Local authority records 130% increase in carbon emissions

Alec Doyle, local democracy reporter

A Welsh council’s carbon emissions have skyrocketed by 130% this year according to a new report – but plans to record carbon output more accurately may mean the true figure is much lower.

The latest carbon emission report Flintshire council will submit to the Welsh Government flags two very different concerns.

Firstly the council’s procurement data shows a significant increase after a review found data that had been omitted. Secondly, that Flintshire’s existing method for recording carbon data – which is common practiose for many local authorities – is inaccurate.

The missing data was discovered as part of a joint procurement partnership exercise with Denbighshire County Council.

Procurement activity

Flintshire invited its sister authority to look over it’s carbon emission data and it found that procurement activity the council could not categorise had simply been left out of the figures.

When they were added back in it showed a 223.8% increase in carbon emissions from procurement in 2023/24. That turned Flintshire’s overall 3.3% reduction in carbon emissions into a 130% increase.

Procurement – the purchasing of goods and services by the council – has for some time been the area that has hindered Flintshire’s carbon emission reduction. The impact of construction projects on the figures in particular ensures carbon generated from procurement remains high.

However in another twist, how Flintshire records carbon data from procurement activity was found to be over-inflating emission figures.

The authority has historically measured carbon emissions from procurement – the purchasing of goods and services from external contractors – based on spend. Basically the council would take how much it had spent on an item or project and multiply it by an ’emission factor’ provided by the Welsh Government to estimate how much carbon had been generated.

This method is a common way organisations can simplify their carbon reporting, but it bears almost no relation to the actual carbon generated.

Construction projects

For example, this year construction projects for Mynydd Isa, Croes Atti School, and Theatr Clwyd generated 10,190 tonnes of carbon according to the existing method.

But by asking suppliers to provide real-world carbon emission source data those emissions drop significantly to 321.9 tonnes of CO2.

Moving forward, Flintshire plans to use project-specific data to record carbon emissions from procurement, removing assumptions and reflecting the true impact of council activity on the environment.

A Flintshire County Council spokesperson said: “The council is committed to reducing emissions from all scopes within its carbon footprint.

“Calculating emissions from supply chain continues to be a challenge due to changes in emission factors provided by Welsh Government and the associated mapping of the council’s spend into the categories provided to us by Welsh Government.

“This issue is seen across Welsh public sector. The result of this is data that is difficult to compare year on year. Local authorities are continuing to work with the WLGA (Welsh Local Government Association) and Welsh Government to improve and refine the way these emissions are calculated.

“However, the council’s focus is on how we can influence a reduction in these emissions, and this is where we are working with our suppliers to help them better understand the carbon impacts of products and services and how these can be supplied in a more carbon efficient way.”