The Corporation has been ranked in the top 20 best performing councils in the UK for its work in combatting climate change.
Climate Emergency UK assessed all UK councils on their progress towards net zero, ranking them in the work they are doing in the following categories:
- Buildings and heating
- Transport
- Planning land Use
- Governance and Finance
- Biodiversity
- Collaboration & Engagement
- Waste reduction & Food
The City Corporation has launched an ambitious Climate Action Strategy which commits it to achieving net zero carbon emissions in its own operations by 2027. It also aims to become net zero across its investment and supply chain by 2040 – and to support the achievement of net zero for the whole Square Mile by the same year.
The City Corporation’s first-of-its-kind Climate Action Dashboard uses independently verified data and gives a transparent public account of the organisation’s progress in reducing carbon emissions and increasing climate resilience. This was a key tool in providing information to Climate Emergency UK.
The City Corporation has already cut its annual carbon emissions by 31%, and energy consumption by 21%, between 2018/2019 and 2021/2022. And Since 2018, it has been using 100% renewable electricity. Next month it will publish updated figures for the financial year 2022/23,
Through a £40 million Power Purchase Agreement with international energy provider Voltalia, the City Corporation buys all the electricity produced by a solar farm in Dorset.
The facility provides over half of its electricity, powering sites which it runs, including the Barbican Centre, the Old Bailey, Guildhall, several schools, social housing estates, and wholesale markets across the capital.
Corporation Policy Chairman, Chris Hayward, said:
“We are proud to be named amongst the highest performing UK councils in combating climate change.
“This work is critically important, and together with our partners we must all act decisively and take bold and radical action to reach global targets.
“And that is exactly what we are doing. Our Climate Action Strategy makes us the first UK governing body to have a fully funded net zero commitment that covers all emissions – and we are working closely with City businesses to help them reach net zero status.
“We are delivering with positive actions, not just words.”
The City Corporation protects 11,000 acres of green space in London and southeast England including Epping Forest and Hampstead Heath. These sites already remove an estimated 16,000 tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere a year, equivalent to 44% of its annual carbon footprint.
The organisation is also the first governing authority to run an all-electric refuse fleet and has banned the purchase of new diesel vehicles across its operations – where there is a clean market alternative.
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