2021

RENEW152 - APSE Network Query: Paying for O&M / back-office costs for EV chargers - 241221

This authority recently installed a number of EV chargers available to members of the public. The O&M / back-office costs were paid by the initial capital through the supplier, and subsequently took the risk of the supplier going into administration. The council is aware that other LA’s use a ‘bond’ to secure the advance payments, although this can be more expensive.

This local authority is interested to hear what other local authorities are doing to pay for O&M / back-office costs for EV chargers? Are revenue budgets pre-arranged, paid through capital or alternative arrangement?

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RENEW151 - APSE Network Query: Delivery of Green Homes Grant LAD funding - 201221

A member authority has been awarded two pots of the Green Homes Grant LAD funding. The first LAD2 is the most urgent, which needs sign ups registered by March 2022 (circa £100k to be spent on council housing and £300k to be spent on either private rented sector/social housing/private homes) and the second LAD3 is £1.4 million for private homes, which needs to be spent by December 2022.

Therefore, the authority would like to know the following:

• What are you doing to reach out to private homeowners or landlords to engage them with this funding and encourage take up? Any knowledge on best practices which has led to high take up would be really appreciated. (The authority’s initial thoughts include hosting several online webinars/forums to share information and prepare a FAQ to help people understand what they can do).
• Do you have any pre-made marketing materials such as posters, leaflets, flyers, social media posts, videos, web-page content, etc. that have been particularly successful that you would be happy to share which could be readily altered to have our council info on?

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RENEW150 - 3rd Party Leasing Arrangement - Solar PV - 111121

This authority is working on an innovative solar PV financing model where their (not for profit) partners utilise the electricity from the PV on the council’s flat blocks in order to generate revenue. They are trialling a lower cost tariff to see ways that solar PV electricity can be used to benefit tenants as individual PV generation metering isn’t feasible. As well as potential tenant savings, the benefits to the council for a lease are a financial payment and ongoing maintenance.

The council has used a leasing model for their fully social housing but, due to mortgage providers being nervous about 3rd party ownership, the council has had to default to a less beneficial management agreement (maintenance only) for their shared ownership flat block.

This authority is interested to hear if any other local authorities, their wholly-owned housing companies, or housing associations have been able to manage this 3rd party leasing arrangement recently - ideally for shared ownership as well as market sale properties? Any feedback would be gratefully appreciated.

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RENEW149 - Crematorium Electric furnaces - 291021 

This authority is interested in decarbonising their crematoria, which are some of their largest carbon emitters due to the amount of gas used. The council has noted that Phase 3 of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme allows Crematorium Electric furnaces to be entered as "Heating - electric heating" (on the Salix application form).

This authority is interested to hear from others who have explored this technology and/or have taken steps to decarbonise their crematoria?

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RENEW148 - Sustainable Vending Provision - 181021

This authority is reviewing the sustainability of their vending machine provision and would be interested to hear from others about work they have done on this.

The vending machines are mainly located in leisure centres and include the following:

• Snack machines
• Bottle drinks
• Cans
• Hot drinks (tea/coffee/chocolate etc.)
• Sports nutrition products

This authority is also interested to hear if other local authorities have any guidance or views on healthy vending options and how these are managed?  

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RENEW147 - Charging staff owned EVs/charging Council owned EVs at home or at work - 181021 

This authority is interested to hear from others who have a workplace EV charging policy in place for charging staff owned EVs and/or a scheme in place for home based charging of fleet/work vehicles.

1. If your council allows staff to charge their personal EVs on the council offices charge points:
   • How does the recharging work?
   • Are there any VAT or Tax implications?
   • Is a policy needed?
2. If an employee has a company car or as part of their work takes a fleet vehicle home and charges it at home:
   • How would the reimbursement work?
   • Would the Council be expected to pay for the home charger?
   • How would the Council know how much of the electricity was used for work purposes and how much for private use? I.e. would this involve submetering or telemetry?

General comments, as well as responses to the bullet points, would be gratefully received.  

