Dorset Council well on course to reach its 2040 carbon neutral goal
A new report shows carbon emissions generated by Dorset Council dropped 17% in 2020
Dorset Council is well on it's way to it's 2040 carbon neutral goal, according to a new report.
The report shows carbon emissions generated by the council dropped 17% in 2020.
That's double the yearly goal to reduce the footprint by 8%.
It's thanks to a wealth of changes, helped by the move to home working during the pandemic. Business travel, energy use and renewable energy sources are all though to contribute to the improvements.
The pandemic has fundamentally changed the way employees travel leading to a reduction in business travel by 60% to 1,614,487 miles. It's also estimated staff commuted less than half as much in 2020/21, down to below 4 million miles a year.
Energy use in Dorset Council buildings has shown a 21% reduction between 2019/20 and 2020/21.
Dorset and BCP local renewable energy sites generated 484 Giga Watt Hours of renewable electricity, equivalent to just under 4% of both authorities' energy demand.
The report is the first of it's kind since the council declared a Climate and Ecological Emergency in 2019.
Cllr Ray Bryan, Dorset Council’s Portfolio Holder for Highways, Travel and Environment, said:
“I am pleased with the progress we are making and encourage all interested residents to visit the website, read the progress report and see what we are doing to reduce our carbon footprint and play our part in tackling the Climate and Ecological Emergency.
However, it’s important to note that Dorset Council only accounts for around 1% of the county’s carbon footprint and has limited impact on county-wide emissions. The latest government data shows that Dorset emissions have only reduced by 6% since 2017, against a 9% target.
This demonstrates how much more work needs to be done if we as a county hope to reach net zero carbon emissions before it is too late. Only by working together – central government, councils, organisations, businesses and local communities – can we hope to secure a greener and cleaner Dorset for future generations.”