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West Sussex County Council

Declarations & pledges

Climate emergency declaration

This council declared a climate emergency on April 5, 2019.

Council only pledge for 2030

“The Council will achieve net zero carbon emissions across our own estate by 2030.”

Climate documents

Last update: Sept. 27, 2021
West Sussex County Council Action Plan

PDF · Approved · Council Only

Show more action plan documents
West Sussex County Council Action Plan

PDF · Approved · Council Only

West Sussex County Council Climate Strategy

PDF · Approved · Council Only

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Climate Plan Scorecard

This council’s climate plans as of 20th September 2021 were assessed and scored by trained Climate Emergency UK volunteers, as part of the Council Climate Plan Scorecards project.

Show the full Scorecard Read more about the scoring process

SectionWest Sussex County CouncilAverage county council
Total score35%40%
Section 1 Governance, development and funding
11/21
8.4/21
Section 2 Mitigation and adaptation
2/18
6.6/18
Section 3 Commitment and integration
2/5
2.7/5
Section 4 Community, engagement and communications
4/9
4.7/9
Section 5 Measuring and setting emissions targets
2/5
2.4/5
Section 6 Co-benefits
1/4
1.9/4
Section 7 Diversity and inclusion
0/5
0.2/5
Section 8 Education, skills and training
3/5
1.7/5
Section 9 Ecological emergency
1/4
1.5/4

Emissions data

3268.4 ktCO2

Total 2020 emissions

3.8 tCO2

per person

1.6 ktCO2

per km2

37%

Transport

36%

Domestic

13%

Industry

8%

Commercial

3%

Public Sector

3%

Agriculture

Data from the Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy “subset dataset”, representing carbon dioxide emissions within the scope of influence of local authorities. Data has been combined from constituent local authorities.

These councils are the most similar to West Sussex County Council in terms of emissions profile, deprivation, rural/urban population density, and geographical nearness. Read more about how we calculate this.

Council nameSimilarityHas planCarbon Neutral byDeclared emergency
Lewes District Council94%Yes2030July 15, 2019
Essex County Council92%Yes2030No
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council90%Yes2025July 18, 2019
Maidstone Borough Council89%Yes2030April 10, 2019
East Sussex County Council88%Yes2050Oct. 15, 2019
Kent County Council88%Yes2030May 23, 2019
Warwickshire County Council88%Yes2030July 25, 2019
Hampshire County Council88%No2050June 17, 2019
Hertfordshire County Council87%Yes2030July 16, 2019
Arun District Council87%No2030Jan. 15, 2020

These councils are the most similar to West Sussex County Council in terms of their emissions profile, based on the latest data from the Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. Read more about how we calculate this.

Council nameSimilarityHas planCarbon Neutral byDeclared emergency
Essex County Council96%Yes2030No
Hampshire County Council96%No2050June 17, 2019
Lewes District Council95%Yes2030July 15, 2019
Worcestershire County Council93%Yes2030July 15, 2021
Mid Sussex District Council93%YesNo targetNo
Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council92%Yes2030Oct. 8, 2019
Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council92%Yes2030July 9, 2019
Boston Borough Council92%NoNo targetJan. 20, 2020
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council92%Yes2025July 18, 2019
Central Bedfordshire Council91%No2030July 19, 2019

Read more about how we calculate this.

Council nameSimilarityHas planCarbon Neutral byDeclared emergency
Horsham District Council99%Yes2050June 26, 2019
Worthing Borough Council98%YesJuly 18, 2019
Adur District Council98%Yes2030July 18, 2019
Arun District Council97%No2030Jan. 15, 2020
Mole Valley District Council96%No2030June 18, 2019
Crawley Borough Council96%Yes2040July 17, 2019
Mid Sussex District Council96%YesNo targetNo
Brighton and Hove City Council96%Yes2030Dec. 13, 2018
Waverley Borough Council96%Yes2030Sept. 18, 2019
Guildford Borough Council95%Yes2030July 23, 2019

These councils are the most similar to West Sussex County Council in terms of the proportion of their population living in high deprivation, medium deprivation, and low deprivation neighbourhoods. Read more about how we calculate this.

