Making it happen action plan

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Introduction

Taking action to address the Climate and Ecological Emergency cannot be done solely by officers working from the centre. It will need a multi-disciplinary approach, drawing on skills and resources from across Dorset Council and with wider partners. It will need to be part of the way we do things and embedded in the way we deliver our services and will require significant investment at all levels of society.

After detailed evidence and information gathering exercises, led by the EAP and carried out by officer working groups, it has been recommended that the Council implement the following 28 actions.

Milestones have been identified for each action. This plan shows the immediate targets we will need to achieve by 2023 to keep us on track.

Objective 1

Objective 1 - making it happen
Objective	Action type	CO2 saving potential	Co-benefits	Cost
Ensure leadership & governance are in place to facilitate delivery of Climate and Ecological Emergency strategy	Direct action Indirect action Partnership /influence action	Low	Improves ecology Builds resilience Encourages economic sustainability Enhances health and wellbeing	Medium

Actions for objective 1 - making it happen
Action	Action type	CO2 saving potential	Co-benefits	Cost	2021-2023 target
Actively input into national forums and consultations to encourage policy development to tackle climate & ecological emergency	Partnership /influence action	High	Improves ecology	None	Dorset Council representation on key national groups e.g. LGA forum by 2021
Lobby government for additional resources and the national policy framework to support climate & ecological action in Dorset	Indirect action	High	Improves ecology Encourages economic sustainability	None	Lobby paper presented to Government + Member attendance at policy discussion group by June 2021
Review governance structures to ensure successful delivery of the Climate Strategy and ensure key decision-makers have a clear mandate for action.	Direct action	High	Improves ecology Builds resilience Encourages economic sustainability	None	Governance structure reviewed and agreed by March 2021
Ensure all staff are aware of their responsibilities in the delivery of actions, and that departments are linked at a strategic level (e.g. waste and planning).	Direct action	High	Improves ecology	Medium	Internal communications plan developed & initiated by March 2021
Ensure enough human resource is in place to drive forward action either through Council departments or involvement of wider partners	Direct action	High	Improves ecology Builds resilience Encourages economic sustainability Enhances health and wellbeing	None	Costed plan finalised, & resources allocated by Cabinet Feb 2021
Investigate decarbonising Dorset Council pension scheme	Direct action	Low	Improves ecology Builds resilience Encourages economic sustainability	None	Investigations carried out and reported to EAP by March 2021

Objective 2

Objective 2 - making it happen
Objective	Action type	CO2 saving potential	Co-benefits	Cost
Encourage behaviour change	Indirect action	Medium	Improves ecology	None

Actions for objective 2 - making it happen
Action	Action type	CO2 saving potential	Co-benefits	Cost	2021-2023 target
Develop a consistent brand for Climate plan initiatives	Indirect action	Medium	Improves ecology	None	Branding agreed by March 2021

Objective 3

Objective 3 - making it happen
Objective	Action type	CO2 saving potential	Co-benefits	Cost
Raising awareness to support action and behaviour change	Direct action Partnership /influence action	Low	Improves ecology Builds resilience Encourages economic sustainability Enhances health and wellbeing	Medium

Actions for objective 3 - making it happen
Action	Action type	CO2 saving potential	Co-benefits	Cost	2021-2023 target
Improve the awareness, engagement and knowledge of our staff and service providers through staff awareness campaigns	Direct action	Low	Improves ecology Builds resilience Encourages economic sustainability Enhances health and wellbeing	Medium	Communications plan developed & initiated by March 2021
Organise targeted briefings and training sessions for officers, members and decision makers on the benefits and opportunities of tackling climate change - highlighting this contribution to other Council priorities.	Direct action	Medium	Improves ecology Enhances health and wellbeing	None	Internal Communication plan developed by March 2021 + Briefings completed by 2022
Provide more accessible and digestible information on climate change and ecology and the actions we can take through a range of channels	Partnership /influence action	Medium	Improves ecology Builds resilience Encourages economic sustainability Enhances health and wellbeing	Medium	Communications plan developed & initiated and Web pages created & populated by March 2021
Establish an internal climate change champions programme	Direct action	Medium	Improves ecology Enhances health and wellbeing	None	Climate change champions appointed by March 2021

Objective 4

Objective 4 - making it happen
Objective	Action type	CO2 saving potential	Co-benefits	Cost
Ensure Climate and ecological concerns are embedded at the heart of decision and plan making	Direct action	Medium	Improves ecology Builds resilience Encourages economic sustainability	None

