Carbon Neutral by 2030

By leading the way and seeking to become net zero significantly ahead of the national 2050 target, we hope to show what can be achieved and inspire residents and local businesses to join us on this rewarding journey.

We declared a climate emergency in 2019 and we developed our Climate Action Framework (pdf format, 5Mb) in response. Our climate framework sets our targets and approach to tackling the climate emergency, outlining what we will do in the short, medium and long terms. We publish a review of our Carbon Management Plan 2022-2030 (pdf format, 1.1 MB) annually; updating progress and committing to new action.

Streetlighting          

In 2010, street lighting and the rest of the highway electrical assets (traffic signals, illuminated signs & bollards) represented about 50 per cent of OCC’s emissions; in 2022-23 it approximately represented 38 per cent of our emissions. As part of a £40m investment project more than 93 per cent of our street lighting has been replaced with energy-efficient LED’s. The conversion programme is due to complete in 2024.  Upon completion, the programme is estimated to cut costs and emissions by more than 70 per cent in comparison with 2010, saving almost 6,000 tonnes of CO2 each year.

We are working with communities to dim street lighting or switch off for periods of time when it is considered appropriate to do so. This will save energy, cut costs, and reduce the negative impacts of light pollution on nature.

Buildings

In 2022-23 approximately 32 per cent of our emissions arose from our 120 corporate buildings.  We secured funding through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) to implement extensive retrofit measures across eight of our corporate buildings, nine schools and one fire station. This work is now complete.The council has a target to retrofit all council buildings by 2030 and we have now carried out energy efficiency audits and costed the necessary measures for 78% of our estate by floor space, including all significant buildings. We’re progressing with more audits that will identify a full suite of measures for all buildings in our estate. These projects will deliver further carbon reduction in 2024 and beyond. 

We have developed a decarbonisation programme in line with our property strategy that will ensure that our buildings are on the path to carbon neutral. This decarbonisation programme depends on external funding such as the PSDS program. We will continue the submission of funding applications so we can deliver the decarbonisation of our property portfolio according to our route to carbon neutral by 2030. 

Transport

Approximately 30 per cent of our emissions arise from fleet and staff travel.

Our approach to fleet decarbonisation prioritises avoidance of emissions by rationalising the fleet, encouraging sharing of resources, and replacing fossil fuels with zero tailpipe emissions alternatives.

The council is committed to rationalising its 402 fleet and transitioning to electric vehicles. The first step will be putting in place an integrated fleet management system and a dedicated team to centralise all fleet information. The ‘One Fleet’ system, which will be up and running during 2024, will identify opportunities to rationalise fleet usage and support the implementation of a fleet replacement plan. 

We have established an ‘electric by default’ policy that stipulates that we will work to phase out petrol and diesel vehicles in our own fleet, ensuring where operationally feasible all new vehicle acquisitions are zero-tailpipe emissions by default. Electric vehicles now make up 10% of our fleet and we have 44 charge points across 19 council sites.

Our fire and rescue service is partnering with hydrogen fuel engineering firm ULEMCo, and with funding from Innovate UK, is helping to develop the UK’s first hydrogen fuelled fire engine.

Green electricity

We have moved to a REGO-backed (Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin) green electricity supply for our estate and highways assets (streetlights, traffic signals and signs).

Schools

Schools are being supported on energy efficiency measures through our Action on Carbon and Energy in Schools initiative. ACES is an energy efficiency support service for schools and to date has completed 28 energy assessments of OCC maintained schools.

In 2023, OCC launched an interest free, Schools Energy Efficiency Loan to enable maintained schools to install LED lighting and/or solar PV. 13 schools applied for a loan and installations are due to take place in 2024/25.

Supply chain

During 2022/23 we have estimated that supply chain purchased goods and services emissions account for about 73 to 81% of OCC’s total Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions. In June 2023, our cabinet approved our Supply Chain Carbon Emissions policy.

This establishes a framework for us to influence and also to support our supply chain businesses in monitoring and reporting their carbon emissions and establishing carbon reduction plans. This policy consists not only in our suppliers reporting their emissions and communicating carbon reduction plans but also in a commitment to collaborate to find carbon reduction solutions and innovations that can support our collective journey to a zero carbon Oxfordshire by 2050. 

A climate active culture

We are rolling out the award-winning carbon literacy training to our staff. Climate impact assessments are now carried out to ensure our decision-making is aligned with our climate commitments.

We are improving the way we monitor and measure our carbon emissions.

Accountability

We will report on our greenhouse gas emissions annually. Over time we will look to increase the scope of our reporting to include supply chain emissions. View our latest Greenhouse Gas Report 2022-2023 (pdf format 1 MB)

In line with the council’s scrutiny processes, councillors recently reviewed the council's approach to emissions reduction. The working groups final report and the response can be found here.