Climate Change and Air Quality Progress Report 2023 to 2024
Monitoring and reporting
Council emissions
Reporting quarterly on emissions savings across Council operations (re Action 6)
Since October 2023, we have published two updates of our action tracker, with actions completed since the previous update highlighted in a different colour. You can access them via the following weblinks:
We have also issued a quarterly newsletter containing updates on actions to minimise Council emissions.
Automatic Meter Reading Rollout – Update (re Action 7)
We have continued to rollout Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) meters to our sites. These meters automatically capture and transmit meter readings to our energy supplier on a monthly basis, in some cases transmitting data every half hour. This provides us with greater granularity in our data which in turn allows more sophisticated analysis, to be better inform future investment decisions to reduce energy consumption. They also eliminate the need for manual readings, saving staff time.
The number and nature of the meters can change as properties are purchased or disposed of. We have no control over the type of meters we inherit under when these changes occur.
Of the 388 non-half hourly (not automatic) electricity meters which are AMR compatible, 310 have been upgraded to AMR (80% of the total). For our 264 gas meters, 181 have been upgraded to AMR (68% of the total).
County-wide Emissions
‘Clean Up Our Air’ initiative (re Actions 8, 16 & 59)
The Council’s Strategic Environmental Protection Team, in conjunction with Spelthorne Borough Council and Ricardo, was awarded a grant of £91,273 from Defra’s Air Quality Grant in 2021/22 to create air quality toolkits which were offered to each community board area within Buckinghamshire. To coincide with Clean Air Day on 15th June 2023, Buckinghamshire launched a new initiative called ‘Clean Up Our Air’.
The grant funding is now coming to an end with over half of the council’s Community Boards taking up the offer of the toolkit. The toolkits provided the Community Boards with materials to enable them, local schools, and organisations to carry out campaigns and to raise awareness of local air quality issues. Also included was access to the use of one air quality sensor for one year, campaign materials, advice, and toolkits on how to run campaigns.
To learn more about the Clean Up Our Air Initiative and what you can do to help improve Air Quality in Buckinghamshire, visit the Clean Up Our Air pages.
This applies to the following theme:
- stakeholder based solutions
NO2 Diffusion Tube Monitoring Locations Review (re Action 8)
In December 2023 the NO2 diffusion tube monitoring locations present throughout the county were reviewed. This is completed annually to establish if any additional monitoring points are required where there is the potential for breaches of the national air quality objectives to occur. This may be following significant developments such as new housing or new road schemes within the county or from an increase in observed levels of traffic.
Where significant data exists to show there are low levels of pollution present and that there will be no breaches in the national air quality objectives, that monitoring may be closed, and the diffusion tube moved to a new monitoring location. The 2023 review resulted in 8 sites being added to the monitoring network and 4 sites being removed.
A map showing the NO2 diffusion tube monitoring locations can be found on our air quality pages.
Annual Climate Change & Air Quality Strategy Progress Reports (re Action 9)
Each year since adoption of the Strategy we have published a Progress Report: