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Introduction
In order to reach national carbon-reduction targets emissions from Dorset buildings will need to be eliminated and all energy used to maintain a comfortable indoor environment will need to be generated from renewable sources.
Dorset Council is extremely limited in the powers it has to achieve this. However, we do have control of our own current buildings and any future buildings that are constructed on our land. We are also able to influence and stimulate action with partners to facilitate change.
After detailed evidence and information gathering exercises, led by the EAP and carried out by officer working groups, it has been recommended that the Council implement the following 37 actions.
Milestones have been identified for each action. This plan shows the immediate targets we will need to achieve by 2023 to keep us on track.
Objective 1
Objective | Action type | CO2 saving potential | Co-benefits | Cost |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ensure Council estate becomes zero-carbon by 2040 |
Direct action | Low | Improves ecology Builds resilience Encourages economic sustainability Enhances health and wellbeing |
High |
Actions | Action type | CO2 saving potential | Co-benefits | Cost | 2021-2023 target |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ensure climate & ecological considerations are included as part of the Asset Review, and that the future asset management plan is aligned to achieving DC carbon budgets to 2040
|
Direct action | Low | Improved ecology Builds resilience Encourages economic sustainability |
None | Guidance created and deployed by 2022 |
Commission study to identify opportunities for small scale on-site renewable energy installations on Council buildings & assets |
Direct action | Low | None | Medium | Studies completed by June 2021 |
Carry out audits to identify opportunities to retrofit energy efficiency, water efficiency, and renewable energy generation across the estate on completion of the Asset Review. |
Direct action | Low | Builds resilience Encourages economic sustainability |
High | 250 audits carried |
Increase capacity of Energy Team to develop and implement retrofit programme |
Direct action | Low | None | High | Additional capacity in place by Dec 2021 |
Implement retro fit programme (to include LEDs, thermal upgrade, ambient cooling, conversions to low carbon energy sources) based on audits |
Direct action | Low | Builds resilience Encourages economic sustainability Enhances health and wellbeing |
High | 10% of programme (5% by 2022, |
Ensure procurement specification favours energy efficient equipment
|
Direct action | Low | Encourages economic sustainability | None | Procurement specification specifies energy efficient equipment |
Investigate the costs involved in making key buildings (such as County Hall) carbon neutral |
Direct action | Low | Encourages economic sustainability | Low | Costs identified & analysis completed |
Re-instate a school’s energy programme to support and work with schools to reduce energy and maximise use of renewable energy technologies |
Direct action | Low | Encourages economic sustainability | High | Schools liaison officer employed, Plan developed & initiated, Improvement targets set by 2022 |
Expand centralised utility management service across Dorset Council to incorporate an oversight of energy use, monitor consumption and target energy reduction at site level. |
Direct action | Low | Encourages economic sustainability | High | Energy officer employed, Plan developed & initiated, Improvement targets set by 2022 |
Expand centralised energy management system |
Direct action | Low | Enhances health and wellbeing | High | System expanded by 20% by 2023 (10% each year) |
Review operational controls on energy using equipment across council estate to ensure optimum efficiency |
Direct action | Low | Encourages economic sustainability | None | 50% of building controls checked by 2023 |
Keep cost/payback of streetlights, bollards and signals under review to identify when they meet a payback that satisfies loan requirements or finance policy requirements |
Direct action | Low | Encourages economic sustainability | High | Review cost benefit |
Objective 2
Objective | Action type | CO2 saving potential | Co-benefits | Cost |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ensure all new Council developments are zero-carbon |
Direct action Partnership /influence action |
Low | Builds resilience Encourages economic sustainability Enhances health and wellbeing |
Medium |
Action | Action type | CO2 saving potential | Co-benefits | Cost | 2021-2023 target |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Establish a policy to ensure all new buildings that Dorset Council has direct influence over (as landowners, clients, or designers) are zero-carbon (this being true zero-carbon, and so a negative BER to cover the unregulated emissions) |
Direct action | Low | Builds resilience Encourages economic sustainability Enhances health and wellbeing |
Low | Policy developed by March 2022 |
Trial tools to measure the embodied carbon in construction, such as the open source “EC3” tool |
Direct action | Low | Encourages economic sustainability | Low | Future action beyond 2023 |
Investigate available tools to incorporate whole-life costing into property processes |
Direct action | Low | Encourages economic sustainability | Low | Future action beyond 2023 |
Promote more sustainable materials for new constructions based on the BREEAM tool |
Direct action | Low | Encourages economic sustainability | Low | Future action beyond 2023
|
Develop and promote case studies and examples of best practice on our own estate to encourage replication by others |
Partnership /influence action | Low | Encourages economic sustainability | Medium | Future action beyond 2023 |
Objective 3
Objective | Action type | CO2 saving potential | Co-benefits | Cost |
---|---|---|---|---|
Decarbonise heating in housing and community, public and commercial buildings |
Partnership /influence action | Medium | Builds resilience Encourages economic sustainability Enhances health and wellbeing |
Medium |
Action | Action type | CO2 saving potential | Co-benefits | Cost | 2121-2023 target |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lobby government for clarity on national strategy for heat and national policy framework |
Partnership /influence action | High | Encourages economic sustainability | None | Lobby paper presented to Government in 2021 |
