Highland Council reaffirms commitment to Carbon Clever Highlands and retains Carbon Trust Standard.

Members of The Highland Council have welcomed early progress on the Council’s Carbon Clever Highlands initiative and attaining national recognition by being awarded the Carbon Trust Standard for the work it does to reduce carbon emissions.

Members have agreed to grant £160,000 of funding to project manage the Carbon Clever Highlands initiative over the next three financial years.

The Carbon Trust Standard recognises the Council’s continued progress in reducing carbon emissions as well as its commitment to making future reductions. To achieve this award, the Council’s carbon management performance was scrutinised by the Carbon Trust.

Council Leader Councillor Drew Hendry said: “This is a fantastic achievement for The Highland Council, and recognition of the work that has been undertaken over the past two years to continue to reduce the Council’s carbon emissions. The Council is committed to both reducing its own carbon emissions and working with partners, stakeholders, and the people of Highlands to reduce the carbon footprint of the region through the Carbon Clever Highlands initiative.”

The Carbon Trust Standard process involved the following four key stages:

The auditor in his report to the Carbon Trust stated: “At the schools, offices, visitor centres and in talks, on site regarding street lighting, I was impressed by the knowledge and enthusiasm of the staff.”

This is third time that the Council has achieved this award, and have held it continuously since 2008. The Council manages its carbon emissions through its Carbon Management Plan, which covers all seven Council Services and focuses upon reducing emissions from: energy use in buildings; staff travel; fleet; street lighting; waste; and water consumption. The plan was revised in April 2013 and now covers a wider and more ambitious scope of emissions.

The Council has also restated their commitment to reducing carbon emissions across Highland through the Carbon Clever Highlands initiative. This ambitious project has the target of achieving a carbon neutral Inverness in a Low Carbon Highlands by 2025.