13 minute read
Sustainability
Every action counts in Leeds’ sustainability push
Judith Blake, leader of Leeds City Council, discusses how climate change will factor into all aspects of decision-making following the council’s declaration of a climate emergency early last year
Tackling climate change is undoubtedly one of the biggest challenges of our generation. Like many other local authorities, Leeds City Council declared a climate emergency in March 2019 in response to the UN report for urgent action if we are to limit temperature rise and avoid some of the catastrophic effects of climate change, including flooding, heatwaves and rising sea levels – some of which we have already seen at the local, national and global level. Whilst climate change is undoubtedly one of the biggest challenges we will ever face, I am confident that our city can tackle the climate emergency together to transform our lives, and the lives of future generations, for the better.
We already know that the people who live and work in Leeds are passionate about tackling the climate emergency. In our Big Leeds Climate Conversation consultation, the council found that 97 per cent of respondents believe that tackling climate change should be a priority for Leeds and 93 per cent are willing to change their behaviour to reduce their impact on the environment. Across the city we have also seen that young people are extremely engaged about taking action against the effects of climate change and how, in many ways, they have been leading the agenda so that their generation and those to come can benefit from a cleaner, more sustainable planet.
If we are to raise the standard of living for everyone across Leeds and promote inclusive growth the city, it is vital that we take urgent action immediately. To meet our ambitious targets to become carbon-neutral by 2030, the city will need to work collaboratively – with residents, public and private sector
organisations and central government – to emissions by 2025. We will achieve this reduce our carbon emissions and become a through our governance, through engaging more sustainable place to live and work. with residents to reduce their own emissions and through speaking with businesses and Climate change organisations to inspire them to minimise their and decision making carbon impact. We will also be making key As a council, we have always recognised asks to central government to meet carbon the importance of sustainability and this reduction targets at a local and national level. has long been at the heart of our key Where our own leadership is concerned, strategies on affordable warmth, air quality, we have embedded the climate emergency improving public transport, flood alleviation, within our performance monitoring, decision digital access, and asset management. making and governance structures. The council
Since declaring the climate emergency in has created a cross-party Climate Emergency 2019, the climate agenda has been pushed Advisory Committee and themed working to the very forefront of our leadership and groups – including transport, planning and we are leading by example to inspire change biodiversity – to advise on decision making across the city. We have announced our bold and the implementation of the climate plans to become a carbon-neutral city by emergency strategy across Leeds. 2030 and to halve our organisational We have also created a new To halve the council’s carbon footprint by 2025, we have announced a series of bold plans to cut our organisational emissions executive board portfolio which gives one executive member combined responsibility for transport, sustainable development and tackling the climate emergency. To embed culture change at the heart of the council, we are putting structures in place to support staff across every level of the organisation. We’re developing training and guidance material to make sure that sustainable practice is incorporated within every decision made at the council. This includes sustainable procurement guidance,
an internal toolkit for staff, and an independently accredited Carbon Literacy training programme for decision makers -through which we’re aiming to increase the number of ‘carbon literate’ staff and senior officers to ensure the climate emergency is at the centre of decision making and project planning.
In addition, we’re shifting our organisational culture by giving council officers a platform to shape the climate emergency strategy. Through our climate emergency staff forum we are encouraging staff members to discuss climate related issues and develop climate champions across our directorates to help reduce our shared carbon footprint.
Ongoing work
To halve the council’s carbon footprint by 2025, we have announced a series of bold plans to cut our organisational emissions. We have committed to purchasing 100 per cent of our electricity from renewable sources by the end of this year. We’re reducing our energy demand through a programme of efficiency measures, rationalisation, heating civic buildings through the energy recovered from household waste, and converting street lighting to LED. To target emissions from transport, we’re more than doubling our fleet of electric vehicles and phasing out staff mileage payments for diesel and petrol vehicles by 2025. To compliment this, we’re also implementing policies and improving our infrastructure to promote flexible working. This includes working from home, improving teleconferencing facilities, and offering staff travel cards and incentives for electric bikes and pool cars.
We’re also working closely with schools to support energy efficiency measures, develop and implement travel plans, and highlight the damage that can be done by engine idling. The council’s school meals service has also introduced a new, healthy climate-friendly menu at primary schools across the city which includes a meat-free day and encourages children to enjoy their five a day. We’re also involving school pupils in the important
Since declaring the climate emergency in 2019, the climate agenda has been pushed to the very forefront of our leadership and we are leading by example to inspire change across Leeds
conversation about climate change and providing the opportunity for students to develop advice and guidance to be rolled out to young people across the city. At this year’s Youth Voice Summit, which was focused on discussing the climate emergency, students from across Leeds were invited to develop ideas with senior councillors and discuss how schools can become more sustainable.
A collaborative effort
Whilst we’re making huge changes to our own processes and decision making within the council, becoming a carbon-neutral city won’t be possible without the widespread support of everyone in Leeds. We’re actively inspiring citizens, workers and businesses to reduce their own carbon emissions through our ongoing engagement programme. We are continuing to raise awareness of the climate emergency across the region and providing information about how residents can make small changes to live more sustainably.
