Croydon has adopted its first Carbon Neutral Action Plan, setting out how the council will work with all its partners and communities to meet the challenge of reaching carbon neutrality by 2030.
In the coming weeks the council’s #SustainableCroydon campaign will encourage everyone to get involved, by promoting new and existing sustainability initiatives, sharing tips for reducing waste, encourage greener travel options, and showcase the council’s own efforts to de-carbonise operations.
The council itself can directly impact between 2-5% of local emissions, but can influence approximately one third of emissions within the borough through leadership and place making.
The Action Plan, which was approved unanimously by cabinet last night (7 Feb), came out of recommendations by the Croydon Climate Crisis Commission – an independent consortium in partnership with the New Economic Forum that followed the Croydon Citizen’s Assembly.
Their findings were accepted by cabinet in June 2021 and the full Croydon Climate Crisis Commission report is available on the council website.
The CCNAP builds and works around the key themes identified in the report such as:
- Driving a green economic recovery from Covid-19, including partnering with London Southbank University to develop an innovation centre in Croydon
- Greening our neighbourhoods through promoting and enabling sustainable travel, and investing in the local tree canopy
- Getting the community and businesses involved, including supporting green local businesses like Peddle My Wheels offering second-hand bike markets
A major function of this action plan joins together various council sustainability initiatives into a wider, structured plan. Some of the notable sustainability actions taken by the council include:
- Implementing 26 ‘school streets’ – with more to come – reducing vehicle traffic during the school run, making these streets safer for our children and encouraging healthier travel options for pupils
- Installing 400 electric vehicle charge points across the borough, enabling drivers to choose cleaner vehicles and reduce air pollution
- Increasing recycling borough-wide and encouraging reuse through projects like the new Community Reuse Shop at Fisher’s Farm HRRC
- Investing £2.6M in flood alleviation schemes, mitigation and adaptive measures since 2018
“The council declared a climate emergency in 2019, and we remain absolutely committed to reducing emissions. This plan is an important follow-up step to that declaration, and we want to encourage more people to rise to the challenge as well.
“I have written to council partners, including contractors, schools, local NHS networks, and businesses calling on them to join us in the fight against climate change by pledging to take action in our communities. I look forward to hearing all of their great ideas for how we can contribute collectively to reducing our carbon footprint and making Croydon a greener borough for a sustainable future.”
Councillor Muhammad Ali, cabinet member for sustainable Croydon
For more on the council’s climate crisis response, visit the council website.
