1.5 Opportunities for action

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1.5 Opportunities for action

Opportunities & Cobenefits

Opportunities:	Co-benefits:
Ensure that procurement plans reflect the council’s climate strategy and targets and vice versa.
Require contractors to operate low or zero emission vehicles When procuring food and catering services and meals on wheels services, specify food that is low in red meat and dairy products and, where possible, local and seasonal	Health
Revise procurement policies and practices to embed opportunities to create green jobs and work with suppliers to identify skills need	Jobs, skills and economic opportunity
Provide opportunities for local SMEs to respond to council tenders for de-carbonisation work Include social value clauses requiring contractors to offer skills and associated apprenticeships relating to the low carbon economy
Where appropriate, include social value clauses relating to energy supply procurement requiring provision of energy audits for council buildings	Resilience

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Opportunities:	Co-benefits:
Introduce a decision making framework that considers the climate impact of all council decisions
Reduce carbon emissions through measures to increase access to affordable warmth	Health
Use procurement to drive decarbonisation through strong procurement criteria and requirements on suppliers	Jobs, skills and economic opportunity
Transport plan to include provision for low carbon transport which can reduce congestion thus creating a better place to do business
Support social outcomes through delivery of housing services, transport services and parks and leisure	Equity and social cohesion
Invest in council stock/buildings to reduce need for energy, limit their tendency to overheat and enable EV access	Resilience
Ensure contingency plans are in place for council services where they impact on vulnerable groups, e.g. continuity of social care in the event of flooding

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Opportunities:	Co-benefits:
Ensure that the council’s climate objectives are incorporated into all plans and strategies, with a member of strategy working group tasked with ensuring plans are developed in line with climate commitments
Ensure transport strategies promote and enable sustainable and active modes of travel	Health
Improve access to, and the quality of, green and blue space Use planning guidance to encourage active travel and encourage car-free new developments Use public health plans and strategies, including Joint Strategic Needs Assessments, to support action on climate change that improves health
Put development of the low carbon economy at the heart of the council’s local economic strategy and Local Plan	Jobs, skills and economic opportunity
Ensure skills and training are in place to support the transition to a low carbon economy Support local businesses in the change towards a clean economy e.g. EVs
Identify location of vulnerable groups and review key strategies to improve outcomes for these groups	Equity and social cohesion
Ensure transport strategies and plans enable vulnerable and disadvantaged groups to access key services, green spaces etc Use Joint Strategic Needs Assessment to support activity that improves equity Specify in planning policies that new developments must not build-in car dependency
Ensure policies reflect and respond to evidence on key local climate risks and opportunities	Resilience
In planning policies, include provision for EV charging points to enable properties, including those without off-street parking, to access EVs Reduce paving and increase planting in urban areas to reduce surface water runoff, encourage walking and reduce overheating

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Opportunities:	Co-benefits:
Work with NHS, energy providers and retrofit organisations to support those vulnerable to ill health from cold homes or effect of severe weather events	Health
Work with travel authorities and organisations to encourage low carbon transport Work with relevant organisations and wider community to develop strategic plans for green space within broader neighbourhood plans
Work with local transport authorities and others to create a better place to do business through sustainable transport and tackling congestion	Jobs, skills and economic opportunity
Work with LEP to nurture low carbon businesses and with education providers to ensure skills and training are provided Work with community energy providers to encourage/enable development of community energy schemes that generate local employment
Work with the NHS and other healthcare providers, with travel authorities and organisations	Equity and social cohesion
Working with energy providers, fuel poverty organisations groups to reduce fuel poverty Working with those supporting vulnerable groups or tackling specific inequalities as well as housing providers and community groups
Work with Local Enterprise Partnerships to ensure climate risks and opportunities are built into economic growth plans	Resilience
Work with housing providers to ensure homes are built/retrofitted to reduce need for energy, limit overheating and enable EV access Work with DNOs to ensure that additional electricity loads arising from electrification of heat/transport as well as from new developments are supported at lowest cost Working with existing community organisations to co-design local climate projects

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Opportunities:	Co-benefits:
Work with local employment agencies to raise awareness of new opportunities and ensure referral to low carbon training opportunities	Jobs, skills and economic opportunity
Increase job opportunities for people from diverse backgrounds using procurement, social value and by working with local education providers, employers and grassroots networks Create a local evidence base to understand capacity for green jobs and skills and work with local businesses and associations to turn this into actionable priorities Extend existing programmes of paid internships and work experience between education and industry to include green jobs Identify tools and levers such as the Adult Education Budget (AEB) to direct flexible funding to green skills development Appoint a lead cabinet member to the green skills and jobs agenda, and strengthen green skills and knowledge across the council so that all council departments can play a role in boosting green jobs and skills Identify and work more closely with grass roots organisations to expand the knowledge of different communities around green jobs and skills and build pathways and programmes Establish a Green Skills Taskforce with industry experts, education, academia, trade unions to develop an action plan
Work with partners to establish high-quality training programmes that address the needs of residents and the low carbon sector	Resilience
Support a ‘just transition’ for workers by supporting those in ‘traditional’ high carbon industries to retrain	Equity and social cohesion

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More Information

We recommend reading Friends of the Earth’s “Road to Zero Carbon” PDF, available by clicking the link below

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1.4 Enabling a just transition

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1.6 Why it matters

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