This report provides a quarterly update on Devon County Council’s (DCC’s) corporate Environmental Performance programme that implements the Environmental Policy. The report is split into topics and gives a short update on the individual projects we are running to improve environmental performance.
Period
Aug 2023 – Oct 2023
Project Colour Key
Each project is assigned a colour to indicate its current status. The key is as follows:
Green 🟢 – Project is performing well. There may be minor issues that do not affect project viability or timescales significantly.
Amber 🟠 – Issues have arisen that affect the time, cost or scope of the project. However, these can be dealt with by the Environmental Performance Management Group. The Environmental Performance Board should be notified.
Red 🔴 – Significant issues that cannot be handled solely by the Environmental Performance Management Group. The Environmental Performance Board must be engaged to assess the situation.
Energy
Energy projects are being delivered slower than anticipated due to the vacant Energy Programme Manager post. This has been approved for recruitment. An internal recruitment advert closed 27th October 2023.
Corporate Building Retrofit [Amber 🟠 ]
Target: Retrofit 10 buildings by March 2031 to save 269 tCO2e per year. Achieved 9 buildings and 346 tCO2e at current emission intensities due to unexpected funding opportunities from government.
An application to the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme 3c has been cancelled due to capacity in SW Norse to assist with the audits and investment-grade designs. A shortlist of buildings was identified.
A capital request for the next three years has not been successful based on the near-term cost of retrofit activity and uncertainty over which estate assets will be retained.
Available revenue funding will be used in the remainder of 2023/24 to use an external energy auditor to prepare investment-grade proposals of the buildings that had been shortlisted for PSDS 3c. These proposals will be used to find alternative investment opportunities.
Renewables [Red 🔴]
Target 1: 600kWp new capacity installed by March 2024 on DCC assets. Current achievement is 225kWp.
Solar PV on salt barns – The remainder of the Phase 1 programme (totalling 106kWp) was endorsed by the Capital Programme Group in May 2023 at a value of £280k. These installations at Rydon, South Molton and Honiton are complete. Tiverton is remaining and is expected to be completed next quarter. This will bring the total installed to 331kWp.
A capital request to complete the solar depots (Okehampton, Crediton and Tavistock) next year has been unsuccessful.
The identification of further opportunities on buildings and land assets in cooperation with the property and waste teams (to include county farms and redundant landfill) has been delayed due to capacity at SW Norse. This will be progressed next quarter using external assistance.
Target 2: Use Virtual Power Purchase Agreements to buy power from 23MWp of new solar capacity in Devon by 2030. Current achievement is 0MWp.
The business case for purchasing renewable energy from community schemes via Virtual Power Purchase Agreement needs to be updated. Work has started on the options evaluation using feedback provided in January 2023 from the Power Allotments project funded by DCC’s Community Energy Fund. Taking this work further relies on filling the vacant Energy Programme Manager post.
County Farmhouses Retrofit [Green 🟢]
42 of 66 dwellings completed. This leaves 24 remaining. Up to five are expected to be completed in 2023/24.Progress update will be obtained next quarter.
Street Lighting [Green 🟢]
Target: Retrofit 100% of lighting with LED lamps by March 2024.
70,000 of the 79,000 lamps (89%) have been replaced (up from 68,000 last quarter). A programme of installing dimmable lenses has commenced in addition to the LED replacement to save more energy.
Schools Estate [Amber 🟠] (not reported in carbon footprint)
The enhancements that were delivered as part of the 2022/23 maintenance programme and the anticipated improvements in 2023/24 have yet to be compiled. This will be progressed in the next quarter now that a replacement for the Built Environments Capital Programme Manager is in post.
Transport
Travel Plans for Strategic Work Locations [Green 🟢]
Majority of staff are continuing to work flexibly. Car parking capacity is being monitored. Wednesday’s are the busiest day at County Hall.
An estimate of commuting emissions is being prepared for integration into the corporate carbon footprint and backdated to the baseline year of 2012.
Electric Vehicles and Charging [Amber 🟠]
Visitors and Staff
The Deletti project is providing 4 charging bays available for staff (and public) use at County Hall and Great Moor House. Two bays at Great Moor House are active. Two bays at County Hall have been delayed due to the need for the correct heritage consents. Still progressing. Site visit with Chief Planner and County Archaeologist will occur in November.
Fleet
Target: 32 electric vehicles in the fleet by March 2024. Currently achieved 18.
Nineteen more vehicles are to be procured in 23/24 meaning a total of 36 will be in the fleet (one lease vehicle being returned) – this will meet the target. Twelve have been ordered. A further seven for the Civil Enforcement Team are expected to be ordered next quarter.
