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The latest data shared by Hounslow Council reveals a 10% reduction in its carbon footprint since 2018, with an 8% reduction in council-controlled operations seen in the last year alone.
Key projects undertaken since the council adopted a Climate Emergency Action Plan in 2020 have included renewable electricity generation and an extensive retrofit programme to decarbonise council buildings and schools.
The council has generated nearly 4000kW of renewable energy (by installing solar PV at 48 sites), and carried out a retrofit of 32 schools and 29 corporate buildings that will save a combined 17.5m kilowatts of electricity each year. Further funding of £2.1m has also been secured to retrofit an additional six council buildings and schools.
It is also undertaking a fleet replacement programme, which will result in over 200 vehicles – a mixture of electric and hybrid – procured and leased in its first phase.
Approximately £8m has been invested to improve the energy efficiency of its council housing.
Councillor Katherine Dunne, Deputy Leader of Hounslow Council and Cabinet Member for Climate, Environment and Transport, said:
Hounslow Council is proud to be a leader in the UK’s climate action space, and is continuing to invest, and take bold steps towards our net zero by 2030 ambitions. Decarbonising our buildings, numerous retrofit projects, changing our fleet of vehicles, and offering more sustainable recycling services are just some of the primary ways thecouncil and partners like Lampton Services are reducing carbon emissions from council operations.
While an overall 10% reduction in our council carbon footprint is pleasing, we set a target of a 50% reduction by 2026, and we intend to achieve this.
However, we cannot tackle the climate crisis alone. To make a real impact, it must involve action at a national level underpinned by ambitious delivery of projects and funding. We must move projects at pace if we are to reduce carbon emissions at the scale required and we need the funding to back these plans.
We have called on government before to take more incisive action, and each day the call becomes more urgent. Necessary funding must be provided to enable towns and cities to implement the measures to accelerate to net zero.