Actions for objective 4 - making it happen
Action	Action type	CO2 saving potential	Co-benefits	Cost	2021-2023 target
Ensure procurement processes and strategy embed climate and ecological concerns	Direct action	Low	Improves ecology	None	Procurement strategy & standard project documents to include climate and social value requirements Tools developed by March 2022
Ensure climate change, climate resilience and ecological enhancement are embedded in our key strategies and plans, such as the developing Dorset Local Plan and our asset management plans.	Direct action	Medium	Improves ecology Builds resilience Encourages economic sustainability	None	Key policies identified and review programme developed by March 2021 All Key strategies reviewed & climate considerations included by March 2022
Ensure we fully understand the risks of climate change on our business and that it is appropriately addressed within our risk man-agreement and business continuity processes.	Direct action	Low	Improves ecology Builds resilience	None	Corporate Climate Risk assessment refreshed by March 2023
Develop tools to undertake robust impact & policy appraisal to ensure climate change & ecological priorities and targets are considered in all key corporate projects, programmes and strategies	Direct action	Medium	Improves ecology Builds resilience Encourages economic sustainability Enhances health and wellbeing	None	Decision making tool finalised and agreed by March 2021

Objctive 5

Objective 5 - making it happen
Objective	Action type	CO2 saving potential	Co-benefits	Cost
Engagement with key stakeholders	Partnership /influence action	Medium	Improves ecology Builds resilience Encourages economic sustainability Enhances health and wellbeing	None

Actions for objective 5 - making it happen
Action	Action type	CO2 saving potential	Co-benefits	Cost	2021-2023 target
Consult with residents and organisations on this strategy and plans as they develop	Partnership /influence action	Medium	Improves ecology Encourages economic sustainability	None	Public consultation on strategy completed by Dec 2020
Build support from stakeholders and the wider public and develop partnership working on all aspects of climate change action	Partnership /influence action	High	Improves ecology	None	Communications Plan developed & initiated by March 2021
Develop a Dorset Climate Emergency partnership group with other key public, private, and third sector partners to deliver a carbon neutral county	Partnership /influence action	High	Improves ecology	None	Options reviewed Partnership established by March 2021

Objective 6

Objective 6 - making it happen
Objective	Action type	CO2 saving potential	Co-benefits	Cost
Ensure robust Monitoring & Reporting of progress	Direct action Indirect action Partnership /influence action	Low	Improves ecology	Low

Actions for objective 6 - making it happen
Action	Action type	CO2 saving potential	Co-benefits	Cost	2021-2023 target
Develop a robust baseline for Council and County carbon emissions and ecology	Partnership /influence action	Medium	Improves ecology	None	Dorset Council baseline emissions identified & agreed by Dec 2020
Consider monitoring & reporting wider emissions from Council activities (Scope 3) such as procurement	Direct action	Low	Improves ecology	Low	Future targets beyond 2023
Further explore the Dorset County footprint, beyond the data provided by Central Government, to provide a wider understanding of Dorset’s emissions e.g. agriculture	Indirect action	Low	Improves ecology	Low	Review best practice & options by Sept 2021
Monitor and report on actions and progress in achieving carbon reduction by producing an annual report of progress on climate change targets, budgets, and actions	Direct action	Medium	Improves ecology	None	Monitoring & reporting framework in place and agreed by Cabinet Feb 2021
Include climate and social value criteria in the South West audit partnership audit requirements	Direct action	None	Improves ecology	None	Climate & social value criteria included in scope of SW audit marking criteria by March 2021

Objective 7

Objective 7 - making it happen
Objective	Action type	CO2 saving potential	Co-benefits	Cost
Supporting Community Action	Partnership /influence action	Medium	Improves ecology Builds resilience Encourages economic sustainability Enhances health and wellbeing	High

Actions for objective 7 - making it happen
Action	Action type	CO2 saving potential	Co-benefits	Cost	2021-2023 target
Support Town and Parish Councils to develop and implement their organisation and area wide climate action plans and engage with residents to encourage community action	Partnership /influence action	Medium	Improves ecology Builds resilience Encourages economic sustainability Enhances health and wellbeing	Medium	Resources in place Approach developed with Town & Parish Councils by 2021
Help to facilitate and support new and existing community-led projects and community organisations active in this area	Partnership /influence action	Medium	Improves ecology Enhances health and wellbeing	Medium	Additional staff resource in place Plan developed by March 2021

Objective 8

Objective 8 - making it happen
Objective	Action type	CO2 saving potential	Co-benefits	Cost
Ensure adequate levels of resources are in place to ensure successful delivery	Direct action Indirect action	High	Improves ecology	None

Actions for objective 8 - making it happen
Action	Action plan	CO2 saving potential	Co-benefits	Cost	2021-2023 target
Work with partners to maximise opportunities for external funding from government and others, making sure Dorset gets its fair share	Indirect action	High	Improves ecology	None	Ongoing from 2020
Develop a finance strategy to enable us to deliver this climate emergency response. This includes establishing invest-to-save schemes, asset rationalisation, and building projects into our capital programme.	Direct action	High	Improves ecology	High	Finance Strategy developed and agreed by Senior Leadership Team & Cabinet by 2021
Explore options to raise additional funds through borrowing, council tax, developer contributions, and business rates.	Direct action	High	Improves ecology	None	Options explored and incorporated in finance strategy by 2021

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