Council Net Zero 2030 Strategy launched

Date published: 9th June 2022

North Norfolk faces a very real threat from accelerating climate change, and as a Council we recognise the urgent need for action.

North Norfolk District Council was the first district council in Norfolk to declare a climate emergency in early 2019.

District councils have a crucial role to play both in reducing their own organisational emissions as well as the wider emissions occurring from within the districts they serve.

We have set a Net Zero emissions target for 2030.

In this, our first Net Zero Strategy and Action Plan, we outline how we propose to achieve this target as well as providing a breakdown of our carbon emissions from the last three years.

The Council has committed to achieving a Net Zero Target by 2030, but we need to act now and accelerate decarbonisation across our operations.

This includes improving the energy efficiency of our buildings, decarbonising our vehicle fleet and services, generating renewable energy and supporting staff to work in more energy-efficient ways, including travelling less.

The emissions produced by the businesses we buy goods and services from must also be reduced, and we will be exploring as a priority how contracts with our suppliers can be varied if necessary and how we can shift to more sustainable procurement.

Cllr. Nigel Lloyd, portfolio holder for Environmental Services, Climate Change & Environment said:

“I am delighted to share with North Norfolk residents our Net Zero Action Plan. Developed with our small team of Officers and independent experts in this field, the document provides an evidenced-based and easy-to-understand outline of NNDC's carbon emissions and those generated by our contractors. It sets out what part of the Council’s activities are responsible for generating carbon emissions and quantifies them. This data allows us to target carbon releases in a structured way to reduce our emissions year on year leading to net zero carbon emissions by 2030. We are proud to be the first Norfolk Council to do this.

I recognise that we have set ourselves an ambitious target and there will be challenges along the way. I am pleased however that NNDC will act as local leaders in tackling climate change. I encourage residents to critically review their own carbon emissions and act to reduce them.

My message is that every little helps and if everyone makes small changes to their carbon footprint, these will add up to significant reductions. We can all contribute. With our sea levels rising and over 40 miles of coast in our District, it is important that we act now.”

It is essential for the Council to make these changes.

The Council recognises that a Net Zero future in North Norfolk is a joint effort, involving all of us in our community and we all have a role to play in delivering this vision.

We will work with our residents and businesses to help reduce their emissions through actions they can take, big or small.

Read our Net Zero Strategy and Action Plan to find out how we aim to achieve a Net Zero future.

You can find out more about the Council's environmental aims at Greenbuild this year, which will be held in Fakenham as a hybrid event.