Tackling the joint climate and biodiversity emergencies
Worcester City Council declared a climate emergency in July 2019 and committed to work towards making the city carbon neutral by 2030.
An Environmental Sustainability Strategy was drawn up to establish Council and city-wide objectives to reduce Worcester’s carbon emissions and consumption of resources and develop its low carbon economy.
The strategy also recognises the importance of the natural environment. In response to the biodiversity emergency, the Council has now completed a dedicated Biodiversity Strategy, providing a clear framework for protecting and enhancing nature across the city.
A public consultation informed the development of the strategy, which is periodically updated, with the next refresh due this year.
Read the full pdf Environmental Sustainability Strategy. (1.33 MB)
Read the full pdf Biodiversity Strategy (2.82 MB)
Reducing carbon emissions
Worcester City Council’s Environmental Sustainability Strategy is supported by an action plan.
The current action plan outlines how we are seeking to decarbonise City Council buildings, reduce emissions from our vehicles, encourage active travel and install more electric vehicle charging points.
Other priorities include reducing waste, encouraging recycling and reuse and enhancing biodiversity.
The Environmental Sustainability Strategy and Action Plan are also supported by a number of other strategy documents and action plans, including:
Worcester City Council emissions
As we seek to reduce carbon emissions from the city, it’s important that we reduce emissions from our own Council buildings and operations.
The Council purchases accredited green electricity from renewable sources. Therefore all electricity usage across Council buildings and operations is rated as zero-carbon (this doesn’t include leisure centres, which are operated by Freedom Leisure on the Council’s behalf).
The Council’s main sources of emissions are from:
- our vehicle fleet, mainly the refuse collection vehicles which collect general waste and recycling from all households on a weekly basis,
- the Guildhall
- Museum and Art Gallery
- Crematorium
- Perdiswell Leisure Centre
- St John’s Sports Centre and Nunnery Wood Sports Centre
See the full pdf 2023-24 carbon emissions report. (200 KB)
Emissions in 2023/24 amounted to approximately 1849 tonnes' CO2e
Worcester’s carbon dioxide emissions in 2023
Emissions for the whole city totalled 352.4 kilotonnes CO2e in 2022 or 3.5 tonnes per person. This data is produced by central government and is updated retrospectively. 2023 is the most recent data that has been released.
Data from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero representing a breakdown of carbon dioxide emissions within the scope of influence of Worcester City Council from 2005-2022.
Worcester Carbon Budget
The carbon budget is the total remaining carbon which can be emitted if Worcester is to reach its carbon neutral targets. As the carbon budget shows, an immediate and rapid programme of decarbonisation is needed, with reductions of around 12.6% required from 2020 onwards.
This is summarised in more depth in a May 2023 committee report.
What can you do to reduce your carbon footprint?
Reducing carbon emissions is the responsibility of everyone. Do you know what your carbon footprint is?
CALCULATE your carbon footprint here
What can you do to reduce it?
- Make as many journeys as possible by active travel and public transport
- Make energy efficiency improvements to your home such as installing insulation
- Purchase electricity from renewable suppliers
- Shop second hand as much as possible
- Repair items rather than throwing them away
- Reduce consumption of meat and dairy
Find more information on reducing your carbon footprint.
Adaptation and resilience
Climate change is already affecting Worcester, with hotter drier summers, warmer wetter winters, and more frequent extreme weather events.
The Met Office has created reports looking at the extent of climate changes expected for every local authority area through their Local Authority Climate Service.
This information can help communities, businesses, and organisations prepare for the future impacts of climate change, Sustainability West Midlands have a wide range of resources to help businesses become more resilient in a changing climate.
Sustainable Procurement
The pdf Council's Sustainable Procurement policy (160 KB) sets out the approach to embedding environmental considerations across both procurement and contract management. The policy outlines the procedures in place to reduce the GHG emissions and environmental impact of our purchasing, and to encourage positive action by our suppliers.
As a significant purchaser of goods, services and works, the Council recognises that procurement decisions can have far-reaching environmental, social and economic impacts. This policy ensures that the Council is seeking to minimise the environmental impact of the goods and services which we buy.
Through the implementation of the Sustainable Procurement Policy, we aim to:
- Reduce the environmental impact associated with the goods, services and works we procure.
- Support the Council's wider sustainability and climate change ambitions.
- Promote resource efficiency, waste reduction and responsible consumption.
- Encourage suppliers to adopt sustainable and ethical business practices.
By embedding sustainability into procurement, we can use our purchasing power to drive positive change, support responsible suppliers and contribute to a more sustainable future for the district.
Contact us
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