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Hertsmere Borough Council

Declarations & pledges

Climate emergency declaration

This council declared a climate emergency on Sept. 18, 2019.

Council only pledge for 2050

“In 2019, Hertsmere Borough Council declared Climate Emergency and committed to achieving carbon neutrality as soon as possible and no later than 2050.”

Climate documents

Last update: March 16, 2022
Climate Change And Sustainability Strategy

Climate Strategy · PDF · Approved ·
Climate Change Action Plan

Action Plan · PDF · Approved ·

Climate Plan Scorecard

This council’s climate plans as of 20th September 2021 were assessed and scored by trained Climate Emergency UK volunteers, as part of the Council Climate Plan Scorecards project.

Show the full Scorecard Read more about the scoring process

SectionHertsmere Borough CouncilAverage district council
Total score41%43%
Section 1 Governance, development and funding
3/21
9.4/21
Section 2 Mitigation and adaptation
14/18
8.1/18
Section 3 Commitment and integration
5/7
3.8/7
Section 4 Community, engagement and communications
5/9
4.7/9
Section 5 Measuring and setting emissions targets
2/5
2.6/5
Section 6 Co-benefits
0/4
1.9/4
Section 7 Diversity and inclusion
0/5
0.5/5
Section 8 Education, skills and training
1/5
1.5/5
Section 9 Ecological emergency
2/4
1.8/4

Emissions data

420.2 ktCO2

Total 2019 emissions

4.0 tCO2

per person

4.2 ktCO2

per km2

16%

Commercial

39%

Domestic

11%

Industry

4%

Public Sector

30%

Transport

Data from the Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy “subset dataset”, representing carbon dioxide emissions within the scope of influence of local authorities.

These councils are the most similar to Hertsmere Borough Council in terms of emissions profile, deprivation, rural/urban population density, and geographical nearness. Read more about how we calculate this.

Council nameSimilarityHas planCarbon Neutral byDeclared emergency
Dacorum Council89%Yes2050July 17, 2019
Kent County Council88%Yes2030May 23, 2019
Essex County Council87%No2030No
Hertfordshire County Council86%Yes2030July 16, 2019
West Sussex County Council85%Yes2030April 5, 2019
Spelthorne Borough Council83%No2050Oct. 14, 2020
Maidstone Borough Council83%No2030April 10, 2019
Epping Forest District Council83%Yes2030Sept. 19, 2019
London Borough of Barnet82%NoNo targetNo
Three Rivers District Council82%No2030May 21, 2019

These councils are the most similar to Hertsmere Borough Council in terms of their emissions profile, based on the latest data from the Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. Read more about how we calculate this.

Council nameSimilarityHas planCarbon Neutral byDeclared emergency
Hart District Council94%Yes2040Sept. 1, 2019
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council94%Yes2030July 17, 2019
Bury Metropolitan Borough Council88%Yes2038July 10, 2019
East Renfrewshire Council87%No2040Aug. 13, 2020
Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council87%Yes2030Oct. 8, 2019
Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council87%No2038March 28, 2019
Surrey County Council87%Yes2030July 9, 2019
Dacorum Council86%Yes2050July 17, 2019
Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead86%No2050June 26, 2019
South Lanarkshire Council86%NoNo targetSept. 25, 2019

These councils grographically border or overlap with Hertsmere Borough Council. Read more about how we calculate this.

Council nameSimilarityHas planCarbon Neutral byDeclared emergency
London Borough of Barnet99%NoNo targetNo
London Borough of Harrow99%Yes2030July 18, 2019
St Albans City and District Council98%No2030July 9, 2019
Welwyn Hatfield Council98%Yes2030June 19, 2019
Watford Borough Council98%No2030July 9, 2019
Three Rivers District Council97%No2030May 21, 2019
London Borough of Enfield97%No2030July 8, 2019

These councils are the most similar to Hertsmere Borough Council in terms of the proportion of their population living in high deprivation, medium deprivation, and low deprivation neighbourhoods. Read more about how we calculate this.