Council nameSimilarityHas planCarbon Neutral byDeclared emergency
The Moray Council96%Yes2030June 27, 2019
High Peak Borough Council96%Yes2030Oct. 15, 2019
Gedling Borough Council95%Yes2030Nov. 20, 2019
Maldon District Council95%No2030Feb. 4, 2021
Lewes District Council95%Yes2030July 15, 2019
Dacorum Council95%Yes2050July 17, 2019
Babergh District Council95%Yes2030July 23, 2019
Hertsmere Borough Council95%Yes2050Sept. 18, 2019
Rugby Borough Council95%Yes2030July 18, 2019
Wychavon District Council95%Yes2050No

These councils are the most similar to West Sussex County Council in terms of the proportion of their population living in urban, rural, and highly rural neighbourhoods. Read more about how we calculate this.

Council nameSimilarityHas planCarbon Neutral byDeclared emergency
Essex County Council97%Yes2030No
Cheshire West and Chester Council97%Yes2030May 21, 2019
Staffordshire County Council96%Yes2050July 25, 2019
Derbyshire County Council96%Yes2032No
North of Tyne Combined Authority96%YesNo targetMay 7, 2019
Kent County Council95%Yes2030May 23, 2019
Lancashire County Council95%No2030Feb. 28, 2019
Hampshire County Council95%No2050June 17, 2019
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council95%Yes2025July 18, 2019
Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council95%NoNo targetSept. 28, 2022

Powers & Responsibilities

West Sussex County Council is a County Council, with powers over:

Council buildings and staff

Climate actions might include:

  • making council offices more energy efficient
  • incentivising ‘Active Travel’ or public transport use among employees
  • providing carbon literacy training for employees
    Passenger transport

    Climate actions might include:

    • encouraging bus and private hire operators to use low-emission vehicles, through licensing requirements or Clean Air Zones
    • incentivising bus use by improving routes, timetables, and ticket prices through ‘Enhanced Partnerships’ with operators
    • proposing to central government the development of light rail / tram networks that integrate, rather than compete, with other modes of transport in the area

    See more in the Climate Emergency UK checklist.

    Schools and libraries

    Climate actions might include:

    • reducing the carbon footprint of civic buildings through better insulation and renewable energy use
    • incentivising ‘Active Travel’ or public transport use among employees
    • providing carbon literacy training for employees
    • encouraging eco-clubs at schools
    • using school land to plant trees and hedgerows, or to grow food

    See more in the Climate Emergency UK checklist.

    Spending, procuring, and investing

    Climate actions might include:

    • embedding carbon impact assessment as part of the council’s budgeting and financial accountability process
    • utilising Public Works Loan Board loans or the Business Rates Retention Scheme to invest in emissions-reducing capital projects that otherwise wouldn’t get funded
    • specifying low carbon equipment and practices when procuring for relevant services from suppliers
    • prioritising positive environmental impacts during procurement, through the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012
    Transport planning

    Climate actions might include:

    • incentivising ‘Active Travel’ like walking and cycling by creating or widening footways and cycleways
    • incentivising Electric Vehicle use by assigning street space to EV charging
    • disincentivising the use of fossil fuel cars through congestion charging,low-traffic neighbourhoods, or the reduction of parking space

    See more in the Climate Emergency UK checklist.

    Waste disposal

    Climate actions might include:

    • establishing ‘Joint Waste Solutions’ with neighbouring councils, to get more value out of waste, recycling, and street cleaning contracts
    • running marketing campaigns to encourage residential recycling, reuse, and waste minimisation

    See more in the Climate Emergency UK checklist.

    Read more about English local authority powers in the UK100 Power Shift report.

    More about this council

    westsussex.gov.uk
    West Sussex County Council’s official homepage.

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    Cite this page

    mySociety, Climate Emergency UK (2023). CAPE: West Sussex County Council. Available at: http://cape.mysociety.org/councils/west-sussex-county-council/ [Accessed 22 Mar 2023].

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