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RENEW146 - Area-wide approach to solar PV - 240921

This authority is looking at taking an area-wide approach to solar PV and would like to have a better understanding of the potential within the locality to host Solar PV across private housing, council housing, commercial buildings, utility buildings etc. The Council would like to understand the options for moving from the current position, to the final position, where most buildings in the borough would have Solar PV on them.

The officers are looking to present their elected members with some kind of ‘route-map’. They’d also like to be in a better position to start to apply for funding and demand more resources.

The Council is interested in hearing from other authorities who have taken a similar view and have progressed some kind of local study.

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RENEW145 - Resources for EV infrastructure installations and maintenance - 240921

This authority is investigating options for installing EV infrastructure is interested to know how other Councils have funded feasibility/equipment procurement/ongoing maintenance (planned/reactive)/back office support/energy management/user payments, etc.

General comments, as well as responses to the below, would be gratefully received

1. If commercial arrangements are in place, how procured, (stand alone as Council or part of sub regional procurement)?
2. How Councils have resourced these schemes (dedicated staffing resource/staffing numbers)?
3. What specialisms Council staff have that have enabled this scheme (electrical etc.)?

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RENEW144 - Improving air quality via a tourism levy and other options - 090921 

This authority is considering implementing actions to address air quality matters in their area. It is a high tourist area and they are looking at a vehicle pollution levy for certain types of high polluting vehicles coming to the area.

They have no designated AQMAs (Air Quality Management Areas) because the specific pollutant thresholds have not been exceeded.

They are interested to know:

• what other authorities have done for their local air quality action plans
• whether they have sought to develop the actions in terms of a specific issue (in this case a levy on tourist vehicles)
• whether they have addressed this issue via their local development plan framework
• other issues they feel need to be considered whilst looking at this topic. 

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RENEW143 - Working with Extinction Rebellion - 090921

This authority has been approached by local environmental activists about working in partnership with Extinction Rebellion. So far, the council has tended to avoid contact or collaboration with the group due to XR’s campaigns of civil disobedience / illegal methods. This said, the council recognises that the group is decentralised and that they also do a lot of other productive work on public communication and local community collaboration, which would normally be supported.

The authority would like to hear from other councils with experience of working with XR. In particular they would be interested in answers to the following:

1. Is the relationship formalised?
2. Does the council have a written policy of engagement with the group?
3. Is the council supportive of some aspects of the group’s activities but not others? How is this communicated?
4. How does the council manage to keep the relationship positive with mutual respect (if not full mutual agreement)?
5. What was the response locally?

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RENEW142 - Plan/policy for council staff to covert to zero emission vehicles - 270821

This authority is interested to hear from others who have a policy/plan in place to support essential car users, or other Council staff, to convert to electric or zero emission vehicles?

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RENEW141 - Carbon trading using council owned land - 230821

This APSE member council would like to know if any other member councils lease council owned land to provide a resource for carbon trading.

If you do currently operate such as scheme please reply to this network query and confirm any details of the scheme, or specific issues you have encountered.

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RENEW140 - Gas monitoring at crematorium sites - 200821

This authority is undertaking some gas monitoring at their crematorium and is interested to hear from other authorities about their gas performance. Any information about the bullet points below would be gratefully received:

• Gas consumption per cremation and full year cremation numbers for 19/20, 20/21?
• Approximate age of cremation equipment?
• Abatement equipment installed, if so, when was installed/operational?

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RENEW139 - Climate ambassador programme - 130821

A member authority would like to hear from other authorities who have set up a climate ambassador programme made up of community volunteers.

They would like to hear from other councils who have a successful model for this which they could learn from and perhaps replicate.

• What support is given to the ambassadors – frequency of meetings, workshops, training?
• Who provides the support – Councils, third party partners etc?
• What are the expectations of the ambassadors – behaviour change, signposting, awareness raising?
• What resource (financial and staffing) has been allocated to this programme?

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RENEW138 - Working with care providers to decarbonise travel - 100821

This authority is interested to learn if any other local authorities are working with care providers to support them in decarbonising their business travel. This could be through setting up loan schemes to help them transition to electric vehicles for delivery of services or other interventions.

