East Lindsey District Council sets ambitious target to reduce its environmental impact

In 2019 East Lindsey District Council made a commitment to reduce its impact on the environment and to produce a Carbon Reduction Plan; and its recently adopted Corporate Strategy identifies this as a specific priority for the Council.

In recent months, the council has been working with the Carbon Trust to fully understand its carbon footprint with a view to developing a detailed plan that aims to achieve the 2040 goal.

By 2027, the council aims to have reduced its emissions by a minimum of 45% and will continue to track progress towards this with annual monitoring and a formal review in 2023.

The initial review of the council’s operations undertaken by the Carbon Trust found total emissions for January to December 2019 were 2,664.2 tCO2e with the Council’s vehicle fleet providing the largest source of emissions, accounting for 50% of the overall footprint.

Councillor Graham Marsh, Deputy Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Climate Change, said: “East Lindsey District Council takes the issue of climate change very seriously and we have already implemented a number of measures to reduce emissions, with examples including solar panels on many of our buildings; electric car charging points across the district and all footway lighting upgraded to LED.

“Agreeing a clear target for the Council further demonstrates our commitment and gives us a clear focus on where we need to be in the future.

“As well as looking at how we operate as a council and looking to reduce our emissions, we’ve also put plans in place to establish a District-wide community orchard initiative and a Climate Change Forum to support our residents and businesses to play their role in tackling the issue.”