Climate Change

Climate Change and Harrow Council

On the 25th July 2007 Harrow Council signed the Nottingham Declaration acknowledging that climate change is happening and are committed to tackling its effects.

On the 17th September 2009 Harrow Council adopted its Climate Change Strategy, which sets out the various ways in which the council has committed itself to tackling climate change. Below is a list of the strategy's highlights and key aims - you can see the full version here: The Climate Change Strategy:

Reduce the Council's carbon dioxide emissions by 4% each year
Reduce the Council's water consumption by 2.5% each year
Introduce "carbon budgets" for each service/building
Aim to design all new Council buildings to an Excellent BREEAM rating
Install automatic meter reading
Adopt the Carbon Trust Standard
Develop Climate Change capacity and knowledge in our teams
Cost carbon at £40/tonne per year in internal business cases
Consider one-off council tax offers for new homes built to higher sustainable levels
Consider council tax rebates to more energy efficient homes
Conduct a local climate impact assessment
Increase the tree planting programme and improve the maintenance of trees
Produce a joint Harrow Strategic Partnership climate change strategy with partners
Reach 50% recycling for household waste and set a 50% recycling target for all Council office waste
Work to fair trade principles
Ensure paper and envelopes used by the Council have a minimum of 50% recycled paper content, and set printers and photocopiers to double-sided printing as default
Achieve the GOLD standard under the Mayor's Green Procurement Code
Plan for investment in energy saving and renewable technologies
Introduce best practice standards for insulation and energy efficiency
Review IT equipment operations and procurement to reduce energy consumption
Develop a domestic energy strategy to upgrade all homes in the borough
Develop a fuel poverty strategy
Use new street lighting technologies to reduce energy consumption