Update on Renfrewshire’s Climate Change Action
Renfrewshire Council · 20 May 2025
Back to Planning and Climate Change Policy Board — 20 May 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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1 ___________________________________________________________________ To: Planning and Climate Change Policy Board On: 20 May 2025 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Environment Housing and Infrastructure ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Update on Renfrewshire’s Climate Change Action ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 In August 2022, Renfrewshire’s Plan for Net Zero (Ren Zero) was published in response to a Climate Emergency being declared in Renfrewshire in 2019. Since then, significant progress has been made towards achieving the commitment to working towards Net Zero by 2030 for both the Renfrewshire area as a whole and Renfrewshire Council as an organisation. 1.2 Renfrewshire’s Plan for Net Zero sets out the strategic framework required to work towards our ambitious climate change targets in Renfrewshire. The plan outlines the strategic direction in Renfrewshire and highlights the importance of working together across the Council and beyond to ensure projects, programmes and approaches complement each other; optimise expertise and experience; and maximise resources while closely aligning with our Council and Community Plans, and national and local policies and strategies. 1.3 With the overarching strategy in place, a detailed delivery plan is required which outlines the priority areas and specific activities which will be taken forward in the short to medium term to support our strategic, climate related objectives. This captures and builds upon the range of climate related activity already underway in Renfrewshire. 1.4 This report outlines the progress made to date in Renfrewshire and the priority areas and planned activity moving forward. Alongside this paper, the Climate Change Duties Report provides an overview of the draft updated statutory guidance in Scotland, and Renfrewshire’s current position in relation to the draft targets and commitments.
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2 2. Recommendations It is recommended that members of the Planning and Climate Change Policy Board: 2.1 Notes that this report provides a summary of the climate action undertaken and progress to date; and 2.2 Notes the priority areas and specific activity to be taken forward to support Renfrewshire’s strategic climate objectives. 3. Background 3.1 The Scottish Government has made a legislative commitment to reach Net Zero emissions by 2045. The commitment was made under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2019. The Act was amended in November 2024, and in place of annual and interim targets, a five-year carbon budgeting system has been introduced. From 2026 onwards, each year will be covered by a carbon budget relating to the amount of greenhouse gases permitted during that 5-year period. This shift aims to provide a more realistic framework for long-term climate planning. Despite this change, the Scottish government has reaffirmed its commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2045. 3.2 Renfrewshire’s Plan for Net Zero aligns with the key priorities at national level and there have been a range of success stories to date locally including joint working with communities in establishing the community climate fund, delivering active travel infrastructure across the area and early work looking at alternative energy sources such as waste heat recovery used in the AMIDS district heating network. 3.3 However, it is recognised that to achieve our long-term objectives, the scale and pace of change to be delivered over the coming years has to be accelerated. To do so, clear priority areas and tangible actions to be developed and delivered have been identified. 4 Strategic priority areas 4.1 Renfrewshire’s Plan for Net Zero is centred around 5 main themes: Clean Energy – minimising energy demand, maximising energy efficiency and transforming our energy systems to deliver clean, affordable energy for all. Sustainable Transport – Maximising sustainable transport opportunities to deliver an inclusive, affordable transport system that provides choices for all. Resilient Place – Optimising biodiversity and nature locally to enhance our natural environment and maximising green economic opportunities while planning and preparing for impacts of climate change. Circular Economy – Making Renfrewshire a circular economy society: minimising waste and maximising reuse, recycling and recovery of resources rather than treating them as waste. Connected Communities – Empowering communities by ensuring an inclusive and just transition to net zero with social justice and health and wellbeing at its core for current and future generations.
