Agenda item

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Corporate Resources the purpose of which was to update the Committee on Carbon Emissions in County Council Buildings. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 8’, is filed with these minutes.

Arising from discussion, the following points were raised:

i)    In response to a Member’s query as to whether the reduction in the number of buildings owned by the County Council was a contributing factor in the reduction of carbon emissions, officers reported that the measure per square metre was the same regardless of the size of the estate and that the reduction in emissions had therefore been due to measures put in place, such emissions expected to reduce further over coming years. The Director reported that if there were significant changes in assets in terms of the overall Council estate, then baselines would be adjusted and reported to the Committee through the annual report on Greenhouse Gas Emissions.

ii)   It was reported that approximately 25% of County Hall floor space was occupied by tenants and the kw energy cost per metre was still lower compared with previous years. Environment champions attended tenant liaison meetings to encourage tenants to abide by the Council’s environment aims, for example, regarding recycling and energy saving. Members noted that the carbon reductions reported did not include buildings leased to tenants, who were responsible for their own energy bills.

iii)  It was noted that there was a small but efficient energy team of two staff members, resulting in a significant resource to output ratio.

iv) It was noted that the current team of surveyors and project managers had a low carbon checklist embedded into their day-to-day operations, for example, developments and refurbishments. Members were informed that the small property energy team had, either through bidding or other means, been successful in bringing in millions in additional capital investment which had outweighed the cost of staffing the team.

v)   A Member voiced concern that the Team was reliant on external funding to be able to continue to deliver reduced carbon emissions across the Council estate. It was noted that the overall budget for decarbonisation of corporate properties was £100,000 annually over the period of the MTFS, and that although the team were reliant on external funding, it was proactive in applying for available government funding and had demonstrated its ability to deliver projects.

vi) Members were supportive of the projects delivered but queried if there were ways to allocate the £100,000 that would be more effective in reaching the aims of carbon reduction. It was confirmed that with responsibility for the corporate estate, whether externally or internally funded, the investment had to pay back as part of the criteria when applying for funding. Benefits gained were incentives from solar, biomass, and carbon reduction, for example. Energy reduction is embedded into day-to-day delivery of maintaining the estate, looking at opportunities for improvement, such as, changing light fittings to LEDs and replacing windows.

vii)           A Member queried whether Solar Together, a local company that supported local residents with solar installations, were in dialogue with developers to ensure that new build estates were fit for the future. It was noted that as this was a private company, the Council held no information regarding the company’s dealings with developers and in any event, it was the responsibility of the district councils to liaise with developers in line with the National Planning Policy Framework.

viii)          It was highlighted that the team had delivered the ‘big win’ low-risk high reward schemes and that going forward there would be bigger challenges to reduce carbon emissions further. However, the team would continue to seek options available.

ix) In response to a Member’s question, it was noted that solar panel efficiency declined at around 1% each year, with lifespan at around 20 years, although this was expanding with technology advances. Other parts, such as inverters, might require replacement every seven to ten years, for which the Council took out extended warranties.

x)   A Member suggested that having renewable energy built into regulations through the planning process would be a way to make real progress and it was the responsibility of central government to introduce this.

RESOLVED:

That the Update provided to the Committee on the Council’s progress towards net zero carbon emissions from its corporate properties be noted.