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RENEW137 - Climate report tender specifications - 030821

This authority has a target for carbon neutrality of 2030 internally, and 2050 for the wider authority area. It currently has a limited understanding of current emission profiles, the efficacy of their actions to date, and the steps required to meet these targets.

The authority is looking to commission a report to provide an assessment of the changes which would need to occur within the council to meet its climate goals. This is expected to include:

• An assessment of the main sources of climate impacts within the district and their relative importance.
• A decarbonisation pathway giving a detailed set of targets and milestones for reaching internal carbon neutrality by 2030 (with an assessment of the technologies, changes and investment required)
• A decarbonisation pathway giving a detailed set of targets and milestones for reaching district carbon neutrality by 2050
• A breakdown of key steps the authority could / should take, in order to influence other tiers of government and the wider public to reach the 2050 goals.
• An analysis of the opportunities to the district in terms of green economic growth
• An assessment of particular industries, geographical areas, or specific demographics locally which will be disproportionately affected by climate change, and who will require more support
• A mapping exercise of key partner organisations, and opportunities for collaboration

They are keen to see others’ tender specifications and learn lessons from others who have commissioned reports of a similar nature to that outlined above.

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RENEW136 - Realistic carbon target for new build leisure facility - 030821

This authority is in the process of planning for a new-build leisure pool and gym and they’re trying to establish some realistic Operational/Embodied carbon targets. The RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge guidance does not account for differences in building type/uses and swimming pools are particularly problematic, because they have large energy demands. The Council intends to install air source heat pumps and photovoltaics.

The authority is interested in hearing from others who have set carbon targets for leisure facilities, the detail behind the targets and any related information or thoughts. Any insight into what might be a realistic target would be very welcome.

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RENEW135 - Reducing carbon emissions from commercial scale kitchens in schools - 160721

This authority is looking to reduce the carbon emissions from its commercial scale kitchens in schools.

They are interested to the following:-

• Whether others have experience of changing from gas cooking to induction and/or biogas;
• Any other measures taken to reduce emissions in kitchens;
• Any related information which may be relevant.

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RENEW134 - Incentivising taxis to switch to EVs - 010721 

This Council is interested to hear how other councils have helped/incentivised taxis to switch to EVs. They are wanting to help these companies to switch to low carbon options and are really interested to hear from rural councils, as this authority has different challenges around this topic to urban areas. The Council’s towns do not fall under Clean Air Zones (good in a way as they are not too polluted – but that takes away the statutory requirements).

1. Have you been able to make it part of a statutory requirement?
2. Have you provided the charging infrastructure?
3. Have you helped with the additional upfront costs of EVs?
4. Have you offered other incentives to switch?
5. Any other comments will be helpful as well.

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RENEW133 - Carbon offset fund to support the planning process - 010721

This authority is interested to hear from members who have an existing carbon offset fund to support the Planning process which has been expanded to support more general carbon offsets outside of the Planning system?

Any information on how this was set up would be gratefully received.

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RENEW132 - EV infrastructure and fleet – practical issues - 170621

This authority is looking at some practical questions concerning the installation of EV chargers. Specifically they would like to know: 

1. How others have dealt with the potential for energy supply outages (for example whether chargers have been deliberately installed at more than one location to avoid the effects of an outage);
2. How others have approached the decisions about whether to lease or to buy when moving over to low emission vehicles and what factors impacted on those decisions;
3. When users from different departments/services within the authority use them, can your charging points differentiate between those users or costs centers to ensure that relevant budgets are charged the correct amount?
4. In terms of insurance, have others found that changing to an electric / low emission fleet impacts on insurance premiums for the vehicles and the depot where vehicles are stored and if so what is the impact?

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RENEW131 - Carbon Offset - 030621

The network would like to know how regularly carbon offset is used in planning energy efficiency/climate change projects:-

• How is this calculated as part of your schemes?
• Do you use any local guidance as to when it is appropriate to use?
• Any other information or documents you are able to share

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RENEW130 - Environmental Impact Assessments - 030621

As more authorities adopt environmental, or climate change impact assessments on their decision making processes, the climate change network would appreciated details on the following matters:-

• Have you trained staff to assess the environmental impact of decisions or does this assessment sit with a specific officer or team within the council?
• What does your Environmental Impact Assessment cover? For example carbon reduction, biodiversity, energy savings?
• Are you able to supply copies of any related documents to guide the assessment process?

