Fife Council
Carbon Footprint Policy
Introduction
A Carbon Footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse
gases emitted by an organisation or person. Fife Council is committed to
reducing its Carbon Footprint in line with National Targets1.
This Policy aims to:
 Outline Fife Council’s current approach to measuring and monitoring its
Carbon Footprint, and
 Guide future development of the approach
It includes governing principles and how we:
 Determine what’s included within the Footprint
 Calculate the emissions
 Report the results
 Review the results and approach
Governing Principles
In measuring and reporting its Carbon Footprint, Fife Council will seek to
ensure:
 Accuracy – accurately report emissions resulting from our activities
 Transparency – disclose relevant assumptions
 Continuous improvement - deliver continuous improvement via an
annual review of this policy
 Consistency - ensure the policy is compatible with recognised
standards including:
o
o
o
o
1
2
The GHG Protocol (international standard)
Defra’s Guidance2 (UK standard)
Reporting requirements for the Carbon Reduction Commitment
Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC), and
Climate Change (Scotland) Act - Public Duty requirements.
National targets of 42% reduction by 2020 and 80% reduction by 2050
“Guidance on how to measure and report your greenhouse gas emissions” (referred to here as Defra’s Guidance)
Determining what’s included within the Footprint
Financial control approach
In deciding on what emissions to include in its Carbon Footprint, Fife Council
takes a financial control approach3. This means that Fife Council takes
responsibility for emissions arising from activities where it has financial
control.
Outsourcing4
Where an activity or service is outsourced to an organisation that is not Fife
Council, the emissions will still be counted as the Council’s emissions where it
maintains financial control. This ensures that the council doesn’t avoid
environmental responsibilities by outsourcing to another organisation.
Which emissions are included
All activities within the Council’s financial control have some associated
emissions. However not all are measured and monitored for logistical reasons
(see ‘assessment criteria for inclusion’ below).
In determining which emissions to include, Defra’s Guidance categorises
emission sources into three scopes:
 Scope 1 - direct emissions that release carbon straight into the
atmosphere.
 Scope 2 - emissions released into the atmosphere associated with the
consumption of purchased electricity.
 Scope 3 - indirect emissions that are a consequence of the council’s
activities, occurring at sources that it doesn’t own or control.
Defra’s Guidance recommends as minimum reporting emissions from scope 1
and 2, and Fife Council currently includes emissions from all three scopes.5
However, for operational purposes Fife Council does not report under these
Scopes but groups activity emissions into categories called “Elements”. Table
1 below describes these Elements, the activities included within them and
their relationship to Scopes.
Within Defra’s Guidance this is known as the “Organisational Boundary” and this approach is consistent with
international financial accounting standards.
4
See page 41 of Defra’s Guidance for more detail on outsourcing and lease arrangements
5
Within Defra’s Guidance this is known as the “Activity Boundary”
3
Table 1 - Elements included in Fife Council’s Carbon Footprint
Element
Buildings Energy
Infrastructure
Energy6
Fleet Fuel
Pool Car
Mileage
Business
Mileage
Definition
Scope
Emissions from energy used for heating,
lighting and equipment in council
properties
Emissions from electricity used for street
lighting, signs and bollards
Emissions from the fuel used by the
council’s fleet vehicles
Emissions from the fuel used by the
council’s pool cars
Emissions from car mileage travelled for
work purposes by employees in their own
vehicles
1 (natural gas, gas
oil and LPG)
2 (electricity)
2
1
1
3
Assessment criteria for inclusion
The assessment criteria by which emissions will be included within the
Footprint are:
 Measurable – is data available that’s
o Regular - available on at least a quarterly basis
o Reliable – based on actual figures or accepted estimation
techniques
 Representative – the Footprint includes elements that comprise at least
90% of measurable emissions
 Significant – does the element comprise
o A significant amount of emissions (ensuring we tackle the
largest sources)
o A significant cost of emissions (ensuring we tackle the most cost
effective sources).
Whilst Infrastructure Energy is reported at a Service level it’s the responsibility of only one Service – Environment
and Transport Services
6
Calculating the Emissions
Calculating the emissions from activities requires converting the resource use
into a standard unit of measurement using conversion factors.
