Durham County Council Receives Environmental Award for Carbon Reduction Achievements

Durham County Council has been honored with an environmental award after successfully reducing its annual carbon footprint by 50,000 tonnes over a 15-year span. The council secured the Best Carbon Reduction prize at the Investors in Environment Awards for its initiatives. The majority of this reduction can be attributed to the deployment of green technologies, including wind turbines, solar panels, and battery storage. Councillor Mark Wilkes stated that these green projects have enabled the council to “save money and save carbon”. A significant portion of this reduction has been accomplished by transitioning the council’s buildings to renewable energy, with some of this power generated through the council’s own infrastructure. Wilkes elaborated on these efforts, stating, “A lot of our schools, depots, leisure centres are switching over to air source heat pumps.” He further noted, “We are installing solar panels on to the roofs of our buildings and we have wind turbines going in at one of our depots down in Peterlee.” Additionally, the council has constructed a 3MW solar farm at its depot in Annfield Plain, where any surplus energy generated is sold back into the grid. Possessing its own green energy source has also enabled the council to operate a greater number of electric vehicles. Wilkes remarked, “Being able to charge up those vehicles with the energy we are producing in the county is having a really important impact on the bottom line financially, but also on tackling carbon emissions.” Durham County Council’s carbon footprint has decreased from 80,523 tonnes in the 2008-09 fiscal year to 29,173 tonnes in 2023-24, with the council aiming for net zero emissions by the end of the decade. The local authority recently approved its third Climate Emergency Response Plan, which is set to be implemented until 2027.