In our Big Leeds Climate Conversation, residents said that they would be willing to cut their own carbon footprints through a range of different steps including creating habitats for wildlife, choosing energy efficient appliances, and switching to renewable tariffs. We’re trying to make this as easy as possible by offering guidance and inspiration to residents through our ‘Leeds by Example’ website. This provides clear, interesting and easy to understand information on how everyone can become more sustainable through the food we eat, the way we travel and power homes, the items we buy, and the way we dispose of goods. Through these everyday tips and steps, we can all play our part in tackling climate change.
We are also working closely with the private sector to offer support to businesses to make more environmentally conscious decisions and we’re delivering programmes to provide a platform for partnership working and collaboration. The climate emergency was the key theme of this year’s State of the City, which is an annual event that is an important part of our calendar. This saw the council, businesses and the third sector come together to discuss climate related issues here in Leeds and explore how the city can work together to implement solutions to the climate emergency.
We’ve also recently launched the EV Trials scheme to help organisations tackle their emissions from transport. We know that emissions from road transport are one of the biggest sources of air pollution in Leeds, and our EV Trials scheme aims to tackle this by giving businesses the opportunity to trial an electric vehicle free of charge. In addition to this, we’re actively encouraging businesses in Leeds to share their own examples of how they’re becoming more sustainable.
We all have a carbon footprint and a responsibility to reduce our emissions together. We can’t solve climate change on our own, but together we can make a huge difference. Every action counts. L
FURTHER INFORMATION
Jacksons Fencing was called upon to secure an adventure zone and children’s play area in Mote Park: a 450-acre green space within the town of Maidstone, Kent
The expansive park has woodland, grasslands and streams all surrounding a 30-acre lake. It attracts over 1.5 million visitors a year and accommodates a range of activities including water sports, family fun days, dog walking and wildlife spotting.
As part of a £4.3 million regeneration, a brand-new adventure playground was built, designed with security as a top priority. Containing expensive apparatus that should only be used under adult supervision, the zone needed to be free from the risk of unauthorised access, vandalism and injury.
Jacksons Fencing was specified to supply top-quality fencing for the new playground. 120 metres of 2.4m-high Securi-Mesh® fencing was provided to create a secure perimeter, with a matching
single-leaf gate and a pair of double-leaf gates that allow emergency access.
Securi-Mesh® has small apertures and welds at each intersection, making it climb-resistant while still offering excellent visibility. It is therefore perfectly compatible with CCTV systems. Furthermore, the seethrough mesh enables parents to monitor their children at play from a distance.
This was not the first time Jacksons Fencing was called upon to provide perimeter solutions for Mote Park. As part of the regeneration of the area, its children’s play area had also been rebuilt.
To secure it safely, Jacksons Fencing supplied 230 metres of Anti Trap Bow Top fencing and a number of matching gates. Safety was again a top priority throughout this project
due to the nature of the site and the large numbers of families who visit the park.
Anti Trap Bow Top fencing is a RoSPAapproved play area fence, manufactured to fully conform to BS EN 1176. The fence is designed to specifically eliminate the risk of children getting their heads or limbs stuck between the pales or hoops on top of the panels.
The new playground fencing was supplied in 1.2m-high panels, providing a strong perimeter to keep children safely enclosed within the area during play, while reducing the risk of them scaling the fence and being in close vicinity of the nearby lake.
Multiple matching single-leaf gates were specified and installed to allow for safe access in and out of the play park, reducing congestion at these positions. Having multiple gates not only diminishes congestion at busy times, but also reduces risks and improves flow of movement during potential emergency situations.
All gates were supplied self-closing with magnetic latches, allowing the gates to automatically shut at timed intervals using a magnetic system. Using a controlled system of entry and exit reduces the risk of injury and the ability for children to leave the play park without parental guidance; the chance of dogs entering the play area is also minimised. One matching double-leaf gate was installed for service use, primarily to allow for the maintenance of the play area, and also for the essential access of emergency service vehicles.
The fence panels and matching gates were all supplied with a polyester powder coating finish in green RAL 3005, which blends in with the natural surroundings of the park.
To accommodate sloping ground, the Anti Trap Bow Top panels were stepped to keep a continual height along the perimeter. Shorter 1-metre bays were supplied to form the corner panels and accommodate the shape of the play area along with the sloping terrain that it was built on.
To find out more about how Jacksons Fencing can secure play areas, public spaces and more, contact their customer enquiries team today. L
FURTHER INFORMATION
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Lightweight but packing a punch
Weighing only 62.4 grams, the MacroStream ® USB is a compact, lightweight personal light that combines extraordinary brightness and USB rechargeability. Delivering 500 lumens, two hours of run time on high, and eight hours on low, the light is an ideal pocket or cap light, whether for patrol duty or tactical maneuvers.
Features include: a removable, two-way pocket/hat clip; a tail cap switch that provides easy, one-handed operation of the light’s momentary or constant on operation; and high and low beams. Measuring 11.4cm the new light includes an 800 mAh lithium ion battery that fully recharges in four hours via a USB port, which is housed under a sliding metal sleeve. Including a USB cord and a high-strength lanyard, the MacroStream ® USB uses red and green LEDs in the tail switch to indicate charging status. L
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