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3 4.2 Recognising the enormity of the Climate Change agenda and the commitment to achieving significant, ambitious objectives, the Plan stressed the importance of everyone in Renfrewshire playing their part alongside increased partnership working and collaboration to optimise opportunities. As such, Renfrewshire Council aims to play a leadership role by striving to become a net zero organisation while working closely with businesses, partners and stakeholders to make radical, but essential, changes in Renfrewshire. Climate Change cannot be tackled with solely internal transformation within the Council – Renfrewshire Council makes up around 2.5% of the emissions of the area but can influence around 33% of the area’s emissions through sectors that are directly shaped by local authority practice, policy or partnerships. 4.3 Therefore, in the short to medium term the Council intends to focus its efforts on a number of key areas, both in terms of its own practices and to support communities and all stakeholders to contribute. These include: Transforming our approach to the provision of clean, renewable energy and sustainable transport in Renfrewshire. This will include decarbonising our public buildings and ensuring our fleet and travel behaviours are as sustainable as they can be. Continuing to think innovatively, to explore external funding and investment opportunities and to identify new ways to bring cost savings and generate revenue to reinvest in sustainable practices. Improving our local community areas by greening our estate and footprints, directed by a local Offsetting Strategy which will be incorporated within a newly developed Adaptation Plan, and Informing, educating and upskilling our staff and communities to support them to contribute to climate action. This will include the development of a Ren Zero community engagement programme, reiterating the importance of climate action being everyone’s business. 4.4 The priority areas are not exhaustive, and the Council will continue to explore opportunities and develop supporting plans across each of the themes, building on the work already completed or in progress. 5. Current activity / progress to date 5.1 Since the publication of Renfrewshire’s Plan for Net Zero, significant activity has been undertaken locally to support our climate change objectives. 5.2 Establishing a Sustainability Team As part of enhancing the Council’s structure in response to the climate challenge, a centralised Sustainability Team has been established in the Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Service. The team will lead on the climate responsibilities the
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4 Council has and advance our net zero aspirations further. This will involve working across the Council with the aim of decarbonising our public buildings and ensuring our fleet and travel behaviours are as sustainable as they can be. 5.3 Local Heat & Energy Efficiency Strategy (LHEES) Following the successful delivery of the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS) district heating network, feasibility studies have been completed to expand the current network as well as exploring additional district heating networks in Paisley. Renfrewshire Council has been successful in securing Scottish Government grant funding to take these feasibility studies to develop Outline business Cases for potential heat networks in Paisley Central and an extension of AMIDS, with partnership working to optimise the opportunities including UWS, OneRen, NHS, Scottish Water and Glasgow Airport 5.4 Sustainable Travel A review of the current Sustainable Travel pool car system is underway with plans to relaunch a Sustainable Travel Initiative which will include a focus on reducing business travel. The project will focus on a planning model which will encourage a more sustainable travel culture across the council by providing staff with a reviewed hierarchy of travel, a review of the current electric vehicle pool vehicles, re- introduction of pool bikes and looking at the possibility of introducing new staff incentives. The project will support several objectives including reduced spend on annual business miles claims, decreased carbon emissions through sustainable practices and enhanced employee accessibility to shared transport options. 5.5 Sustainable Planned Infrastructure Works The Sustainability team are working closely with colleagues across other Council Services to ensure sustainability is prioritised within major infrastructure programmes of work. This includes Housing Regeneration, the development of our Learning Estate and the decarbonisation of our public buildings. Renfrewshire Council are one of four local authorities in the West of Scotland who are working with BE-ST and Hub West to develop individual route maps for Local Authorities, share and collaborate best practice but also to deliver a review of data and allow a representation of architypes of buildings across the West Region to prevent duplication of work across the local authorities. 5.6 Ensuring Climate Change Considerations inform Strategic Planning Renfrewshire Council is currently developing processes and tools in relation to ensuring climate change considerations are mainstreamed across the organisation and that climate change systemically informs strategic investment planning and decision-making processes - through carbon literacy training as well as the development and piloting of Climate Change Impact Assessments. 5.7 Climate Change Impact Assessments are a support tool to demonstrate how policies, plans and proposed projects being developed by the Council will impact wider emissions and the wider environment. They also help to raise awareness. They’re
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5 designed to provide value in determining how decision making will impact emissions, the main climate impacts and benefits of any given decision and measure how these decisions align with the Council’s net zero commitment principles in practice and the impact on targets and progress. The impact assessment is currently being piloted across a number of projects, prior to being finalised and rolled out across the Council. 5.8 Carbon Literacy Training has been rolled out to Managers across the Council, with 95 Managers/Lead Officers having completed the course. Officers are currently exploring options around developing this training into an online training module with a view of rolling this out to all employees. 5.9 Carbon Budget. An overarching Council carbon budget is being developed to improve understanding of how our emissions relate to the services we provide and reductions needed in order to adapt to delivering the same high quality local services in a way that is fit for a resilient, net zero future ensure. It enables monitoring of progress and also ensures cross-Service accountability, with departments identifying actions and projects that contribute to targets. 5.10 Local Renewable Energy Systems The Council is exploring large scale renewable energy generation in collaboration with multiple internal services and external specialists to evaluate sites in Renfrewshire that could be commercially viable. This aims to optimise locally generated energy opportunities and maximise the renewable energy generated locally being used locally. This approach increases energy security and resilience, brings about increased emissions reductions; provides opportunities for increased energy cost savings at a local level; more cost effective, locally sourced energy, revenue generation and enhanced community benefits. 5.11 Internal Recycling Projects The Sustainability Team are currently working with colleagues to maximise recycling opportunities across the Council estate. Following a successful rollout across the school estate, an initial public buildings project is focussing on the implementation of full recycling facilities within Renfrewshire House, which would then be rolled out across the learning estate. 5.12 Public EV Charging Infrastructure As part of the Glasgow City Region, Renfrewshire will benefit from a share of £3.5 million of funding to accelerate the delivery of public EV Charging Infrastructure, which should see over 3,000 additional charge points installed over the coming years. The project is currently being scoped out, with suitable locations being identified and prioritised based on clear metrics such as deprivation, flood risk and existing local infrastructure.
