Case studies

Portsmouth City Council, as part of Solent Transport, have teamed up with Voi to promote their discounts available to those on low income, students and those serving their community. Voi have focused on making the shared e-scooter scheme in Portsmouth, which is funded by the Solent Future Transport Zone, and e-bike service elsewhere as accessible as possible to everyone.

Switched On Portsmouth was launched in November 2019 by Portsmouth City Council to provide a comprehensive service to offer Portsmouth, Gosport and Havant residents ways in which they can save energy and money in their homes.

Portsmouth climate festival was an event to raise awareness of the climate challenges in the city, highlighting both the implications of climate change for Portsmouth, and the opportunities to make a positive difference. It was organised through a partnership of Portsmouth University, Portsmouth City Council and the Climate Action Board.

OCC is using the evidence-based recommendations from its 2019 Citizens’ Assembly to steer their approach to climate change.

Schools work to integrate sustainability into all areas of their curriculum, develop processes to support net zero, plan for outdoor learning and nature connection and provide opportunities for young people, their families and communities to tackle climate action.

Devon County Council (DCC) set a net zero target by 2030, and is implementing a carbon reduction plan to reduce its emissions by 70 per cent. This leaves about 116,300 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) to offset at 2030/31 and beyond.

In 2019, Nottingham set an ambitious target to become the first carbon neutral city in the UK by 2028. In keeping with Nottingham’s proud tradition of climate leadership, their Carbon Neutral Charter set out a vision for sustainable carbon neutrality on behalf of the council and the city’s Green Partnership.

Norwich City Council notably became the first UK council to run a public reverse public solar auction in 2015, with businesses competing to buy clean power generated by rooftop solar arrays on residential and commercial properties. To date, it has installed more than 4,500 kW of solar capacity across the area, enabling homeowners and businesspeople to benefit from low group purchase prices.

Against a challenging backdrop, financially and politically, Northumberland County Council has developed a robust response to their climate emergency declaration of 2019 and created a pipeline of projects to accelerate delivery in line with their targets.

Northumberland County Council have drafted a retrofit action plan based on their learnings from the LGA Local Retrofit Action Planning (LRAP) training programme.