With just five months to go until the carbon reduction commitment (CRC) takes effect, the vast majority of local authorities are still not ready for the deadline next April, despite the advanced warnings.
A recent survey by the Carbon Trust Standard shows that a mere 1% of local authorities feel they are fully prepared for the introduction of the new government scheme in the spring, although 63% of councils have undergone some form of assessment to participate in the scheme and 47% said they are either mostly prepared or ready to some extent for the scheme.
The survey shows that councils are worried about both financial resources and political backing, with 40% of those in the survey saying it was proving hard to reduce their carbon footprint without financial incentives. A quarter also cited a lack of willingness from local politicians on this issue.
The main aim of the research was to explore the challenges faced by local authorities in meeting new government requirements on carbon reduction targets, including the CRC and other targets.
Harry Morrison
Harry Morrison, general manager of the Carbon Trust Standard, says the research shows councils are "very engaged" with the sustainability agenda, but acknowledges that there is still "a bit of a gap" between councils' understanding of the issues involved and how far they have taken practical measures to both reduce their own carbon emissions and, in their role as leaders of local communities, encouraging others to do likewise.
"With only five months until the CRC, there are big challenges," commented Morrison. "Our research shows there is more to be done in practical terms and many local authorities need to use this next five months wisely."
Morrison said councils should be thinking about measures such as obtaining good quality data on their existing emissions and putting better links in place between staff responsible for different aspects of carbon reduction, including those in estates, finance and PR. The latter is important, he explained, because councils need to project what they are doing to the wider community.
As for recent suggestions that the public sector may perform less well than the private sector when the CRC is introduced, Morrison said the Carbon Trust's experience is that there is no clear difference between the two sectors, with examples in each of both good performance and poor performance.
"We've worked with a lot of local authorities that have made a consistent year on year reduction in carbon and that will performance very well in the CRC," he said.
The most innovative public bodies, he said, are leading not just in the public sector, but across all sectors. Fife council, for instance, has reduced its emissions by 4% over the past three years (see below).
Case study
Fife council, which employs 22,000 staff, achieved the Carbon Trust Standard a year ago. It has committed to reducing carbon emissions by 80% before 2050 and the organisation has also set targets of 3% reductions year on year and has achieved a reduction of 3% in 2005-08. The council has implemented a number of measures on sustainability, including:
• working on a system to appraise major projects in terms of their carbon impact
• working toward making carbon a second currency in its accounts and budgets
• dedicating significant numbers of officers to embed carbon into council policies and everyday working practices
• a comprehensive training programme involving 6,000 employees each year to help staff understand what measures they can take both in the workplace and at home to save energy
• encouraging less use of cars by initiating a Bike to Work scheme and making public transport vouchers available
In an innovative move, the council is also collecting methane gas from landfill sites to generate electricity and has introduced a number of renewable energy sources into council housing.
For information on the Carbon Trust Standard click here
