Agenda item

6:05pm to 6:35pm

The Deputy Leader and Assistant Director – Health and Wellbeing attended to present a progress report on the efforts which were being made to make CBC a more environmentally friendly council.

CBC declared a Climate Emergency on 17 July, 2019 and resolved to establish a Chesterfield Climate Change Working Group to respond to this challenge.

The first meeting of the working group had taken place on 23 October 2019. The Committee were informed that a productive meeting had taken place which set the scene in terms of the scale of the issue which Chesterfield faced and provided the working group an opportunity to outline the areas which they felt were important. These areas would then be used to inform future meetings and would require further review to support the development of the Council’s action plan.

The working group was in a relatively early phase of development but based on feedback received from the first session the group dynamic appeared to be correct. A second meeting of the working group was scheduled for 25 November 2019 and this meeting would focus on developing priorities for the action plan based on the themes identified by the group.

Progress on the action plan would be communicated when appropriate to a wider reference group made up of the individuals who were not selected for the working group and who expressed an interest to be part of a reference group.

The working group was committed to making a difference and ensuring that Chesterfield developed an action plan which would result in a co-ordinated approach to support a low carbon, resilient and sustainable borough.

A discussion took place around the staff resourcing for the work being carried out. There had been a budget commitment allocated to support the work but it was important to ensure absolute clarity is given to anyone involved in this area of work. It is very much the approach of the working group that changes are embedded into the day-to-day activities of the authority and the wider community.

A suggestion to include sustainability questionnaires in pre-qualifying requirements to suppliers was made and the members were informed that some of these were in place, but it was acknowledged that further work in this area will be required.

The Assistant Director was asked about how the working group members were selected. A significant number of people had expressed an interest in the working group but a manageable size was needed to ensure that the core working group was able to function effectively. The working group included 16 members of the public.

Members asked about the age range of the working group because climate change was a significant concern of young people. The decision had been made to invite people over the age of 18 years old to join the working group to mitigate any concerns relating to safeguarding. Members encouraged sharing information and documentation with schools to keep young people informed about the working group.

RESOLVED –

1.   That the update be noted.

2.   That an update on the More Environmentally Friendly Council be brought to the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum on 23 January, 2020.