WHEN it comes to sustainability, Warwickshire is among the best.
Warwickshire County Council has been rated one of the top local authorities for sustainability by the West Midland’s Local Authority Sustainability Benchmark.
Published on behalf of the Environment Agency, the Benchmark looks at actions taken in detail across the sustainability agenda. Overall, WCC was awarded a score of 68.8 per cent, which is an increase of 1.7 per cent on the previous year and placed it seventh of the 20 regional authorities that took part.
WCC gained high rankings in key areas including ‘resource efficiency’ where it was ranked fourth and adapting to climate change where it was ranked second.
Under the adapting category, Sustainability West Midlands used WCC as an example of best practice, sharing a case study of its approach to helping the county to adapt to the effects of climate change.
WCC’s climate spokesperson Coun Heather Timms said: “I’m delighted that the work we are doing to manage environmental risks and reduce our carbon emissions continues to be recognised on a regional level.
“There is ongoing work taking place at WCC to assess and target reductions in carbon emissions from our estate, across buildings, streetlighting and vehicle fleets. We’ve been replacing gas boilers with efficient electric systems, installing solar PV systems, improving building insulation, increasing the use of electric vehicles and using alternative fuels where appropriate. Our tree planting programme is also ongoing, as part of our commitment to plant a tree for every Warwickshire resident and is now supported by our own Warwickshire Tree Nursery.”
