Becoming a Net Zero Council by 2030

We have made a bold commitment to lead by example and reduce our carbon footprint to zero by 2030. Our corporate carbon reduction plan sets out how we will make the council’s operations carbon neutral by 2030.

What constitutes the Council’s operations?

Our council operations are made up of:

Council buildings

energy to heat and power our buildings is a major source of emissions. We will reduce energy usage in our buildings by increasing insulation wherever possible, encouraging behaviour change and look for opportunities to add solar panels.

Lambeth buildings include:

  • Our main corporate buildings are Lambeth Town Hall and the Civic Centre, but we also have an office at Blue Star House. Council officers are also based in buildings around the borough, such as in our parks like Brockwell Hall, cemeteries and crematoria, housing estate offices and libraries
  • The communal areas in Lambeth managed council housing are currently included within the CRC calculation, but in this plan we are moving to include our investment programme for all council stock and to identify ways for this to positively contribute to our carbon reduction target.
  • Our property portfolio – buildings owned by Lambeth Council and leased commercially or to the voluntary and community sector.
  • New council-owned homes being developed by Homes for Lambeth.

Transport

Vehicles are a significant source of emissions in Lambeth. We will continue to work towards all council officers walking and cycling, and using low-emission vehicles when necessary. This plan refers to vehicles leased directly by the council and used by staff to carry out their work. We will begin gathering data on vehicle usage and associated carbon emissions from our key contracts.

Corporate Energy

This refers to the energy purchased by the council for its operations. We will reduce energy usage, and move to using clean energy to meet our remaining energy needs.

Governance and Procurement

We expect our suppliers to share our determination to reduce carbon emissions and a potential supplier’s carbon footprint will be considered during procurement.

All council decision reports will now consider the impact on the borough’s carbon emissions