Could other councils across Scotland be about to follow in the footsteps of Aberdeenshire?

An official response has been issued to the Scottish Government as part of their consultation on the Climate Change Bill. In it, there are calls to encourage other local authorities to adopt Aberdeenshire’s innovative Carbon Budget.

In February, Councillors implemented the first ever Carbon Budget. Annually there are carbon reductions set down for each service to make sure that everyone is aware of their part in contributing to the Council’s overall emissions. Underlying this is information regarding the major sources of emissions within each service so that specific projects can be identified to reduce them. At the time of establishment,

Aberdeenshire Council was the first in Scotland to adopt this approach.

There are existing obligations on Councils and public bodies to report on their carbon footprint and be aware of emissions, however there is no requirement at the moment for each to set specific targets by service in order to reduce.

Recently, at a meeting of the Council Sustainability Committee, members approved a draft response to government officials. In it they say that by setting an annual Carbon Budget Aberdeenshire is leading the way in Scotland and that this is a standard that all Local Authorities could and should adopt.

Councillor Colin Pike chairs the committee. He said: “We have an opportunity here to make sure that Aberdeenshire Council is at the heart of setting out a legacy approach to carbon reduction in Scotland. We are already trailblazing and it is the hope of this committee that we can help other councils take a similar direction.”

Vice chair Cllr Isobel Davidson said: “This issue is fundamental to every council in Scotland. We appreciate the obligations that we are all under and by taking it a step further Aberdeenshire Council is really showing its commitment. Committee wholeheartedly supported the view that we should be encouraging other local authorities down the same route.”

Some examples of great work are already emerging in the journey towards significant emissions reduction.

A Microgen unit has been set up at Crow’s Nest in Banchory. This is the first time electricity has been produced from landfill gas originating from an Aberdeenshire Council site and is significantly reducing emissions. Generating surplus heat is now being considered for the next phases of the project which could make Crow’s Nest a ‘zero energy/self-sustaining’ depot.

The roll out of LED street lights across Aberdeenshire is an ongoing programme which is significantly reducing carbon emissions from electricity use.

Meanwhile a pilot trial of battery powered landscape equipment is underway in Buchan and Banff and Buchan. The Landscape Service team, who are responsible for maintaining the gardens of council properties, have adopted battery powered push mowers, leaf blowers, and trimmers. Feedback so far is that this pilot is working well and a wider roll-out could be considered.

On top of that, staff are being encouraged to use a new platform which will allow them to re-use office furniture. Warp-it allows people from across the council to promote any surplus office furniture, from chairs and storage to stationary, which will save carbon and money for the respective services.

The journey towards carbon reduction continues.

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