Investigate large scale installation of low carbon sources of heating (air/ground/water source heat pumps), using social housing as a test bed in partnership with Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) |
Partnership /influence action | Medium | Builds resilience Encourages economic sustainability Enhances health and wellbeing |
None | Liaised with RSLs to assess their plans, |
Undertake heat mapping exercises to identify opportunities for low carbon heat in Dorset such as any clusters of buildings suitable for district heating, or large heat demands off the gas grid |
Partnership /influence action | Medium | Encourages economic sustainability | Low | Heat mapping |
Investigate support for Dorset Council employees working from home in winter (funding / thermal upgrades / advice) |
Direct action | Low | Builds resilience Encourages economic sustainability Enhances health and wellbeing |
Medium | Advice provided to employees, and Funding opportunities |
Targeted campaign to encourage all buildings off the gas grid to switch to heat pumps or biomass for heating |
Partnership /influence action | Medium | Encourages economic sustainability | Low | Communications plan developed Campaign initiated |
Use Council buildings in trial projects to test the use of hydrogen heating
|
Partnership /influence action | High | Builds resilience Encourages economic sustainability Enhances health and wellbeing |
Low | Future action beyond 2023 |
Investigate potential in Dorset for large-scale ‘blue’ hydrogen generation with carbon capture and storage |
Partnership /influence action | High | Encourages economic sustainability | Low | Future action beyond 2023 |
Access new funding to assist residents to decarbonise heating (delivered through Healthy Homes Dorset Scheme) |
Direct action | High | Encourages economic sustainability Enhances health and wellbeing |
None | Green Homes Grant bid made by Sept 2020 |
Objective 4
Objective | Action type | CO2 saving potential | Co-benefits | Cost |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ensure new buildings in Dorset are zero-carbon |
Indirect action Partnership /influence action |
Medium | Improves ecology Builds resilience Encourages economic sustainability Enhances health and wellbeing |
Medium |
Action | Action type | CO2 saving potential | Co-benefits | Cost | 2021-2023 target |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Develop a positive planning framework, in partnership with other agencies, for achieving true net zero carbon home standards in Dorset’ |
Indirect action | Medium | Encourages economic sustainability | Low | Planning framework in place by Dec 2021, adopted by 2023 |
Encourage designs and layouts which lend themselves to low-carbon energy solutions, and provide guidance and advice for developers to achieve zero carbon standards
|
Indirect action | Medium | Improves ecology Builds resilience |
Medium | Guidance developed by Sept 2022 |
Ensure the relevant housing strategies and policies incorporate the reduction of carbon emissions and increased risk to climate impacts |
Indirect action | Medium | Improves ecology Builds resilience Encourages economic sustainability Enhances health and wellbeing |
None | Plans / Strategies identified in 2021 Carbon emission reductions & risk to climate impacts |
Develop trials and pilots, with Registered Social Landlords (RSLs), of localised off-site manufacturing for new build and retrofit |
Partnership /influence action | Medium | Builds resilience Encourages economic sustainability |
Low | Investigate potential with RSLs by Dec 2021 |
Objective 5
Objective | Action type | CO2 saving potential | Co-benefits | Cost |
---|---|---|---|---|
Improve energy efficiency of current housing stock |
Indirect action Partnership /influence action |
Medium | Builds resilience Encourages economic sustainability Enhances health and wellbeing |
Medium |
Action | Action type | CO2 saving potential | Co-benefits | Cost | 2021-2023 target |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Enforce minimum energy efficiency standards in the private rental sector (focus on EPC certificates E & F without exemptions) |
Indirect action | Low | Builds resilience Encourages economic sustainability Enhances health and wellbeing |
High | Enforcement plan |
Work in partnership (e.g. with Registered Social Landlords (RSLs), other councils and partners) to deliver programmes to improve energy efficiency of housing stock & hard to treat properties |
Partnership /influence action | Medium | Builds resilience Encourages economic sustainability Enhances health and wellbeing |
None | Strategy developed in 2021 and Programmes initiated by 2022 |
Educate residential and non-residential sectors on low-carbon technologies, energy efficiency, and sources of funding to encourage behaviour change & greater uptake of low-carbon technology
|
Partnership /influence action | Medium | Builds resilience Encourages economic sustainability Enhances health and wellbeing |
Medium | Communication plan developed and implemented |
Promote innovative and sensitive energy efficiency/renewable energy measures in conservation areas and on listed buildings which preserve and enhance such assets for the needs of existing and future occupants |
Partnership /influence action | Low | Builds resilience Encourages economic sustainability Enhances health and wellbeing |
None | Future action beyond 2023 |
Objective 6
Objective | Action type | CO2 saving potential | Co-benefits | Cost |
---|---|---|---|---|
Increase buildings resilience to climate change |
Indirect action Partnership /influence action |
Low | Improves ecology Builds resilience Enhances health and wellbeing |
None |
Action | Action type | CO2 saving potential | Co-benefits | Cost | 2021-2023 target |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Develop local plan policies to ensure climate risks are identified and avoided in new developments, including flood risk and overheating |
Indirect action | Low | Improves ecology Builds resilience Enhances health and wellbeing |
None | Local Plan policy in place by Dec 2021 adopted by 2023 |
Work with partners to increase climate change resilience of communities & buildings by understanding the future climate risks within Dorset |
Partnership /influence action | Low | Improves ecology Builds resilience Enhances health and wellbeing |
None | Risk Assessment |
Ensure Emergency Plans are adapted to reflect changing climate risks and are tested and proven fit for purpose
|
Partnership /influence action | None | Improves ecology Builds resilience Enhances health and wellbeing |
None | Lobby paper presented to government in 2021 |