Council progresses towards carbon neutral goal

Argyll and Bute Council has reduced its carbon emissions by 27 per cent over the past five years.

 

The local authority's carbon report 2019/20 shows that its emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, thanks to a wide range of actions.

 

These include buildings being made more energy and heat efficient, traditional lightbulbs being replaced with LED, and a move to electric or hybrid vehicles.

 

Processing household and other municipal waste is highlighted in the report as being responsible for around half of all the council's carbon emissions.

 

Actions to address this form part of the council's de-carbonisation plan, which sets out a range of climate-friendly activities across all council services, including: implementing a sustainable waste strategy; reducing the use of disposable and single-use plastics; reducing food waste by extending pre-ordering for school food; introducing renewable heat incentive projects; installing solar technology at council properties; and completing an LED streetlight replacement programme.

 

Council leader Councillor Robin Currie said: 'We all share one planet and rely on its resources to live our lives. We all have a duty, therefore, to look after it and to ensure that we leave it intact and sustainable for our younger and future generations.

 

'The steps we are taking already are delivering progress. The actions we have planned will progress us further towards achieving the goal of becoming a net zero emissions organisation by 2045.

 

'This is an ambitious target. We need to be ambitious to achieve the climate-friendly lifestyles a sustainable future needs.'