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RENEW129 - Tackling Energy Efficiency Measures in Listed/Heritage Buildings - 030621

Have any APSE member councils explored or developed guidance on how listed or heritage buildings can be made more energy efficient in ways which still preserve the historic fabric, character and appearance of the building?

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RENEW128 - Leaseholder contributions to Net Zero investment - 030621

This Council landlord is aware that recent building safety and compliance investment has already heavily impacted on some leaseholders. 

The ‘net zero’ investment agenda will also potentially have a financial impact on leaseholders.

They would like to hear from other authorities and social landlords about how they are approaching this issue and what steps they have taken or planning to take to support leaseholders in this area with such impacts.

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RENEW127 - Medium term carbon budgets for teams/directorates - 270521

This authority is considering establishing a medium term carbon budget and would like to hear from other councils who have done this. This authority is also interested to know how other councils have fairly distributed the budget between teams or directorates?

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RENEW126 - Carbon Footprint for Festivals and Events - 270521

This authority wishes to establish a carbon footprint for its festivals and events. They are seeking advice and guidance from any local authorities who may already have carried out a similar carbon mapping exercise. The Council is also looking for a methodology to complete the carbon mapping exercise, or any good practice already implemented by other local authorities.

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RENEW125 - Solar panels and storage on council domestic properties - 270521

This authority is looking into fitting solar panels on their council stock. They are keen to hear from others who have done so and would like information on the following:-

• The nature of the panels and the manufacturer?
• Maintenance requirements?
• Parts that require planned replacement?
• Storage options any council has invested in?
• Destination of the energy?

They would be grateful to hear about any other related matters or problems encountered by those who have fitted or considered fitting such panels.

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RENEW124 - Offsetting for carbon neutral building developments - 210521

This authority is interested in hearing from other authorities who have completed carbon neutral  building developments and have adopted carbon offsetting. 

A new carbon neutral flagship office development is being progressed which supports the Council’s goals and aspirations towards a carbon neutral future. The building will be designed to achieve the UK Green Building Council’s 2025 net zero office energy performance target - BREEAM ‘Outstanding’.

To achieve this standard the Council will be required to offset embodied carbon and they are therefore seeking advice and guidance from other Councils who have completed similar developments to help understand and identify the approaches that were adopted when offsetting carbon, along with the carbon offsetting schemes utilised, explaining further how this was detailed and captured within tender specifications.

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RENEW123 - Monitoring the carbon impact of homeworking - 210521

This authority is looking to monitor the carbon impact of staff working from home. This includes matters such as extra electricity use for laptops or computers used at home, extra fuel for heating used at  home and extra water used at home. They would like to hear from others who have:

• introduced methods of monitoring these and related activities;
• how well they are working;
• problems encountered;
• if / how these problems were overcome;
• if / how this is being reported internally;
• any definitions for performance indicators;
• any other thoughts or ideas related to this issue.

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RENEW122 - Tender documents for EWI - 060521

This Council is bidding for LAD2 funding and part of the proposed works will be the installation of External Wall Insulation. Do any other councils have or have access to, a good all round works tender document to cover EWI they can use when they come to tender for the work?

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RENEW121 - Sustainability templates and report - 230421 

A member authority will shortly be compiling their first annual sustainability report, they were wondering if there were any authorities who have completed one before who have templates or examples of completed reports they would be willing to share. 

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RENEW120 - Carbon accounting/assessment for capital projects - 240321

This authority is interested in hearing from others regarding actions related to carbon accounting/assessment for capital projects. They are particularly interested in hearing from other local authorities that might be developing work in this area, particularly whether some have experience with PAS 2080 for carbon management.

