Agenda item

This report presents the Council’s role in “Climate Action Together”.

Mark Thomlinson (Climate Engagement and Behaviour Change Lead) briefed members on the Council’s role in “Climate Action Together”, including an overview of the emissions pattern in the borough, perceptions towards climate and trends on actions, enabling climate-friendly behaviours, inspiring community climate action and collaboration with business and alliance members through communicating, informing and listening to the under-represented voices.

The Chair was keen to note how to kick-start engagement in respect of wood burning, and whether data should be collected via a survey or through group analysis.  Geoff Cowart (Head of Communications) explained that in fixing a problem with residents, it was first necessary to understand the problem through the scientific data and devise solutions to address it. Communications should then hit the target residents who were burning solid fuel at homes which were identifiable through the house styles and the air quality in the neighbourhoods.  After obtaining the demographic profiles of the homeowners via the social platform Next Door, an effective educational and informative campaign about the danger of using solid fuel for wood burning could be created for the target audience.

Geoff Cowart referred to the Global Action Plan undertaken by the Mayor of London which noted through Next Door that the age group of 55 to 64 was most responsive to the wood burning campaigns already run in other boroughs. While it was always useful to obtain more data from extra studies, the profiles represented by this age group could be used as a starting point for the campaign in H&F.  He stressed the importance of the timing that the campaign should start around late summer/early autumn when people began considering the kind of fuel to buy.

Replying to Councillor Laura Janes’ enquiry about linking with neighbouring boroughs in tackling wood burning, Dr Gary Fuller, while sharing the difficulties in changing people’s behaviour, reiterated the need to change the narrative to “wood burning is not carbon neutral” and “it is not acceptable for your neighbours to equivalently moving six lorries up and down outside your home”.  Geoff Cowart remarked that as showed by the data, London had a problem associated with wood burning and the Mayor of London had started and led a campaign to reduce it.  He highlighted that those campaigns advocated through social media network usually worked well. With reference to the implementation of the Clean Air Neighbourhoods trial schemes and the collection of scientific data along the journey, the campaign did bring about behavioural changes and tangible effects cumulative over time.

Mark Thomlinson responded that the question raised by Councillor Ross Melton about measurable metrics involved many departments and bodies within and outside the Council, including transport, education, and TfL.  He advised that certain metrics would be available from the sustainability champions pilot such as the number of people recruited as volunteers and number of workshops held.  On measurable impacts reflecting the policy outcome such as the Clean Air Neighbourhoods, it was necessary to analyse the traffic data which could be an arduous task.  At the request of Councillor Melton, Mark agreed to provide metric data of the sustainability champions pilot after the meeting.

ACTION: Mark Thomlinson

Summing up, the Chair thanked Dr Fuller and officers for their presentations.  The Committee looked forward to an action plan devised by the Communications Department to educate and inform residents against the use of solid fuel for wood burning.

ACTION: Geoff Cowart and Mark Thomlinson