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6 6 Planned activity 6.1 A number of supporting strategies and plans are currently being developed as set out as priority actions within the approved Plan for Net Zero. The plans will set out our strategic approach to reduce carbon emissions, address the local impacts of climate change and accelerate more sustainable use of resources. 6.2 A new Carbon Management Plan is current being developed which will outline the key actions and set targets for reducing carbon across the organisation including waste, street lighting, utilities within our estate, transport and staff travel. The Plan is expected to be finalised for approval in late summer 2025. 6.3 An Adaptation Plan will capture adaptation solutions and outline a phased programme of priority actions which are designed to respond to and address the local impacts of climate change that are already happening, as well as prepare for future climate risks across the Renfrewshire area. These actions will be centred around communities, security and resilience, infrastructure and our local environment. The plan is expected to be finalised in April 2026. 6.4 A Circular Economy Strategy will set out a transformational approach to accelerate more sustainable use of resources across the waste hierarchy to reduce emissions associated with resources and waste. The Strategy will prioritise and focus on key actions to meet local and national targets based on data, local priorities and stakeholder engagement. The plan is expected to be finalised in 2026. 7 Capital funding programme 7.1 The Council has received capital funding of £1.167m from the Scottish Government to support projects which reduce our carbon emissions. Several potential projects have been identified which are considered to be most impactful in terms of the associated benefits balanced with the investment required to implement. The projects are outlined as part of a proposed three-year delivery plan, detailing the indicative investment and the projected benefits. Project Indicative Investment Projected Benefits Building Management Systems (BMS) Installation and upgrade of BMS across the estate to maximise energy efficiency £560k Drive efficiencies within utility usage and have a positive impact on the Council’s emissions. Solar PV (Photovoltaic) Expansion Extension of Solar PV Array across 15 existing public buildings and installing a new system at St Fillan's Primary School. £815k Expansion of renewables will deliver a reduction in the Council’s emissions. Airgon Units Implementation Implementation of air reduction technology across 68 properties. £408k Reduce maintenance of heating systems and increase energy efficiency across public buildings.
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7 Windfarm Feasibility Progressing a feasibility study to identify opportunities and benefits of a potential largescale windfarm in Renfrewshire. £100k Such projects can offer significant benefits including renewable and clean energy, cost-effectiveness and land use. Linwood Moss Solar Farm Progressing a feasibility study into an Investment Grade Business Case to deliver a large-scale solar farm on Linwood Moss former landfill site. £50k Increased production of clean, renewable energy and opportunity for savings on energy costs. Electric Vehicle (EV) Fleet Expansion Purchase of additional EVs to expand the Council’s existing EV fleet. £380k Supporting the Council’s objective to ensure our fleet and travel behaviours are as sustainable as they can be. EV Infrastructure Improvements/ Expansion Expanding and improving the Council’s existing EV charging infrastructure. £380k Supporting the Council’s objective to ensure our fleet and travel behaviours are as sustainable as they can be. Set Up Costs for Recycling Related Projects Maximising recycling opportunities across the Council - Initial project to implement full recycling facilities within Renfrewshire House. £25k Supports the Council to minimise the impact of waste and raises awareness of sustainable practices amongst staff. Marketing and Communications £50k Supports communication and engagement with communities and stakeholders through the delivery of a Ren Zero community engagement programme. 7.2 The total indicative investment of the areas identified above is £2.765m. The available capital budget of £1.167m will support partial delivery in 2025/26, however future additional funding will be required to implement all aspects of the delivery plan in its entirety over the three-year period. 7.3 As progress continues in the delivery and implementation of the outlined areas within this report, frequent updates will be provided to the Planning and Climate Change Policy Board.
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8 Implications of the Report 1. Financial – None directly arising from this report. 2. HR & Organisational Development – None directly arising from this report. 3. Community/Council Planning – None directly arising from this report. 4. Legal - None directly arising from this report. 5. Property/Assets - None directly arising from this report. 6. Information Technology – None directly arising from this report. 7. Equality and Human Rights - The Recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report because it is for noting only. If required following implementation, the actual impact of the recommendations and the mitigating actions will be reviewed and monitored, and the results of the assessment will be published on the Council’s website. 8. Health and Safety – None directly arising from this report. 9. Procurement – None directly arising from this report. 10. Risk – None directly arising from this report. 11. Privacy Impact – None directly arising from this report. 12. Climate Risk – this report details work being undertaken and progress made by Renfrewshire Council in response to the climate emergency. 13. Children’s Rights - None directly arising from this report. 14. COSLA Policy Position – this work aligns with COSLA’s current work alongside the Scottish Government in response to the climate emergency. ___________________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers: None Author: Jamie Robertson, Sustainability Manager Environment, Housing and Infrastructure