Climate and Sustainability Action Plan 2023 - 2027 - page 2

6: Buildings and Energy
Improving energy efficiency and use of renewable energy across the council estate and promote low carbon solutions in the wider borough.

Our Objectives

Improve the energy efficiency of Council buildings and maximise the use of renewable energy sources to help deliver carbonreduction targets.
Continue to work with multi sectoral and government partners to promote low carbon solutions across the borough.
Embed good practice energy management approaches into facility and building management decisions, targeting a reduction in carbon emissions.
Embed sustainable criteria into the design and delivery of all new Council buildings and refurbishments.
Implement adaptation measures in Council buildings at risk from extreme weather.
Deliver the Local Development Plan in line with Council’s climate and sustainability commitments.

Actions	Indicators	Responsible Team
Improve the energy efficiency of Council buildings to help deliver carbon reduction	Reduction in Carbon Emissions.	Energy & Facilities
Maximise the use of renewable energy sources to help deliver carbon reduction targets and reduce costs.	Reduction in Carbon Emissions.	Energy & Facilities
Embed good practice energy management approaches into facility and building management decisions.	Reduction in Carbon Emissions.	Energy & Facilities
Ringfence an ‘invest to save’ budget to ensure sufficient investment in energy efficiency / renewable technologies which in turn reduces financial and carbon costs.	No. of projects within the ‘invest to save’ portfolio.	Energy & Facilities
Reduce water consumption.	Water usage per square metre of council estate. No. of measures to reduce water consumption. Desktop review of water consumption across the estate.	Energy & Facilities
Deliver an energy efficiency education programme to Council staff.	No. of staff attending online energy efficiency module.	Energy & Facilities
Asset efficiency – identify Council buildings with poor thermal performance and/or occupancy and propose recommendations for efficiency.	No. of buildings identified having poor thermal performance. Reduction in Carbon Emissions.	Energy & Facilities
Ensure sustainable principles are integrated into all major construction and refurbishment projects (over £3m) at the design phase, incorporating it into both the business case and project specification.	Evidence of sustainable principles included in design phase. Evidence of whole life carbon assessments to costing and evaluating build and retrofit options	Capital Works
New build, extensions or refurbishment projects in excess of £1,000,000 and 1,000m2 will be subject to a formal assessment and will be expected to achieve Passive House Plus certification, where appropriate. All other new build, extensions or refurbishment projects will adopt key sustainable practices and wider sustainability requirements.	No. of projects achieving Passive House Plus certification. No. of projects adopting sustainable practices.	Capital Works
Construction Stage: Manage construction waste in line with the waste hierarchy of reduce, re-use and recycle through sustainable design.	% Reused and recycled construction waste. Use of locally sourced and recovered materials.	Capital Works
Require the design of buildings to incorporate climate resilience and flood proofing measures in at risk locations.	Reduction in development within flood risk locations. Increase in use of sustainable drainage.	Capital Works
Design Stage: incorporation of increased greening e.g. through installation of green walls/roofs etc, use of SuDS, where possible.	No. of designs incorporating green walls/ roofs, use of SuDS.	Capital Works
Deliver a flagship project which maximises sustainable design principles and use of sustainable construction materials.	Delivery of Carnfunnock Country Park refurbishment.	Capital Works
Administer and enforce relevant building regulations as they relate to fitness of materials and conservation of fuel and power.	No. of inspections of commencement of works in relation to new/replacement boilers/heating systems to all building types. No. of inspections of commencement of works in relation to upgraded loft insulation/cavity wall insulation to all building types.	Building Control
Actively participate within Northern Ireland Building Control, Building Standards and the Building and the Regulations Advisory Committee to lobby for proportionate minimum acceptable standards in respect of energy efficiency, sustainability of building materials and implementation of energy from renewable sources in new, altered or extended building projects.	Attendance record for Council Building Control Staff. Log improvements to Building Regulations implemented over time as they relate to energy efficiency, sustainability of building materials and implementation of energy from renewable sources where building work is carried out under Building Regulations.	Building Control
Utilise the knowledge and experience of Building Control staff as a consultee in capital projects and facilities maintenance proposals as they relate to Councils building portfolio to reduce energy use.	Numbers of consultation requests made by Council stakeholders e.g. Assets, Capital works, Facilities Maintenance.	Building Control
Ensure development proposals have taken account of the efficient use of energy, water and other resources, and where feasible and practicable integrate micro-generation and passive solar design. (Policy GP1e v.)	Include in draft plan strategy and upon adoption in late 2023 will become establish practice	Planning
Reduce dependence on fossil fuels and encourage a renewable energy mix (Policy RE1)	Include in draft plan strategy and upon adoption in late 2023 monitor the megawatts of renewable energy development approved by Planning Department in reporting year (by renewable energy type).	Planning
Encourage sustainable drainage systems to be included in all development proposals, where feasible and practicable. (Policy GP1e v.).	Include in draft plan strategy and upon adoption in late 2023 will become established practice.	Planning
Ensure development proposals within areas of surface water flood risk include sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) as the preferred means of drainage (Policy FRD4).	% Planning permissions granted within areas of surface water flood risk which include SuDS measures.	Planning
Ensure proposals for surface level car parks include sustainable drainage (SuDS) (Policy TR7).	% Planning permissions granted for surface level car parks which include SuDS measures.	Planning
Identify opportunities for ‘soft SuDS’ solutions to be included as Key Site Requirements in housing and economic zonings in the LPP.	On adoption of the Local Policies Plan monitor % planning permissions granted on zonings in line with the Key Site Requirement to include soft SuDS measures.	Planning
Ensure no development on a site at risk from flooding or where it would cause or exacerbate flooding elsewhere (Policy GP1d v.).	Include in draft plan strategy and upon adoption in late 2023 will become established practice.	Planning
Consider development proposals on floodplains only by exception (Policy FRD1).	No. of Planning permissions granted on floodplains against policy (target 0).	Planning
Require development proposals >1ha or >25 units to provide public open space as an integral part of the development (at least 10% of site area) (Policy OSL4).	The number of planning permissions granted that meet the public open space requirements of Policy OSL4.	Planning
Raise awareness of energy efficiency measures and other support to tackle fuel poverty in the borough.	No. of initiatives to promote energy efficiency and address fuel poverty.	Environmental Health

