FLINTSHIRE Council will review its carbon footprint over the last year in comparison to the baseline 2018/19 figures.
The Climate Change Committee will meet on Tuesday, November 28 where they are recommended to note the contents relating to the Carbon Emission Update 2022/23, and progress made in the past year to improve data collection.
A report into the update for 2022/23 states that the council calculates its carbon footprint annually to “measure the quantity of greenhouse gas emissions it is responsible for to monitor and direct decarbonisation efforts towards Net Zero Carbon by 2030”.
In September 2023, the calculation for the period 1 April 2022 – 31 March 2023 was completed and submitted to Welsh Government.
The update presents the results of the 2022/23 calculation while comparing them against figures from the council’s baseline year of 2018/19, and according to the report, it shows a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in 2022/23.
The update also provides an explanation as to why emissions have changed, and notes any improvements or difficulties relating to the data and methodology.
The report added: “The end of the report concludes with a brief recommendation to investigate the use of digital technologies such as Microsoft Power BI to improve data quality for greater emissions management and reduce the time staff spend collecting the data, and also key considerations for the Climate Change Strategy review in 2024/25, in particular baseline emissions and targets for Supply Chain and targets for Mobility & Transport.”
According to the data, the total carbon emissions for the period 2022/23 were 32,328 tCO2e, which is a 30.4% decrease in emissions compared to the 2018/19 baseline.
The report explains: “These reductions are mostly due to a decrease in emissions from Procurement; 34.5% lower than the 2018/19 baseline. Additionally, Buildings, and Mobility and Transport, saw reductions of 27.2% and 17.9% respectively.”
It added: “There remain significant limitations with some of the methodology used, most significantly relating to emissions from Procurement which remains based on the value of spend.”
Other important figures included:
- Building emissions have reduced 27.2% since 2018/19, aiming for a 35% reduction by 2024/25.
- Mobility and Transport emissions have reduced 17.9% since 2018/19, aiming for a 50% reduction by 2024/25.
Procurement emissions have reduced 34.5% since 2018/19, aiming for a 30% reduction by 2024/25.
