We’ve pledged to make our services carbon neutral by 2035 and will work hard to hit this target earlier if we can.
Find out more about our work on climate and the environment
A motion to council (held on Thursday 27 July) was approved with cross-party support to increase the speed with which we aim for carbon neutral with council services.
The first step in this will be a thorough audit of the council’s carbon footprint, looking at what we can change easily and what may require more imaginative solutions. This audit has already been commissioned and we’re expecting the results in the autumn.
This will help to inform an updated Climate and Environment strategy that will set out what we plan to do and when to meet our deadline of 2035. An ambitious action plan for the strategy will set out short and long-term targets so we can measure our progress and use this working document to map our route to carbon neutral. Work on this is already underway and the final strategy will be published early in 2024.
We’ll also be working with our partners (like East Hampshire Norse for waste and Everyone Active for leisure), community groups and residents to help them to reduce their impact on the climate. The second round of Community Climate Action Fund (CCAF) grants will be open for applications later this year.
East Hampshire District Councillor Ginny Boxall, who brought the motion to council, said:
“If the record worldwide temperatures over recent weeks and wildfires in Europe have taught us anything, it’s that we need to move quickly to reduce the impact we have on the climate.
“As a council, part of our community leadership is to get our own house in order, so we can show residents and businesses that they can make a difference to their impact on the climate.
“I’m proud that this motion has received cross-party support as climate change isn’t a political issue, it’s a humanitarian one.”
Councillor Robert Mocatta, portfolio holder for Regeneration, Prosperity and Climate Change, said:
“We’ve been working hard to bring the council towards carbon neutral since we declared a climate emergency in July 2019.
“Our new council offices, which will have extensive energy saving measures, will be a massive step towards carbon neutral council services, but we’re taking many smaller steps in that direction.
“We’re also providing support to community groups through the CCAF and supporting residents to make their homes more energy efficient through schemes like our COSY loans.
“I really welcome the challenge that the 2035 target represents.”