Our carbon footprint
Following our climate emergency declaration, the first step on our journey to becoming a carbon neutral organisation by 2030 was to determine our carbon footprint.
We had our buildings audited (focusing on the Civic Centre and Centres for the Community) in winter 2019, collecting extensive data and identifying carbon reduction opportunities, as set out in the baseline report.
Our direct operations organisational carbon footprint was equal to 1,236 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) (2018 to 2019). Emissions from council-operated activities primarily come from electricity (scope 2) and gas consumption across council-operated buildings, alongside fuel consumption associated with council-owned fleet vehicles (scope 1). Additionally, staff commuting, business travel miles, waste and water consumption are included (selected scope 3).
Since the initial assessment we have monitored our organisational carbon footprint for our direct operations, which is set out in the table below.
We have also completed a further assessment of 23 additional operational assets, which were non-tenanted and where we have full repairing responsibility, in 2023 to 2024 to include within our carbon footprint. The emissions for these sites, which include pavilions, public conveniences, cemeteries and splash pads, outlined in the further assessment summary, have been included within our 2023 to 2024 figures.
Annual carbon footprint: emissions
The table below provides a summary of our annual carbon footprint figures (1 April to 31 March). The large reduction in emissions from 2019-2020 to 2020-2021 is due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, and 2021 to 2022 was still low due to the post pandemic recovery and living with COVID guidance.
The increase in emissions for 2022 to 2023 reflects the return to a normative period post pandemic.
The figures for 2023 to 2024 include the additional sites from the further assessment. The additional sites and use of our electric vehicle chargepoints in council car parks have increased the electricity figures, and the main factors for the reduction in emissions is upgraded building management systems for gas usage, transitioning of our fleet to electric, as well as the usage of electric pool cars for business travel.
| Source | 2018 to 2019 | 2019 to 2020 | 2020 to 2021 | 2021 to 2022 | 2022 to 2023 | 2023 to 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electricity | 397.2 | 313.4 | 207.6 | 198.3 | 210.3 | 253.1 |
| Gas | 264.7 | 379.6 | 297.3 | 302.3 | 294.1 | 256.2 |
| Water | 5.3 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 2.6 |
| Waste | 34.2 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 1.4 |
| Fleet | 338.9 | 70.2 | 69.6 | 110.6 | 103.3 | 82.9 |
| Business travel | 39.6 | 36.8 | 38.4 | 25.5 | 17.5 | 15.1 |
| Commuting | 156.0 | 232.1 | 67.4 | 67.7 | 222.1 | 215.9 |
| Total tCO2 | 1,235.9 | 1,038.7 | 686.8 | 707.5 | 848.8 | 827.2 |
Carbon management and reduction plan
Our Carbon Management and Reduction Plan 2030 (CMRP) is our action plan to reduce carbon emissions and reach our target to become a carbon neutral organisation by 2030. The CMRP was first published in September 2020, and has been revised annually since. Version 2 includes the additional operational sites in our further assessment.
The plan proposes carbon reduction actions in the following areas:
- organisation emissions: proposing actions such as solar photovoltaic (solar panel) installations
- transport and air quality: proposing a shift to a fully electric council fleet
- housing and planning: proposing to engage with homeowners, landlords and residents to promote retrofitting measures and funding opportunities
- buildings and infrastructure: making sustainability and carbon considerations integral in the development of the new Local Plan
- monitoring and evaluation: monitoring operational carbon emissions and reporting on progress
- carbon offsetting: proposing to consider offsetting unavoidable carbon emissions
Surrey’s Climate Change Strategy
We have endorsed the strategic ambitions and priorities of Surrey’s Climate Change Strategy.