This section addresses how councils can collaborate with others to improve their own climate action and to support others in the area to decarbonise. More than half of the emissions cuts needed to reach net zero rely on people and businesses taking up low-carbon solutions, and councils can work with those in their local area to enable those solutions.
You’ll find more options, like the ability to compare your council’s Scorecard with other councils, and see a more granular breakdown of how they did on each question of the Scorecards.
Do the council's climate pages include information about behaviour changes that residents can take, and are they easy to find?
Criteria met if the council website has climate pages that are easy for residents to find and include information about what residents can do to reduce their carbon emissions.
Information about what residents can do must include links to council initiatives for further support. For example, a suggestion to reduce food waste could include a link to order a food waste caddy.
131 out of 164councils got full marks for this question.
Has the council published an up to date and easy-to-read annual report on their Climate Action Plan?
Points awarded for each of the following criteria: - The council has published an annual report since 1st January 2022 - The annual report is easy-to-read - The annual report includes reporting on progress towards the council's climate action plan SMART targets.
45 out of 164councils got full marks for this question.
Has the council lobbied the government for climate action?
Criteria met if the council has sent a letter or had a meeting with national or devolved governments calling for the government to take further action, or asking for councils to receive more funding, powers and climate resources to take climate action.
The criteria will be met if councils have worked on specific, climate-related issues, provided climate is cited as a reason to take action. For example, asking for measures to improve local bus provision will meet the criteria if reducing carbon emissions is cited as a reason to do so.
60 out of 164councils got full marks for this question.
Is the council working with external partners or other councils to seek to influence national governments on climate action, or to learn about and share best practice on council climate action?
Two tier criteria Point awarded for membership or contributing case studies for at least one of the following organisations, with a further point available for membership or contributing case studies for three or more of the following organisations.
Membership organisations: - UK100 (Including the Countryside Climate Network) - ADEPT - Blueprint Coalition - ICLEI - Carbon Neutral Cities - UK Green Building Council - Sustainable Scotland Network - Carbon Disclosure Project (including submitting to the CDP since 2019)
Case studies: - Friends of the Earth & Ashden case studies - LGA (Local Government Association) climate change case studies - UK100 case studies - WRAP case studies
36 out of 164councils got full marks for this question.
Does the council have an ongoing way for residents to influence the implementation of the council's Climate Action Plan?
Two tier criteria Point awarded if the council has established a way for residents to influence the implementation of the council's climate action. This may be through: - a community engagement group - introducing community, resident or activist representation on a council climate change committee/group - convening or using a local climate action network to improve the implementation of their climate action plan - broader forms of community engagement work such as a series of workshops across the area for different groups of residents.
A further point will be awarded if there is an overarching framework such as a dedicated climate public engagement plan to inform this work.
22 out of 164councils got full marks for this question.
Does the council's ongoing engagement with residents include those most affected by climate change and climate action policy?
Two tier criteria Point awarded if the council's ongoing engagement (under 5a) specifically aims to engage those most affected by climate change and climate action policies.
A further point available if the council's climate action plan has undergone an equalities impact assessment to identify who is most affected by climate change and climate action policies.
14 out of 164councils got full marks for this question.
Does the council provide funding for community climate action, for example through an environment fund or climate action fund?
Criteria met for a ring-fenced fund that a council has created to spend on climate action locally, either in partnership with the council or for other organisations or volunteer and community groups. The fund must fulfill the following criteria: - The fund is at least £10k in size. Where the overall amount of funding has not been stated, it will be assumed that funds awarding individual grants over £1k in size have a total fund of at least £10k. - The fund is accessible to community groups, including, where relevant, parish councils. - The funding has been open to applications at some point since 1st January 2022, in order to include funds released in waves that may not be open at the time of marking.
79 out of 164councils got full marks for this question.
Is the council working in partnership with cultural institutions and organisations to encourage decarbonisation within culture and arts locally?
Criteria met if there is a partnership between the council and local sports, arts and cultural partnerships, provided the partnership includes any one of the following: funding for climate work, evidence of co-creation with community groups, the decarbonisation of cultural buildings including targets, initiatives that encourage behaviour change such as sustainable travel incentives, or a focus on climate justice.
53 out of 164councils got full marks for this question.
Is the council working in partnership with schools or other education settings to deliver climate action that young people can engage with?
Criteria met if the council supports schools or other education settings by running any of the following schemes in more than one school: - EnergySparks or equivalent auditing schemes which require local authority support. - Solar schools or other visible low-carbon interventions. - Democratic engagement work in schools or other education settings to connect young people to climate decision making, including establishing youth climate panels or parliaments and holding youth climate summits for schools in the area.
83 out of 164councils got full marks for this question.
Is the council working in partnership with local businesses to encourage decarbonisation?
Criteria met if the council provides support or free tailored advice to businesses in the local area to decarbonise, including through collaborative measures with local businesses, other local authorities, or via the Local Enterprise Partnership.
122 out of 164councils got full marks for this question.
Has the council passed a motion to ban high carbon advertising and sponsorship?
A point will be awarded if the council has passed a motion to ban high carbon advertising on ad sites it controls by introducing a low carbon advertising and sponsorship policy or similar, or updated their existing advertising and sponsorship policies to include high carbon products.
3 out of 164councils got full marks for this question.