The Phase 2 charge posts are being installed now.
The Phase 3 chargeposts will install 16 further charging sockets during 2023/24 in readiness for 15 further vehicles that are planned to arrive in 2024/25 (capital for the 24/25 vehicle purchase has yet to be approved). Still awaiting signoff from the Capital Programme Group for the £127k spend.
No capital request has been submitted for Phase 4 charging posts as we have built up ‘spare capacity’ of charging sockets because for each vehicle purchased to date we have been installing a dual socket charge post.
£10k from the Carbon Reduction Plan has been earmarked to assist with identifying locations suitable as electric minibus charging depots during 2023/24. South West Norse has been commissioned to assist with this.
Waste and Resources
Establish a new Reuse Policy [Green 🟢]
Policy has been endorsed by the Board in May 2023 and will be adopted via a delegated Cabinet member decision in November.
Establish a waste/recycling data management system [Green 🟢]
The waste analysis, to look at the composition of the refuse from County Hall, has budget assigned from the Carbon Reduction Plan revenue funding for this financial year (£2k). This will be progressed next quarter.
Procurement and Commissioning
Low Carbon Supply Chain Strategy [Amber 🟠]
Senior Leadership Team (SLT) considered the Strategy in July. Following their feedback it has been amended and will be considered again by SLT before progressing to Cabinet in December.
Highways, Development and Infrastructure Activity [Green 🟢]
Work to develop a service decarbonisation strategy has completed and the strategy has been published.
Power Bi Dashboard is being used to identify carbon hotspots in maintenance activity using real data from suppliers.
A382 (Including Jetty Marsh Link Road) – Carbon Negative Project
Having successfully passed the Outline Business Case stage and received confirmation of the funding award, the Live Labs project team have been seeking out innovations across the construction industry and beyond. Whilst looking at options for many elements of the works, the team have identified the main carbon hotspots of the project so that these can be targeted. With vegetation clearance being at the early stages of the project we’ve recently taken proposals to the Live Labs decision board centring around the clearance tasks and as a result will be progressing with translocation of trees prior to clearance, a carbon based procurement exercise for a sawmill and working on a business case for a bio-char plant.
Environmental Risk
Produce a Template for Service-Level Climate Adaptation Risk Assessments [Amber 🟠]
No further progress this quarter. Template is available to all service areas. Requires promotion and offer of support to encourage further uptake.
Enhance Procedures for Reporting and Learning from Environmental Incidents and Near Misses [Amber 🟠]
No further progress this quarter.
Water
Water Resource Management Surveys [Amber 🟠]
Water Resource Management Surveys completed. The development of a strategy proposal is delayed due to a focus on delivering energy projects and the vacant Energy Programme Manager post.
Countryside, Coast and Heritage
The Countryside, Coast and Heritage Action Plan has been revised and approved by the Environmental Performance Board. It will be considered by Cabinet later in 2023/24 following a further update to incorporate the new biodiversity duty from the Environment Act.
Support the delivery of the Devon Ash Dieback Action Plan [Green 🟢]
There continues to be good progress in the delivery of a range of externally funded tree initiatives, including the Emergency Tree Fund, Woodland Creation Accelerator Fund and, most recent, a successful application to the Local Authority Treescapes Fund. We are currently procuring a contractor to lead our community-based tree planting over the coming winter months and have also launched a further round of our ‘Free Tree Packs’ for the public.
Carbon Offsetting
Review of Options [Green 🟢]
• The pilot of a carbon footprint assessment of one County Farm to determine carbon sequestration opportunities has completed. A further £10k funding from the Carbon Reduction Plan revenue budget will be spent on a couple more farms this financial year.
• A partnership project with Plymouth City Council has commenced looking at the viability of purchasing offsets from the retrofitting of social housing.
• £151k is earmarked for an offsetting solution for the 2023/24 emissions. We have found attractive solutions in Cornwall, Somerset and Northumberland.
Brook Wood [Green 🟢]
An application to the Woodland Creation Planning Grant has been successful to provide resource to prepare an application to the England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO). Planting has been moved forwards to the planting season of 2024/2025 largely due to delays in the EWCO application and the shortage of tree stock in the UK.
The Environmental Performance Board endorsed the capital request in March 2023 for the planting scheme (£125k from EWCO and £43k from DCC Carbon Reduction Plan). This is still progressing through the Capital Programme Group for corporate approval having been updated to reflect the 12 month delay and resubmitted.