities

With local communities, we plan to:

upgrade 1,800 streetlights to save electricity and money
offer grants and advice for community-led projects that will reduce carbon emissions.

Tree planting

We will find areas to plant trees and create new habitats to offset carbon emissions.

The resources used for our Zero Carbon Strategy are:

Annual Greenhouse Gas Emission Reports

We track our progress to net zero through annual greenhouse gas emissions reports. Our Climate and Environment Advisory Committee and internal audit team review these reports. Below are our reports from previous years.

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