Southend-on-Sea Borough Council has made it onto the Carbon Disclosure Project’s (CDP) annual A List which showcases the companies leading on environmental transparency and action.
The Council has been recognised for its ambition, awareness, transparency and leadership on climate action based on two years’ worth of disclosure and reporting to the CDP on areas covering waste, water, energy and transport.
To secure its place on the A List, the Council achieved a top rating of ‘leadership’ level authority due to multiple factors such as its Borough-wide emissions inventory which enables the Council to measure overall emissions and, from that, set emissions reduction targets aimed at achieving Net Zero by 2030.
The CDP is a not-for-profit charity that the global economy looks to as the gold standard of environment reporting and scoring and they hold the world’s richest and most comprehensive dataset on how companies, cities and regions across the world measure, understand and address their environmental impacts.
Cllr Carole Mulroney, cabinet member for environment, culture, tourism and planning, said: “The Council has a crucial role to play in leading climate change action across Southend-on-Sea. I am delighted that our climate change work and ambitions have been recognised by the Carbon Disclosure Project and we are fully committed to reducing our carbon emissions and achieving Net Zero by 2030 for both the Council and Southend."
Southend is the only local authority in the East of England region to have achieved the A List rating for 2021 and of all the UK Councils that reported to the CDP this year, only 9.8% made it on to the A List with the others being:
- Bournemouth, Christchurch and Pool Council
- Bristol City Council
- Edinburgh City Council
- Greater London Authority
- Greater Manchester
- Leicester City Council
- Nottingham City Council
- Reading Borough Council
- Sunderland City Council
Jo Gay, head of climate change at Southend-on-Sea Borough Council, said: “The A List accreditation is a fantastic achievement and a reflection of both the excellent work of colleagues and the Council’s commitment to a carbon neutral Southend. By working together, the changes we make now, however big or small, will benefit residents, nature and ultimately the planet for present and future generations.”
Visit our Climate Change pages to find out how the council is combatting climate change as well as tips on how you too can play your part.