Agenda item

The Portfolio Holder for Climate Change and Net Zero, Cllr A Varley, introduced the report, highlighting the key points.

The Chair invited members to speak:

Cllr Penfold wished to know what control the Council had over contractors, when delivering projects, in terms of their emissions, and was there a process in place that ensured they weren’t just giving a contract to the cheapest option but were considering the environmental impact. Cllr Varley said the Council could exert some influence as it went out to tender for projects and it was keen to work with contractors with good eco credentials. The CEPM said that thanks to new procurement rules they could consider contractors on more than just price, such as the sustainability offer. The CEPM noted that the Climate Literacy training that staff undertook was very important as everyone across the organisation understood the importance of taking that into due consideration when awarding a contract.  

An example was raised by Cllr Fitch-Tillett of coastal works being undertaken in the Cromer area where the contractors had been taking the environmental impact of works into consideration and were looking to do all they could to offset carbon emissions.

Cllr Cushing wished to express that he supported reducing emissions but raised concerns that, when looking at the report, the emissions had barely reduced since a climate emergency was announced in 2019 and felt that any reductions the Council made were of minimal impact when considering the emissions on a global scale.

In response Cllr Varley agreed that in context the Council’s carbon emissions only amounted to 1% of emissions across North Norfolk but he felt strongly that it was important to influence and showcase what the Council did as a way forward in reducing emissions. Highlighting the benefit of working in a particular way that could save money for homes or businesses was very important. Cllr Varley felt the Council could facilitate change by supporting households and businesses and pushing the Net Zero agenda.

Cllr Varley said that many of the Council’s schemes were externally funded and did not cost the taxpayer any money. Cllr Cushing disagreed as the external funding came from central Government out of the taxes that everyone paid.

Cllr Heinrich felt that the Council might only be making small gains but lots of small gains added up, and everyone had a responsibility to tackle climate change. He felt it was important to encourage solar panels on more of the districts business and industrial buildings.

The CEPM answered a query from Cllr Heinrich in relation to properly vetting homes when insulating them to ensure no future problems, such as mould, and she assured him that the Council administered most of their grants through the Norfolk Warm Homes scheme which was very experienced. They had concentrated on floor and loft insulation and solar panels. They only worked with two long-established contractors who were very trusted, and they carried out inspections after each installation and had case studies going back several years that they had revisited after retro fitting many years ago. Norfolk Warm Homes was often held up as an exemplar by Government as to how other similar schemes should be run.

Cllr Penfold agreed that it was both an individual and collective responsibility to help reduce carbon emissions and urged Members to promote the grants that were available, like the £500 for the Make My House Green scheme, to their local constituents and parishes. At the request of Cllr Hankins, the CEPM agreed to update all Members on the grants available.

In response to a query from Cllr Penfold, regarding HCP, the CEPM outlined some of the options that were being explored for replacing the diesel generators explaining there was an ongoing project to get electricity to that site. There were also renewable sources being investigated with contractors, including fitting solar panels or wind turbines, but the tree canopy could interfere with those operations. As a last resort, using a form of biofuel for the generators was an option or it could be a combination of all those. Cllr Shires highlighted that UK Power Networks had a huge part to play to de-carbonise the Council’s assets and reduce emissions.

The CEPM asked if she could take away a query by the Chair when asked if the carbon footprint of tourism was included in industry, but as they were central Government figures that were provided for the district, it was agreed this would be reported back on in writing after the meeting.

Cllr Bayes felt that there was a lack of infrastructure surrounding public transport when considering an area such as Stalham, and surrounding parishes, where most people would have to transport themselves to work or post 16 education. He was pleased to see within the report that people were being encouraged to buy and source goods locally and wished to see local businesses and suppliers supported rather than outsourcing to contractors who were based out of area and who would have to travel to install and be less inclined to return if any issues were discovered.

Cllr Varley noted that feedback and explained that the Council did always try and use local contractors where possible and although the company running the Make My House Green scheme was a national company they used local contractors to do the installation works. Indeed, one local contractor was using that platform to promote their business as they had no website themselves and Cllr Varley felt this was a positive story in supporting those small local businesses within North Norfolk.

Cllr Varley thought it would be worthwhile the Committee considering calling in the Norfolk County Council Transport department to review the difficulties residents have with public transport as he also noted similar issues raised by Cllr Fitch-Tillett for those with disabilities in travelling to the Council Offices when having to rely on buses or trains.

Cllr Varley wished to note, in response to a query by Cllr Fitch-Tillett, that it was very important to strike a balance and stop relying on fossil fuels which harmed the rainforests and although there were carbon emissions in producing electric vehicles the batteries would last 20-25 years.

The Chair enquired why did it need to be an Environmental Charter. Cllr Shires said the Council did have a Customer Services Charter, acting as a pledge of the Council’s intention to do something. Cllr Varley said they’d had the Environmental Charter since 2019, and this was to update that. Cllr Penfold asked if the Council was set to meet the targets set out by 2030. Cllr Varley explained that sadly the Council would not be in existence by then, so it was more important to showcase the benefits of net zero. He highlighted that coastal erosion and flooding would continue to be an issue, so it was important the Council kept trying to meet those internal targets regardless. He confirmed the trajectory of meeting those targets was heading in the right direction, the Council just need to keep channelling good carbon reduction projects.

The CEPM explained, in response to Cllr Cushing, that how much the Council plan to reduce carbon emissions by each year was a step-by-step plan that was looked at every year and, as Cllr Varley said in his introduction of the report, there would be ‘bumps along the road’. Cllr Varley stated this was a combined journey and any ideas Members had in helping the Council to meet its targets would be welcomed.

The Chair said that a third of the actions had no carbon footprint reduction and wondered if there were reductions that had not been included on the Action Plan that would help the Council reach its target. The CEPM said the Action Plan could be more ambitious, if the Council had infinite money and resources, but admitted the Council would need to find more carbon savings if it was to be zero carbon. If the target had not been reached by the end of the administration there was room to buy carbon off setting, but this came at a high cost.

As the Action Plan only went up to 2027 there was scope to look beyond that with new ways of carbon savings but as Cllr Shires pointed out with LGR looming, it was about having a shared goal, across the new local government structure, of moving to Net Zero. Cllr Varley discussed making the Council’s waste vehicles run off HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil), but more research was needed on HVO, and it did come at a higher cost so was mindful of budget constraints but a project like that would cut the Council’s carbon emissions dramatically.

Cllr Varley confirmed to Cllr Housden that the £384k put aside to support net zero initiatives was part of the £500K in reserve for the Council’s Net Zero programme. Cllr Varley was delighted to hear from Cllr Bayes that Stalham Town Council had installed two non-flushable urinals in refurbishing public conveniences and noted this was aided by Norfolk Wide Net Zero Communities project. He recognised both Cllr Bayes and Cllr Taylor’s dedication to those Net Zero projects.

The Committee noted the contents of the carbon footprint report for 24/25 and RESOLVED to recommend to Full Council:

• Adopts the revisions to the Environmental Charter

• Adopts the Decarbonisation Strategy and associated action plan.