Service Provider

All your local authority services can contribute to improving the community's resilience to climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Some services will make important contributions to national performance indicator NI 186, per capita reduction in CO2 emissions in the local authority area. NI 188 (Planning to adapt to climate change does not draw a clear distinction between the three LA roles, but does require consideration of climate impacts on your services as a component of performance.

Service provider covers climate change resilience and greenhouse gas emissions that can be influenced by council services but which are not under their direct control. This includes the council?s influence on adaptation and mitigation through its education, housing, planning or transport policies. It also includes services that are delivered through contracts, such as for refuse collection, street cleaning, or drainage.

Some activities may be partially controlled by the Authority, such as joint venture companies or trusts, e.g. to run leisure centres or waste disposal facilities. It is a matter of choice whether you address these under estate manageror service provider. The main thing is that they are eventually all addressed within your action plan.

In the case of adaptation, the basic approach suggested is similar for both the estate manager and service provider roles. It is a matter of choice as how best to approach the work within your authority. For instance, a number of authorities have decided to develop their adaptation action plans at a directorate, or service unit level. The critical issue is that your action plan, or plans, should eventually address both impacts on your estate and corporate functions, and your capacity to deliver your services in a changing climate.

Working with local communities could be dealt with under the council's role as service provider or as a community leader. The latter might be more appropriate if you intend to work with partners to involve the community and raise awareness. But the main thing is that it is covered somewhere in your action plan.

1. Click on the Advice for Council Services tab for guidance on what council services could be doing to enhance their community's resilience to climate change and to reduce community greenhouse gas emissions, including advice on community involvement and awareness raising.

2. Section 2.2 of Getting on Target - A Sustainable Energy Toolkit and Benchmark for Local Authorities recommends good practice on sustainable energy for the council's role as a Service Provider. It draws on the experience of the Sustainable Energy Beacon local authorities.

Service Provider

Below are just a few of many examples of what councils have achieved.

• Milton Keynes Council's planning policy that aims for zero carbon growth by achieving carbon neutrality on new development sites

• Daventry District Council and South Northamptonshire Council's have a joint Supplementary Planning Document on energy and development.

• Hertsmere Borough Council established Working Herts, a social enterprise which provides training for unemployed young people and energy efficiency measures for local homes.

• Portsmouth City Council's community energy programme for housing, two schools and an arts and sports centre

• High Peak Borough Council use accessibility planning software to identify where public transport should be provided.

• Leicester City Council used thermal imaging to show which buildings in the city were poorly insulated and to identify priority areas for a new insulation programme

• Councils across Hampshire investigated the potential for installing mini combined heat and power (CHP) systems in sheltered accommodation.

For more examples of how council services are tackling mitigation see:

• The Energy Saving Trust's case studies

• The Sustainable Energy Beacon case studies