The fourth largest borough in the country by population, Charnwood is based in the market town of Loughborough in England’s East Midlands.

In 2019, the Borough Council passed a motion to achieve carbon neutrality across its assets and operations by 2030.

Urban Foresight was commissioned to develop a Carbon Neutral Plan to prioritise opportunities for the borough to cut emissions in the near, medium and long-term.

Baseline Scope 1, 2 and 3 carbon emissions were established. This categorised the different types of carbon emissions the council creates in its own operations, across its wider assets, and its value chain.

This analysis provided a basis for mandatory emissions reporting. It also established an evidence-based framework to identify projects to achieve the ambition of carbon neutrality.

Priorities for the borough were established through an extensive process of stakeholder engagement. This included partners from across the council, the wider public sector, local businesses, and the community.

Stakeholders were engaged in an exploratory workshop and a series of structured 1-2-1 interviews. This approach helped to secure the buy-in and support from across the council that would be necessary to drive long-lasting change.

The options developed were grounded in insights from the audits and engagement process. These were iterated with the council’s delivery team to ensure that the Carbon Neutral Plan was sensitive to local constraints and concerns.

A roadmap of prioritised actions was finalised in 2020. Urban Foresight was subsequently commissioned to refresh the Carbon Neutral Plan in 2021. We were also tasked to develop parallel roadmaps for the neighbouring local authorities in Melton Mowbray, and Oadby and Wigston.