To calculate its emissions, Fife Council will use:
 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) as it’s unit of measurement.
This includes the six greenhouse gases (GHGs) covered by the Kyoto
Protocol,
 the carbon conversions factors set out in Guidelines to Defra/DECC’s
GHG Conversion Factors for Company Reporting,
 direct carbon conversion factors.
Updating previously reported emissions results
Previously reported emissions results will be amended to improve the
accuracy of the Carbon Footprint and to allow for consistent and meaningful
tracking of performance over time. Adjustments mean that emissions recorded
in previous reports may differ from figures in subsequent reports. In the
interests of transparency, any modifications are documented and explained
when reporting revised results.
Recalculations are made in the following three circumstances:
 Review of methodology, including elements included and updates to
carbon conversion factors
 Discovery of errors
 Service/Directorate restructuring - the Footprint will be backdated
where sufficient historical information is available to do so.
The Footprint will not be backdated to reflect:
 Changes in asset allocation (e.g. moving accommodation), as this is an
acceptable means of managing emissions and reflects the actual
emissions used at the time.
 Where a service is now outsourced. As the emissions from the
outsourced service will continue to be included (see ‘Outsourcing’
above)
Treatment of renewable sources
Energy use from renewable sources have significantly lower emissions (in
some cases zero).
Fife Council does not calculate any reduction in emissions when it purchases
electricity from renewables sources from the national grid as this is already
accounted for in Defra/DECC’s conversion factors. However, energy used by
the council from its own or controlled renewable sources will be reported as
zero emissions.
Reporting
Where information is available, Fife Council will report emissions at both a
Corporate (all Fife Council) and Directorate/Service level. Reporting will take
place in two main ways:
Annual ‘Carbon Footprint Results’ reports
Fife Council will publish two types of Carbon Footprint Results reports:
1. Fife Council’s Carbon Footprint Results - summarises corporate emissions
2. Directorate/Service Carbon Footprint Results - provide detailed results for
individual Directorate and Services, and includes Councillors.
These reports are approved by Committee and are distributed council-wide
through publication on the Climate Change, Carbon and Energy web pages
on FISH.
The results from these reports will feed into a number of other annual reports,
notably:
 Single Outcome Agreement indicators
 State of Fife report (Community Plan Outcomes)
 Scotland’s Climate Change Declaration, and
 as part of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act Public Duty requirements
Quarterly ‘Performance Management’ reports
Footprint results are reported as performance indicators within Fife Council’s
Performance Management System (Balanced Scorecard). The Footprint is
represented within the Balanced Scorecard as both a Corporate Perfromance
Indicators (CPI) and individual for each Service (SPI). Table 2 below outlines
the links between Footprint Elements and CPI/SPIs. These constitute the
most significant elements of the Footprint for all Services.
Table 2 – Links between Footprint Elements and CPI/SPI
CIP/SPI Footprint Element
44
Building Energy
46
Business Mileage
Fleet Fuel and Pool Car mileage
48
Updated quarterly, these reports are approved by the Council Management
Team (CMT), and are distributed council-wide through publication in the
Quarterly Performance Overview Report and Service Planning & Performance
Reports.
Reviewing the Results and Approach
This policy and the resulting reports will be reviewed periodically to ensure
they remain fit-for-purpose and guide future development of the approach.
Reviewing will take place in three ways:
 Stakeholder Review of Results - Fife Council will undertake a
stakeholder review of the annual Carbon Footprint Results reports.
 Independent Verification - To ensure the accuracy of the Carbon
Footprint, Fife Council agrees to seek independent assurance of
emissions data. The method to do so will be reviewed every two years.
 Policy Review - will review this policy annually and cover the specific
sections of the policy above and any additional material to be included.
Contact
Carolyn Lumsden, Information Officer
Email: Carolyn.lumsden@fife.gov.uk
Tel: ext 446958
Ross Spalding, Lead Officer
Ross.spalding@fife.gov.uk
Tel: ext 440448
Date: 3/11/11