Climate Change in Oxford

What is Oxford City Council doing about climate change?

Since 2005 Oxford City Council has had a Climate Change Action Plan  and in April 2008 we agreed our carbon management plan called Getting Our House in Order:

Summary: Getting Our House in Order (1814kB PDF)
Full Document: Getting Our House in Order (812kB PDF)
Climate Change Action Plan (kB PDF)

We have committed to:

• reducing council CO₂ emissions by 25% by March 2011
• increasing the uptake of low carbon systems in Oxford
• raising awareness & understanding of climate change
• increasing the energy efficiency of new developments
• transforming Oxford into a sustainable city

Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Report 2010/11 (and 2009/10)

Sharing information on Greenhouse Gas emissions from Local Authority Own Estate and Operations (the successor to National Indicator 185).

You can access a copy of our latest GHG emissions report (covering financial years 2010/11 and 2009/10) as requested by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, below:

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report 2010/11 and 2009/10 (28kB PDF)

The report covers GHG emissions (measured as tonnes of CO2 equivalent) from energy used in our large buildings and related sites (e.g. leisure centres, offices, depots and car parks) as well as fuel consumption from fleet vehicles (e.g. refuse collection trucks) and vehicles used to conduct council business (e.g staff-owned cars and public transport).

For more information, please contact the Energy and Climate Change team on carbon@oxford.gov.uk.

What have we achieved so far?

We have published an award winning guide to sustainable living. Copies of Oxford is My World - Your Guide to Saving the Planet are available to download electronically or in printed format from the Oxford is My World website. You can also request a copy of the guide by using the link at the bottom of this page.

• Our leisure centres are one of our largest energy users so we have been looking at ways of reducing their energy use. We have recruited energy champions to make sites more energy aware and installed various energy saving technologies such as insulating pool covers.
• We have had several 'Power Down' weekends which resulted in an 8% reduction in energy use in 5 of our buildings.
• We have received several prestigious awards over the last few years including:

• We have been working with Partnerships for Renewables to investigate the potential for the development of community-scale wind energy developments on council owned land.
• All Oxford City council buildings are now on a green electricity tariff.
• We have signed up to the Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change.
• We have installed electricity and gas Automated Meter Reading (AMR) devices at 20 of our core operational buildings and sites. These new meters record comprehensive energy consumption data for the largest consuming sites across our estate. These meters are assisting us with improved accuracy of energy and carbon monitoring and reporting and in avoiding energy waste through automated monitoring and targeting approaches.
• We have taken part in the Carbon Trust's Local Authority Carbon Management Programme (CMP), which resulted in establishing a Carbon Management Programme for Oxford City Council - Getting Our House in Order.
• We have installed solar powered showers at Hinksey Pool and solar thermal systems in a number of Council owned sheltered homes.
• Nearly all of our 8,000 council properties has cavity wall and loft insulation. The remaining stock is due to be insulated shortly.
• We have installed a 22kWp Solar Photovoltaic roof tile installation at one of our sheltered housing blocks estimated to generate 17,000kWh of electricity per year.
• We supply energy advice and grants to householders and community groups, see our Energy Saving Advice page for details.
• We require new building projects greater than 10 units (or 2000m²) to have 20% of energy provided through on-site generation using renewable and low carbon technologies. See the document below for more details:

Natural Resource Impact Analysis (Supplementary Planning Document) (650kB PDF)

• Oxford City Council has become the first UK local authority to be awarded the new BSI Kitemark for Energy Reduction Verification (ERV).  This independent verification scheme builds on an organisation's good energy and carbon management practices and independently verifies the output of that good practice. ERV not only confirms the management and measurement behind the figures but also confirms the reductions in CO2 emissions. You can view our current Energy Reduction Verification kitemark certificate below:

BSI ERV Kitemark Licence (285kB PDF)

• Low Carbon Oxford was launched on 14 October 2010 to ensure Oxford's future as a sustainable and low carbon city. The initiative, which is one of the first in the country, will kick start a programme of co-operation that will help reduce the city's carbon footprint. A group of organisations from the public and private sector as well as community groups are being invited to sign up to a Charter for a 'Low Carbon Oxford' to mark their commitment and support for the initiative. Visit our Low Carbon Oxford pages for full details.

How have we helped Oxford households reduce their carbon footprint?

• We have helped improve domestic energy efficiency in council housing by 25%. We are on track to meet the government housing energy efficiency improvement target of 30% by 2010
• Over the last two years we have secured government funding to get free insulation for over 1,500 households of over 60s or those on a low income
• We are working with British Gas to deliver free insulation to over 70s and households in receipt of benefits, also a £75 council tax rebate for those who are able to pay. Visit our Grants and Offers page for more details
• We have grants for energy efficiency improvements for households who do not receive benefits but are struggling to pay their energy bills
• We have produced the following guides to saving energy:

Home Energy Efficiency Guide for Council House Tenants (1217kB PDF)
Oxford Solar Map (2722kB PDF)
Solar Energy Planning Guidance (72kB PDF)

• We compiled the award-winning guide and website Oxford is My World: Your Guide to Saving the Planet in partnership with local businesses and community groups
• The Oxford Solar Initiative resulted in over 100 solar hot water and solar electric installations

Solar Thermal Information Sheet (209kB PDF)
Solar Electric Information Sheet (525kB PDF)

• We organised Climate Change Oxford - What you can do now! - a conference and exhibition in the Town Hall on World Environment Day 2007. More information about the conference and the presentations can be found on Oxford is My World

Looking Ahead

We are already on the path to becoming a lower carbon council but could Oxford City Council one day become zero carbon?

Please see an information sheet about zero carbon councils from the Local Government Information Unit below:

Zero Carbon Councils Information Sheet (45kB PDF)

What You Can Do about Climate Change

Visit our What You Can Do about Climate Change page for information about what individuals in Oxford can do about climate change and what help is available.

Preparing for Changes

Visit our Preparing for Changes page on adapting to climate change to find out about how to prepare for future changes.

Page last reviewed 27 July 2011