'We are proud of our work': Preston recognised for efforts to reduce carbon emissions

Preston City Council has announced it achieved the Carbon Neutral International Standard, granted by One Carbon World, for its work on measuring and reducing its carbon emissions over the past decade.

And the council has also officially become a participant in the United Nations Climate Neutral Now Initiative, formalising its commitment to climate action and a net-zero world by mid-century.

Schemes put in place over the past ten years include the installation of solar panels on the roof of Town Hall, switching to LED lighting in council buildings and installing more energy-efficient windows in a bid to reduce the carbon footprint of the city.

And it is looking to introduce upgraded and greener ICT equipment as well as making stress cleaning and maintenance vehicles more energy efficient.

The news comes as the city declared a climate emergency in 2019.

Councillor Carol Henshaw, Cabinet Member for Climate Change at Preston City Council, said: “We are proud to have achieved this recognition from One Carbon World for our work to reduce carbon emissions and make the services we provide greener.

"In 2019 we declared a climate emergency, and since then, we have been working hard to look at the services we provide and the energy we use. As an organisation, we have always been mindful of the changes happening to the climate and the role we can all play, so we have been striving to make our operations more ecologically friendly for a long time.

"I am very proud of the work everyone has done and the progress we’ve made despite the pandemic and the delays this has inevitably caused.

"By making changes internally, we hope to inspire other businesses and organisations in the city to look at how they do things and see where they can cut their emissions to improve our carbon footprint as a city.

"We are working hard to make Preston City Council a carbon-neutral organisation by 2030, and while there’s a long way to go, this recognition is a positive step along that journey”.

The renewed council strategy for Community Wealth Building which was launched earlier this year makes a committment to drawing up a climate action plan which will outline the steps the organisation will take as it works toward its target of being carbon-neutral by 2030.

Preston City Council is among other local councils in the AgriCaptureCO2 project, funded by the EU Horizon 2020 programme, which aims to make it easier and more profitable for farmers to adopt regenerative agriculture practices.

One Carbon World is a carbon-neutral not-for-profit organisation and a global resource partner of the Climate Neutral Now Initiative, launched by United Nations Climate Change.

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