Climate Change Strategy Consultation
It is important that we understand the views of residents, businesses and organisations across the city regarding issues related to climate change and sustainability to help shape the Strategy. The Council has a role of leader and enabler when it comes to taking action on climate change and creating a more sustainable future for our city, but we can’t do it alone and need to take communities with us on this journey.
The Council undertook extensive consultation of the draft climate change strategy last year, seeking to understand the views of the people of Coventry on the Strategy, pathways and key themes within them, to identify which issues are most important to people and find out if anything should be added or amended within the Strategy to influence the final version of the Strategy and accompanying Climate Change Action Plan.
Over 80% of respondents told us they are ‘concerned’ or ‘very concerned’ about climate change. People are becoming increasingly aware of the impacts of human activity on our planet and suffering climate anxiety. Many respondents told us the most important aspect of tackling climate change is to ensure a positive future for the next generation. The responses contained a broad range of issues, which included people wanting to see the Council be more ambitious in tackling climate change, more opportunities for community involvement and engagement in projects, concerns about the impacts of development on green space and trees, and support for domestic retrofit.
It is important for us to understand what needs to be done to win the hearts and minds of the 19% of the population who don’t consider sustainability and climate change to be an issue of concern. A number of comments from this group reflected some cynicism, with concerns about people’s freedoms being reduced, scepticism of the science, a feeling that it is too vast an issue to worry about and that individuals can’t make a difference when faced with major polluting countries and corporations. Some fed back that they had bigger worries related to the cost of living. The collective impact of ‘a business-as-usual approach’ from the 19% could be significant on the City and its ability to address the issues facing the population. Their inaction would not only make it more difficult to achieve the targets but observing their lack of behaviour change could be a significant disincentive to others.
Given the importance of this issue and the fact that behaviour change is going to be one of the key actions required to help reach net zero, far more effective engagement and community involvement is required going forwards to raise awareness and empower people to take positive action. The Council will produce a communications and engagement plan setting out how it plans to do this as part of delivery of the Climate Change Action Plan.
Route to Net Zero pathway
Coventry City Council recognised the importance of this issue well before many authorities were declaring emergencies. In 2008 the Council was a founding signatory of the Global Covenant of Mayors which has set a target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. In 2021 Coventry signed the Declaration Covenant of Mayors interim target of achieving a 55% reduction in carbon emissions from 1990 levels by 2030, which we are well on track to achieve. We will strive for a 68% reduction by 2030 in line with government targets, but this will require national drivers and significant investment from government, coupled with activity at a local level to be achievable. For Coventry, whilst we recognise the importance of targets to provide focus, our focus is taking action and being innovative to tackle climate change and build a green economy.
To enable a full and independent analysis of the city’s impact on carbon emissions, and to better inform priority areas within the strategy, the Council (alongside Coventry’s independent Climate Change Board), commissioned Professor Andy Gouldson to produce a Zero Carbon Routemap for Coventry. The Routemap identified that Coventry’s direct carbon emissions (scope 1 and 2 emissions ) fell by 48% since 2000. Whilst the Council and city have made some positive steps in tackling climate change, much of the reduction in emissions is down to changes on a national level which includes changes to our energy infrastructure (removing fossil fuels from energy generation in favour of renewables) and industry moving away from manufacturing to more service led. There is still a long and challenging journey ahead to reach net zero, which is why the Council have entered into a fifteen year Strategic Energy Partnership with E.ON to take a bold and innovative approach to decarbonising the city at pace and scale.
The Routemap also analysed carbon emissions per sector, identifying homes and transport as the two biggest sources of emissions (30% and 29% respectively) and two key sectors to prioritise. Industry (16%), commercial buildings (15%) and waste (10%) are also key sectors which should be considered.
Council’s carbon emissions
The carbon footprint measures carbon emissions that are under the Council's direct control. These include carbon emissions from Council buildings, fleet vehicles, business travel, street lighting and emissions from outsourced services. The table below provides a comparison to the previous year. There has been significant progress in decarbonising the Council’s estate over recent years. Since 2021, the Council have overseen over £7 million of energy projects funded from various grants, which have delivered:
- 1,130 kWp (kilowatt peak) of Solar PV
- 3,902 m2 insulation
- 2,293 LED lights
- 7 air source heat pump (ASHP) installs
- 2,018 kWh (kilowatt hours) battery storage
- 63 pipework insulation
- 1,108 m2 window glazing improvements
This means that 39% of energy used by Council buildings is now from renewable sources. Furthermore, 16% in 2022-23 was ‘locally sourced’ (district heat and Solar PV) and the Council has entered into a new energy contract recently which will provide a higher mix of renewable energy sources to power the estate. The Council will continue to access funding and finance to continue the decarbonisation of its estate, working with the Strategic Energy Partnership to support delivery.
Figures shown in 1,000 kgCO2e [tonnes of CO2e]. *Scope 1 emissions of 2020/21 have been revised upon review. **Scope 3 building emissions of 2021/22 have been revised upon review.
The carbon emissions are broken down into scopes 1, 2 and 3 emissions, the definition of which are:
Scope 1 direct emissions: activities owned or controlled by your organisation that release emissions straight into the atmosphere. Examples: emissions from combustion in boilers we own, emissions from owned or controlled vehicles.
Scope 2 energy indirect emissions: released into the atmosphere associated with the consumption of purchased electricity, heat, steam, and cooling. The most common type of Scope 2 emission is electricity purchased from the National Grid.
Scope 3 other indirect emissions: those at sources which we do not control, and which are not classified as scope 2 emissions. Examples of scope 3 emissions include business travel not owned or controlled by the Council (e.g., use of public transport), commuting, or use of ‘grey fleet’ (employees’ own cars used for fuel expenses) and the energy consumed in goods and services that we have procured.