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RENEW119 - Environment, Energy & Climate Change ISO Accreditations - 050321

This authority is interested in gaining an insight into whether other local authorities have the ISO 50001 ,140001, 14064 and 21930 accreditations. They would be interested in hearing from councils who do have any of these accreditations and any information/opinions on the usefulness, staff time/resource and benefits/drawbacks of having them. However, they are also keen to hear from councils who have considered the accreditations but decided against it, and the reasons for this. 

(https://www.iso.org/files/live/sites/isoorg/files/store/en/PUB100067.pdf)

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RENEW118 - Collecting area-wide emissions data - 230221

This authority is looking for some insights from others regarding area-wide emissions data. Specifically, they are concerned that using BEIS data will pose problems due to it being 2 years old, and would like to know if/how other local authorities are obtaining any more up-to-date data. Any responses related to this topic would be greatly appreciated.

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RENEW117 - Data for electric vehicle charge points - 150221

This authority is interested in hearing from other local authorities who have some data regarding electric vehicle charge points. They are particularly interested in answers to the following questions:

• License fees charged by LAs as annual rental per unit?
• Who is responsible for maintenance?
• Who is responsible for third party liability claims?
• Who is responsible for electrical testing etc.?

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RENEW116 - Low carbon leisure facilities - 110221

We are interested in hearing from local authorities who have undertaken projects to make their leisure facilities low/zero carbon. We are particularly interested in hearing about passivhaus buildings, or similar, for leisure facilities with swimming pools, but would welcome any information about initiatives to reduce carbon in local authority leisure facilities.

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RENEW115 - Embedding carbon reduction targets into investments and pensions - 040221

This Council declared a climate emergency in 2019 and has set themselves the targets of being a carbon-neutral council by 2030 and to support a district-wide target of 2037. As a district council, they have little influence over their pension, as it is the county council that controls where it is invested. However, they are interested in what other councils have done to help embed carbon reduction targets into their investment strategies and how to make sure that the investments remain in keeping with the 3 primary focuses stability, liquidity and yield. This authority would be particularly interested in answers to the following:

1. Do you impact assess, monitor and report (internally or publicly) the carbon emissions from investments?
   • If yes, how do you do this? Does it help to encourage low carbon investment?
2. What is your policy for your pension fund? Are there options for maintaining a stable investment but in a low carbon option?
   • If you are a district council how do you influence the pension pot?
3. What is your policy for short term investments? This council works in cash investments rather than shares, so would like to know if there are low carbon options for this?

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RENEW114 - Measuring and accounting for non-CO2 Greenhouse Gases - 120121

This authority is in the process of putting together a climate change strategy and action plan. The 2009 Climate Change (Scotland) Act lists the GHGs as carbon dioxide; methane; nitrous oxide; hydrofluorocarbons; perfluorocarbons; and sulphur hexafluoride – with all of these needing to be Net Zero by 2045.

This authority is interested in finding out whether there is any currently published (or to be published) guidance on measuring and accounting for the non-CO2 gases? Or whether any other local authorities who are a bit further down the road have any experience in this area? Any responses related to this topic would be greatly appreciated.

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RENEW113 - Addressing emissions resulting from procurement - 120121

This Council would like to find out what other Local Authorities are doing to address their emissions resulting from procurement. How have Local Authorities strengthened the hands of their Procurement Officers and what relevant questions have been asked to external companies to ensure the procurement of goods and services are low carbon? Any responses related to this topic would be greatly appreciated.

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RENEW112 - Sustainable construction and energy efficiency standards in new developments - 040121

This authority is in the process of updating their Local Development Plan and want to include sustainable construction and energy efficiency standards for any new development that goes above and beyond Building Regulations. They would love to hear from other local authorities who have such standards in place and, if so, what standards/targets they use. In particular, they are keen to hear details regarding how they put together a robust evidence base in support of these standards/targets.

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RENEW111 - Changing overall energy supplier and building into climate plans - 040121

This authority is currently looking to change their Council’s overall energy supplier for electric and gas and wondered if any other authorities have done this recently and if so, have built this into the carbon-neutral/climate change action plans and how is this worded?

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