Council nameSimilarityHas planCarbon Neutral byDeclared emergency
London Borough of Harrow98%Yes2030July 18, 2019
Gedling Borough Council98%Yes2030Nov. 20, 2019
Welwyn Hatfield Council97%Yes2030June 19, 2019
London Borough of Merton97%No2030July 10, 2019
Spelthorne Borough Council97%No2050Oct. 14, 2020
London Borough of Barnet96%NoNo targetNo
West Sussex County Council95%Yes2030April 5, 2019
South Ribble Borough Council94%Yes2030July 24, 2019
Rushmoor Borough Council93%Yes2030June 20, 2019
London Borough of Bexley92%NoNo targetNo

These councils are the most similar to Hertsmere Borough Council in terms of the proportion of their population living in urban, rural, and highly rural neighbourhoods. Read more about how we calculate this.

Council nameSimilarityHas planCarbon Neutral byDeclared emergency
City of York Council99%No2030March 11, 2019
Thurrock Council98%No2022Oct. 23, 2019
Arun District Council97%No2030Jan. 15, 2020
Mansfield District Council97%No2040March 5, 2019
Wakefield Metropolitan District Council97%Yes2030May 23, 2019
Inverclyde Council96%NoNo targetNo
Wokingham Borough Council96%Yes2030July 18, 2019
Gravesham Borough Council96%No2030June 26, 2019
Newport City Council95%Yes2030Nov. 23, 2021
Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council95%Yes2030No

Powers & Responsibilities

Hertsmere Borough Council is a Non-Metropolitan District, with powers over:

Council buildings and staff

Climate actions might include:

  • making council offices more energy efficient
  • incentivising ‘Active Travel’ or public transport use among employees
  • providing carbon literacy training for employees
    Environmental health

    Climate actions might include:

    • reducing industrial emissions through air quality enforcement
    • bringing up insulation and energy efficiency standards through enforcement of the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) and Decent Homes Standard 2000, for cold and damp conditions in private rental and social housing

    See more in the Climate Emergency UK checklist.

    Planning and building control

    Climate actions might include:

    • imposing reasonable requirements that new developments comply with energy efficiency standards and get a proportion of their energy from local, renewable sources (Planning and Energy Act, 2008)
    • incorporating additional energy performance standards into their Local Plan, for new works that require planning permission
    • using Area Action Plans to guide development proposals towards lower carbon emissions or more cycling and walking routes, for example
    • enforcing legislation that requires private rental properties to be of Energy Efficiency Rating E or above (Energy Efficiency Regulations, 2015)
    • funding energy efficiency improvements on existing homes, through initiatives such as Green Homes Grants

    See more in the Climate Emergency UK checklist.

    Housing

    Climate actions might include:

    • setting energy standards above building regulations (Planning and Energy Act, 2008)
    • enabling housing associations to improve the energy efficiency of their housing stock through loans
    • where councils operate their own social housing, prioritising energy efficiency – for example, by requiring Passivhaus standard for newly built schemes

    See more in the Climate Emergency UK checklist.

    Spending, procuring, and investing

    Climate actions might include:

    • embedding carbon impact assessment as part of the council’s budgeting and financial accountability process
    • utilising Public Works Loan Board loans or the Business Rates Retention Scheme to invest in emissions-reducing capital projects that otherwise wouldn’t get funded
    • specifying low carbon equipment and practices when procuring for relevant services from suppliers
    • prioritising positive environmental impacts during procurement, through the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012
    Waste collection

    Climate actions might include:

    • establishing ‘Joint Waste Solutions’ with neighbouring councils, to get more value out of waste, recycling, and street cleaning contracts
    • running marketing campaigns to encourage residential recycling, reuse, and waste minimisation

    See more in the Climate Emergency UK checklist.

    Read more about English local authority powers in the UK100 Power Shift report.

    More about this council

    hertsmere.gov.uk
    Hertsmere Borough Council’s official homepage.
    Tyndall Centre Carbon Budget report
    Check Hertsmere Borough Council’s ‘carbon budget’ – their share towards meeting the UK’s Paris agreement targets.
    Friends of the Earth ‘Near You’ tool
    Discover climate groups in this area, data about Hertsmere Borough Council’s climate performance, and actions you can take.

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    Cite this page

    mySociety, Climate Emergency UK (2022). Climate Action Plan Explorer: Hertsmere Borough Council. Available at: http://data.climateemergency.uk/councils/hertsmere-borough-council/ [Accessed 23 May 2022].

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