There is an overall decrease in Scope 1 & 2 emissions of approximately 3.71 % compared with the previous year. This represents a reduction of 69.11% from the 2008/09 baseline.
Emissions from fleet fuel consumption reduced by 4.15% from 2022/23. Scope 1 building emissions decreased by 3.76% from last year. There have been continuous gas reductions this year as the energy efficiency measures installed last year have become fully operational.
Scope 2 heating emissions have decreased by 21.27% which can be largely attributed to improved heating controls and a warmer winter. Electricity used in council buildings and streetlighting have also continued to decrease.
Scope 3 emissions have increased 17.7% compared to last year. An increase in Scope 3 electricity emissions may be from additional data availability this year from maintained schools compared to previous years and due to the Council taking on responsibility for the utilities for extra buildings/locations
Carbon disclosure
The CDP (formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project) is an internationally recognised benchmark that helps companies and cities disclose their environmental impact.
The Council is currently achieving a “A-” CDP score; which is an increase from a “B” score from 22/23, demonstrating the progress the city is making. The Council will continue to strive towards achieving an “A” score., which has only been achieved by seven local authorities in the UK to date.
Supporting businesses
The Coventry & Warwickshire Green Business Programme was aimed at supporting businesses with a shift to a low carbon economy by delivering a cohesive package of support to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The programme supported businesses with the provision of knowledge and data for them to make informed decisions on how best to achieve energy and resource efficiency, through the provision of energy and resource efficiency audits and hosting events and webinars via the Green Business Network. The programme subsequently supported SMEs with grant funding (Up to £50k) to enable them to install energy and resource efficiency measures (e.g. insulation, improved heating, renewable energy, more efficient processes). This facilitated economic growth and led Coventry & Warwickshire businesses having reduced energy bills, maintenance costs, waste disposal costs and carbon emissions, whilst also benefitting from increased competitiveness, efficiency, and improvement to working conditions.
The Programme was closed in June 2023 due to European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) funding ending, but since the start of the programme in 2016 achieved the following:
- Offered support to 577 businesses
- Paid over four million pounds in grant claims
- Saved over 15,000 tonnes of carbon per year
- Led to creation of at least 60 new jobs
- Organised over 45 events
- Developed a Green Business Network with over 2,700 members
Support for Coventry businesses is now from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), which is to help communities, support people living or working in the UK, and help businesses operating in the UK. The programme will be providing SMEs with Net Zero Energy Efficiency Capital Grants which aim to remove financial barriers and enable SMEs to make carbon savings and energy efficiencies by investing in a host of measures such as solar panels, LED lights etc. to enable businesses to save energy.
There is also a Decarbonisation programme, funded by BEAS (Business Energy Advice Service) which will provide investments focus on physical improvements and developing a more efficient use of resources, water and waste. Energy audits identify cost-effective energy-saving measures for your business and provide expert advice guides business to embed low-carbon strategy measures to support Net Zero targets. There are BEAS Capital grants of up to £100,000 to support business to implement energy efficiency measures within their business premises.
Strategic Energy Partnership
Coventry City Council has joined forces with E.ON to launch an innovative 15-year partnership. Our organisations are working collaboratively to revolutionise energy usage in Coventry for the benefit of local people, the environment and the wider economy.
The joint venture partnership will transform the city’s approach to carbon reduction, providing the expertise and resource to help deliver decarbonisation at scale and pace. Working with a private sector partner, who is willing to invest time, resources, expertise and capital, will help to deliver cleaner, greener energy and drive a new green economy that will bring jobs and skills to the city. This is an important partnership for the city to help us achieve our ambitions to lead the Green Industrial Revolution.
The partnership is believed to be a first for the UK and will see our organisations collaborate on revolutionising energy use in the city for the benefit of local communities and the wider economy. It will enable long-term and sustainable infrastructure planning, investment and support the route to net zero through innovative energy generation and security solutions, sustainable transport and decarbonisation of buildings and homes.
Social value is embedded in the Strategic Energy Partnership and will address the needs of the city, providing real place-based benefits that are meaningful, appropriate and proportionate. Each project that the Strategic Energy Partnership implements will have a social value action plan, to ensure that local people, communities and businesses benefit - increasing economic prosperity, improving outcomes and tackling inequalities.
The Council and E.ON will work together to develop ideas and projects for the benefit of Coventry residents and develop strategic plans aligned to all five priorities of our One Coventry Plan. There are four themes that will drive the partnership forward:
- clean local energy,
- jobs and skills,
- innovation and scale and,
- community benefit.
The partnership will produce five-yearly Strategic Business Plans complemented by specific actions in Annual Business Plans, plus a social value action plan, which set out the ambitions of the partnership and ensures a strategic and holistic approach to decarbonisation.
The partnership is producing an energy masterplan for the city (due to complete autumn 2024), identifying the developing city’s energy needs and opportunities. The energy masterplan for Coventry will provide a long-term energy vision, reference point and proposed pipeline of commercially viable and technically feasible energy projects which will form part of the pipeline of work that the Strategic Energy Partnership will take forwards to delivery.
Projects underway include:
- a solar in schools programme to lower carbon and reduce energy costs for schools.
- an electric vehicle charging programme to further increase the number of charge points in Coventry, off-street, on-street and charging hubs.
- delivery of the Home Upgrade Grant scheme (HUGS) installing energy efficiency and renewable energy measures in eligible residential properties.
- There is an overall decrease in Scope 1 & 2 emissions of approximately 3.71 % compared with the previous year. This represents a reduction of 69.11% from the 2008/09 baseline.