Carbon Management Plan

Foreword

In July 2021, and at the earliest opportunity for doing so, a Climate and Environment Emergency was declared by the full council. As part of this, we committed to the authority becoming carbon neutral and I was pleased to announce that this would be by 2030.

Right from the get-go, The council has been clear that climate change and looking after the environment must be the ‘green thread’ running through the organisation. In line with this, £1 million has been committed as part of the budget for this thus far.

The allocation of the £1 million will be further informed by the Carbon Management Plan, which sets out a series of actions including the development of a 10-year Climate and Environment Strategy.

This has been developed with the assistance of the Climate Change, Environment and Growth Executive Advisory Panel; a cross-party meeting of councillors that I chair. Meeting monthly, the panel helps shape various work and policy in areas such as active travel, air quality management and environmental improvements, such as our own Pollinator Strategy. The Management Plan, which is a living document, details the wide-reaching work to be undertaken across all departments and at all levels to ensure the most meaningful impact.

In looking at the work the council has undertaken in its first year, there has been notable progress. For example, over 4000 trees have been planted, with more going in every year following a successful bid for Treescape funding. North Northamptonshire Council is also very proud to have an internationally recognised pollinator project – ‘Pardon the weeds, we’re feeding the bees’, which was highlighted as part of our online climate conference: NNClimate21.

Looking to sustainable transport, a number of on-street electric vehicle charging points have been installed across North Northamptonshire as part of the VPach project, working alongside Liberty Charge. This is in recognition of the significant infrastructure roll out that will be needed to support residents in transitioning to electric vehicles over the coming years. In the same vein, the area has been taking part in an e-scooter trial with Voi. This sustainable mode of travel has been rolled out in the larger towns of the county and already millions of journeys have been undertaken where a car may have been used previously. Another notable action that the council took early on was to include a section in every report which focuses on the climate impact of what is being proposed. This is another example of the green thread being embedded and ensuring climate change and looking after the environment is not tackled in isolation.

North Northamptonshire Council is starting the way it means to go on in doing our bit to tackle this great challenge. The steps we have taken so far are welcome and it will be important to work closely with our communities as we make further progress over the coming years.
Councillor Harriet Pentland, Executive Member for Climate and the Green Environment

Last updated 02 August 2023