Carbon Management Plan 2
We are committed to reducing the carbon footprint of Dumfries and Galloway Council and meeting national and international Climate Change duties and responsibilities.
Local authorities have a duty to achieve carbon emission reduction targets. The Carbon Management Plan 2 (CMP2) sets out the key actions that will enable us to reduce our carbon footprint as a Council and meet our reduction targets.
The plan was adopted by the Policy and Resources Committee in January 2012. Its principles will feed into the new Sustainable Development, Environment and Climate Change strategy which is currently being developed. The new strategy will also address the aspiration in the current Council Plan 2017 - 2022 to become a carbon neutral region.
Aim
The aim of the CMP2 is to reduce the Council's carbon footprint by integrating carbon and energy management into its strategies and operational procedures.
Areas targeted for reducing emissions include:
- Council buildings including schools
- street lighting
- transport
- waste
- water
In line with the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 our council pledged to reduce:
- Carbon emissions by 20% 2014/ 2015
- Carbon emissions by 42% 2019/2020
Further targets will be set to achieve the new targets being developed by the Scottish Government.
Delivery
A range of projects and policies are helping us to achieve our targets. These include:
- reducing the amount of Council owned buildings
- physical and management measures within our buildings to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions
- ensuring council premises are heated to no more that 21 degrees Celsius during heating season
- a ban on the use of portable electric heaters
- refurbishment of street lighting with light emitting diode (LED) lanterns
- spend to save in recycling and plant optimisation to move towards zero waste going to landfill
- establishment of our pool car fleet, with an increasing number of electric vehicles
- increasing facilities and promotion for active travel.
Outcomes
By April 2017, the Council's action on climate change had achieved an overall reduction of just over 21% in our annual carbon emissions, from our baseline.
We will continue to ensure that tackling climate change is a core activity, leading to reduced emissions and running costs.
Our progress as a council and our work with partners is reported annually to the Scottish Government in a mandatory report.
Contact us
For further information contact:
Call: 0303 333 3000
Email: sustainable.development@dumgal.gov.uk
