Climate emergency

• The council's first Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Plan has been approved, and funding has been identified and approved for a number of electric vehicle charging points in the county. The council has carried out a tender process for provision and replacement of electric vehicle charging points at towns with a population of 10,000 or more
• It will also be rolling out a grant to support town and parish councils to install electric vehicle charging points in their local area. A well-attended webinar was recently held to provide town and parishes more information. For more information see Electric vehicles (EV) and charging points
• To encourage active travel, Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs) are being developed to improve cycling and walking opportunities throughout the county - working closely with town councils
• There are a number of active travel schemes across the county. visit New active travel schemes and  1 February 2022 - Cabinet meeting - Update on council's response to climate emergency (opens new window), item 21, appendix 4. 
• To ensure air quality throughout the county can be monitored as effectively as possible, old monitoring stations will be replaced using community infrastructure funding.

• The council's Housing Energy Efficiency Programme will retrofit 5,000 council homes by 2030, with assessment carried out on the first 800. The aim is to reduce the amount of CO₂, make the properties more energy efficient, and help save residents money. For more information see Housing Energy Efficiency Programme (HEEP).
• So far, 90 council homes have been retrofitted to improve their energy efficiency rating, with measures such as intelligent hot water cylinders, solar panels, and high heat retaining storage heaters
• The council has also tendered a three-year contract to find a Modern Method of Construction (MMC) delivery partner. MMC is a process which focuses on off-site construction techniques, such as mass production and factory assembly, as alternatives to traditional building. This project will deliver 1,000 new affordable zero carbon homes. For more information about Modern methods of construction visit New build programme.
• The launch of a scheme that enables Wiltshire households with an income of £30,000 or less, and living in a property that is rated D, E, F or G for energy efficiency, the chance to access up to £10,000 for improvements such as insulation, solar panels and double glazing.

• The council hosted a Natural Environment Summit for Wiltshire, which brought together key groups and organisations to discuss opportunities to make meaningful long-term improvements to local biodiversity
• The £27 million Salisbury River Park transformational scheme aims to reduce flood risk to over 350 homes and businesses in Salisbury. It will also create riverside habitat for the benefit of wildlife, and more than 600 trees will be planted.

To give residents the opportunity to bulk-bid for solar panel technology to help drive down the price, the council worked with Swindon Borough Council and iChoosr to offer the Solar Together Wiltshire scheme. More than 1,000 residents have paid a deposit to install solar photovoltaic panels and/or battery storage.

• An action planning day was held for town and parish councils to empower them to make practical changes in their communities.
• The council worked with John of Gaunt School in Trowbridge to bring climate science education and green jobs to life for the next generation through a project called "Embedding Careers into the Maths Curriculum". Learn more about this by watching the series of videos on YouTube: Careers in Maths Project (opens new window).

The council and its waste contractor have participated in demonstrations and trials of electric waste collection vehicles to inform future service design. 94.8% of the material collected for recycling, reuse, and composting by Wiltshire Council was managed within the UK, reducing the 'waste miles' travelled.

• Through its developing fleet strategy, the council has ordered 10 electric pool cars, 15 electric vans, and a further 17 electric vans are going through the procurement process
• The council's Property Carbon Reduction Programme has so far delivered 50 completed projects with 17 more currently awarded and underway. The project is estimated to save 1,500 tonnes of CO₂ per year
• The £12 million project to convert the council's street lighting to energy efficient LED lighting is complete for all standard streetlights in Wiltshire. Any remaining units are heritage and special units. The project is predicted to be complete by the end of March 2023. The equivalent of around 1,770 tonnes of CO₂ will be saved each year
• Thanks to sustained investment in solar photovoltaic technology over time, in 2021/22 the council generated over 550,000 kWh renewable electricity at its own buildings, equivalent to electricity used in 141 average households per year.
• The council has adopted  its Socially Responsible Procurement Policy , which will  ensure the Council maximises the social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being that it delivers through its procurement activity. See Agenda and minutes: Cabinet - Tuesday 29 November 2022 10.00 am (opens new window) for more detail (Item 113).