Wiltshire Council's Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions report 2022/23
Wiltshire Council's GHG emissions
Table 1: Wiltshire Council's GHG emissions in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e). Figures are rounded to the nearest tonne.| Year | Scope 1 | Scope 2 | Scope 1 and 2 total emissions |
|---|
| 2014/15 | 8,709 | 15,049 | 23,758 |
| 2015/16 | 7,890 | 14,156 | 22,046 |
| 2016/17 | 7,782 | 12,047 | 19,829 |
| 2017/18 | 7,353 | 9,904 | 17,257 |
| 2018/19 | 7,002 | 7,862 | 14,864 |
| 2019/20 | 5,563 | 6,758 | 12,321 |
| 2020/21 | 4,401 | 0 | 4,401 |
| 2021/22 | 5,275 | 0 | 5,275 |
| 2022/23 | 3568 | 0 | 3,568 |
Table 2: Wiltshire Council's Scope 3 GHG emissions in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e). Figures are rounded to the nearest tonne.| Year | Scope 3 |
|---|
| 2013/14 | 15,772 |
| 2014/15 | 2,680 |
| 2015/16 | 1,676 |
| 2016/17 | 1,487 |
| 2017/18 | 1,261 |
| 2018/19 | 1,005 |
| 2019/20 | 1,960 |
| 2020/21 | 1,110 |
| 2021/22 | 1,193 |
| 2022/23 | 9,854 |
Table 3: Breakdown of scope 3 GHG emissions for 2022/23, in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e). Figures are rounded to the nearest tonne. | 2022/23 Emissions sources | tCO2e |
|---|
| Business mileage | 430 |
| Transmission & distribution | 322 |
| Leased vehicles (e.g. gritters) * | 2307 |
| Council generated waste* | 52 |
| Outsourced waste collection vehicles* | 2350 |
| Schools opted in to our energy contract* | 4377 |
*data captured for the first time in reporting year 2022/23
Notes on emissions
- The 2022/23 Scope 1 emissions include the emissions from council operational fleet only and exclude emissions from outsourced services such as waste collection and highway maintenance which would be included in the council's Scope 3 emissions.
- 2022/23 Scope 2 emissions before application of the green electricity tariff were 3520 tCO2e.
- The 2022/23 figures use the revised methodology for data capture and reporting implemented in 2014/15. The council no longer collects complete school (either Academy or non-Academy) energy data. However, this year we have included data within our scope 3 emissions from those 132 schools who have opted to purchase their energy through Wiltshire Council's energy contract.
- A wider range of Scope 3 emissions have been captured this year (see Table 3). We do not currently report emissions from our outsourced operations as part of our Scope 3 GHG reporting. We are working with our key suppliers to understand the GHG emissions associated with those contracts.
- Wiltshire Council's GHG footprint fluctuates from year-to-year, and this is caused by a number of influencing factors including: acquisition and divestment of buildings, change of use of buildings, seasonal weather conditions which affect the need for heating and cooling buildings, and improvements to energy efficiency made during the year. During accounting year 2020/21 occupancy and usage of buildings, and staff travel, were affected by COVID-19. Subsequently emissions increased as business returned to normal and have decreased again in 2022/23 putting us back in line with our Pathway to Carbon Neutral.
