Climate Change and Net Zero

Hartlepool Borough Council is committed to taking a leading role and working with everyone across the Borough to act now on the causes and impacts of climate change. We are proactively reducing the Council’s greenhouse gas emissions and planning to be a Net Zero Local Authority across our operations and services. In December 2021 we adopted our first Climate Pledge committing to deliver 7 key priorities and have developed a Climate Change Response and Net Zero Strategy and Action Plan which outlines our path to achieving our goal.

The scientific consensus regarding climate change is unequivocal; we must take immediate and decisive action to reduce our global carbon emissions urgently.

Our goal is for Hartlepool Borough Council to stop all contributions to climate change by 2050 and demonstrate leadership to other places in the UK and globally.

The Climate Change Response and Net Zero Strategy sets out what we need to achieve and how we are going to achieve it. In November 2023, members of the Finance and Policy Committee passed a motion to adopt the plan. This strategy will set out our pathway to Net Zero emissions by 2050 and include all the actions we will take to decarbonise across all our services and operations. The plan will also include specific adaptation actions to better protect the delivery of our services to the residents against the impacts of climate change.

The council's Climate Change Response and Net Zero Strategy and Action Plan can be found at the following link:

           Hartlepool Borough Council Net Zero Strategy and Action Plan 

The action plan as a standalone document can be found here:

           Hartlepool Borough Council Net Zero Action Plan

A leaflet summarising the net zero plan can be found here: 

          Hartlepool Borough Council Net Zero Leaflet 

To view our Climate Pledge public declaration

          Climate  pledge poster

Hartlepool Borough Council has calculated its carbon footprint for each financial year since 2018/19 with most recent figures covering the financial period 2021/22, using 2018/19 as the baseline year. The Greenhouse Gas Accounting Tool developed by Local Partnerships together with the LGA is currently being used to calculate our emissions.  

What are Scopes 1, 2, and 3? 

 

We are already delivering important actions to tackle the climate crisis and decarbonise our operations. The Council has:

• Delivered a comprehensive carbon audit to identify our sources of emissions and priority areas for decarbonisation
• Developed Heat Decarbonisation Plans for a number of its largest buildings
• Installed renewable energy and low carbon heating installations including PV systems and air source heat pumps on a number of assets
• Replaced 100% of the council’s street lighting stock with high efficiency LED units
• Over £2.4m of new housing retrofit activity to reduce emissions from domestic dwellings
• Secured funding to prepare us for a large scale PV system installation project on our vehicle depot
• Collaborated with the Institute for Community Studies, voluntary and community sector organisations, and residents to explore what a just transition to net zero might look like
• Amended the council Constitution to require all Committee and Council decisions to take account of climate change
• Became the 63rd local authority in the UK to report to CDP
• Parking permits are enforced at Hartlepool Borough Council staff carparks, for example at the Civic Centre underground carpark
• Hartlepool Borough Council have taken steps to cut down on plastic waste. Catering services within the Civic Centre serves drinks in porcelain cups and glasses, while the disposable cups provided at water dispensers are made from plant-based bioplastics. We have also taken steps to reducing overall plastic packaging used for food served for events and meetings

Guidance for staff on reducing emissions can be found here

Retrofitting works and renewable energy installations have been completed on several of our Council buildings, taking it one step closer to its target of becoming net zero by 2050. These projects include various works such as solar panel installations, air source heat pumps, and efficient LED lighting replacements. More retrofit projects are currently in the pipeline for the future.  

Hartlepool is in the Tees Valley alongside its neighbours of Darlington, Middlesbrough, Redcar & Cleveland and Stockton-On-Tees. Tees Valley Combined Authority has adopted a Net Zero Strategy in 2023 and committed to be a global leader in clean energy, low carbon and hydrogen. This strategy outlines how the region will reach Net Zero by 2050 and the document can be found here

Hartlepool residents can take advantage of collective switching opportunities and cheaper energy tariffs when they are available through the independent Big Community Switch provider. Click here for more information 

Local businesses across Hartlepool can all play their part to tackle climate change. Actions to reduce carbon emissions can vary from business to business but in general, improving operational efficiencies and reducing the amount of energy use can lower a business’ carbon footprint. Local businesses will be key to helping achieve a borough-wide net zero target as we extend the boundary for our net zero target.Local businesses across Hartlepool can all play their part to tackle climate change. Actions to reduce carbon emissions can vary from business to business but in general, improving operational efficiencies and reducing the amount of energy use can lower a business’ carbon footprint. Local businesses will be key to helping achieve a borough-wide net zero target as we extend the boundary for our net zero target. Click here for more information 

Visit the following webpage for advice and information about how to reduce your carbon footprint

Ways to reduce your carbon footprint | Ways to reduce your carbon footprint | Hartlepool Borough Council