Council publishes latest data on journey to achieving net zero

Each year, the Council publishes its annual Greenhouse Gas Emissions report which measures the annual greenhouse gas emissions which includes energy and water use, fuel used in our fleet and emissions associated with business travel.  

The Council has a target to become net zero carbon across its own operations by 2030. In order to achieve this the Council aims to reduce emissions 10% each year against 2019/20 levels as a baseline.  

The latest data - which covers the period of 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023 - shows a 5% decrease in the Council’s greenhouse gas emissions when compared to 2021/2022 levels, - dropping from 6,314 tonnes in 2021/22 to 5,994 tonnes in 2022/23. 

Looking Forward 

The Council completed the installation of heat pumps across four of its leisure sites in 2023, which are the Council’s highest energy users. This is expected to achieve a substantial drop in greenhouse gas emissions in next year’s 2023-24 annual GHG report. 

The Council is also continuing to utilise grants and schemes to enable carbon reduction measures to be installed across its buildings and estate.  

This includes five decarbonisation projects funded through the Salix Recycling Fund at Council-owned community and leisure centres and depots which are to be complete by March 2025. The Council will also continue to assess and review how we can further decarbonise heating across its sites.  

Tackling Oxford’s carbon emissions 

Alongside its work to reduce its own emissions, the Council is working closely with large businesses and organisations in the city as part of the Zero Carbon Oxford Partnership, including the universities, hospitals to tackle city-wide carbon emissions. 

Members of the Zero Carbon Oxford Partnership are working towards achieving net zero carbon emissions across the city as a whole by the year 2040 – 10 years ahead of the legal deadline set by Government. 

"We are pleased with the steady progress we have made in reducing our emissions, but we acknowledge the challenges ahead. We publish this annual data to be transparent and open about our journey to net zero and the work we are doing within our own organisation to address the climate emergency. Our commitment to achieving net zero by 2030 remains, and we are focusing on innovative projects and partnerships to accelerate our efforts." 

Councillor Anna Railton, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Zero Carbon Oxford