Monitoring & Reporting

Step 1: Initiative
Identify climate change impacts and risks. Develop Climate and Sustainability Strategy,

Step 2: Research
Establish baseline data.
Complete workshop.
Engage with heads of service and key officers.

Step 3: Plan
Agree a vision, key themes, objectives and indicators.
Develop a Climate Action Plan.

Step 4: Implement
Develop a monitoring and reporting system.
Integrate the plan into council operations.

Step 5: Monitor and Review
Report on performance anually.
Review the plan every two years.

Source: International Council for Local
Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) Five Milestone
Approach for Climate Action Planning

Glossary

BEIS: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Blue carbon: Carbon captured by the world’s ocean and coastal ecosystems.

BREEAM: Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method. This is an internationally recognised, science-based suite of validation and certification systems for a sustainable built environment.

BRCD: Belfast Region City Deal Carbon

Sequestration: The process of capturing and storing carbon dioxide from the earth’s atmosphere

Circular economy: keeping resources in use for as long as possible, extracting the maximum value from them whilst in use, then recovering and regenerating products and materials at the end of life.

CO2e - CO2 equivalent: This is a metric measuring all greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, allowing them to be expressed as a single number for simplicity.

IPCC: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. An intergovernmental body of the United Nations established in 1988 to advance scientific knowledge about climate change caused by human activities.

Greenhouse gases: Gases including carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases which contribute to the greenhouse effect and enhanced global warming.

ktCO2: Kilotonnes of Carbon Dioxide Nature Based Solutions – Methods of mitigating climate change using natural ecosystems e.g. carbon sequestration via restoration of peatlands or degraded habitats.

Net Zero: Reducing greenhouse gas emissions to as close to zero as possible, with any residual emissions being offset by sequestration methods such as via forests and oceans.

Scope 1 Emissions: Direct emissions resulting from onsite burning of oil, gas and fuel within your fleet.

Scope 2 Emissions: Direct emissions resulting from purchase of electricity.

Scope 3 Emissions: Indirect emissions associated with all other activities up and down stream including water use, waste, business and commuter miles, investments, transportation and distribution and leased assets.

SuDS: Sustainable Drainage Systems. Drainage solutions that provide an alternative to the direct channelling of surface water through pipes and sewers to watercourses. SuDS mimic natural drainage regimes, aiming to reduce surface water flooding, improving water quality and enhancing biodiversity in the environment (BGS, 2023).