Public bodies climate change duties: putting them into practice, guidance required by part four of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009

Guidance to support public bodies in exercising their duties under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009.


ANNEX D KEY SECTOR TABLES

The following tables have been developed for each of the key sectors identified in the Scottish Government's Climate Change Delivery Plan and Scotland's Adaptation Framework to highlight how the sector impacts on climate change and suggest actions that could be taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare Scotland for a changing climate.

Tables are available for the following sectors:

  • transport
  • energy
  • waste
  • biodiversity and ecosystems
  • land use
  • built environment
  • water
  • health and wellbeing
  • business and industry

Whilst the tables are a guide only, they may be helpful in providing a starting point for public bodies who wish to carry out a similar analysis in respect of their own functions and in suggesting a menu of possible actions the public bodies could consider, taking account of their own circumstances.

Sector: Transport

Reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions

Preparing for a changing climate

Direct impact on emissions

Indirect/Wider influence on emissions (does not apply to all public bodies)

Resilient in a changing climate (preparing your organisation)

Helping to prepare Scotland for a changing climate

Business mileage policies for number of journeys and mode of transport (including cost and emission reduction targets to work towards.

Staff travel plans for reducing car use for travel to/from work including management of parking to favour car-sharing and fuel-efficient vehicles).

Promotion and use of a car sharing facilities (e.g. City Car Club) as substitute for use of staff's own cars on works' business.

Videoconferencing and teleconferencing facilities availability.

Policy to facilitate home working and/or working from satellite work centres ('community hubs').

Procurement - type/technology of fleet vehicles and company cars.

Maintenance of fleet vehicles to maximize fuel efficiency.

Eco-driving training for staff.

Implement best practice design systems that minimise the carbon generated by new transport schemes.

Effectively implement the Scottish Sustainable Procurement Action Plan. Influence suppliers and others by placing sustainability at the heart of procurement activity as part of the achievement of value for money.

Investigate the environmental impacts of construction and maintenance operations with a view to reducing carbon energy and materials used.

Influence choice of mode of transport, e.g. public transport policies, improved pedestrian environment, traffic management to favour public transport, walking and cycling.

Influence development of low -carbon technologies for transport.

Partnerships to put together green travel plans in area.

Parking policies, e.g. availability at new developments, low-carbon pricing, wider areas with controlled/paid parking zones.

Low emissions charging schemes, congestion charging.

Land use planning to reduce need to travel.

Encouraging development of community hubs.

Travel awareness campaigns and personalised travel planning programme to encourage change in travel behaviour.

Services provided resilient to increase in heavy rainfall, flood risk, extreme weather and warmer weather.

Ensure transport emergency planning and consequence management measures are in place.

Influence location decisions of transport infrastructure e.g. avoid coastal erosion areas, flood risk.

Influence design of transport infrastructure to withstand flooding, high winds, warmer temperatures.

Ensure provision of habitat corridors for movement of species.

Ensure appropriate drainage around transport infrastructure.

Develop effective tools for communicating any problems on the transport network to the public, employees and businesses.

Sector: Energy

Reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions

Preparing for a changing climate

Direct impact on emissions

Indirect/Wider influence on emissions

Resilient in a changing climate (preparing your organisation)

Helping to prepare Scotland for a changing climate

Energy use in buildings and wider estate (including setting targets).

Promote/improve energy efficiency in building and wider estate.

Onsite micro-generation, e.g. turbine, solar panels to supply own energy.

Energy use in buildings and wider estate (including setting targets).

Protect peat soils to maintain carbon stores

Procurement of low energy goods and services, including adoption of the "Buy Sustainable - Quick Wins"/Government Buying Standards included in the Scottish Sustainable Procurement Action Plan.

Promote and increase use of surplus heat.

Encourage use of Combined Heat and Power.

Support renewable energy generation.

Influence development of low-carbon technologies.

Support retrofitting of existing houses with measures to improve energy efficiency.

Ensure energy supply to carry out functions is resilient.

Ensure energy generation and supply is protected from landslides, floods, warmer weather, increased heavy rainfall, droughts.

Protect peat soils and carbon content to help absorb water and build resilience to flooding from increased heavy rainfall events.

Sector: Waste

Reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions

Preparing for a changing climate

Direct impact on emissions

Indirect/Wider influence on emissions

Resilient in a changing climate (preparing your organisation)

Helping to prepare Scotland for a changing climate

Reduce biodegradable waste to landfill through on site composting.

On-site waste segregation and recycling.

Consider reduction of waste through re-design.

Influence / implement waste management practices in the area to increase reuse and recycling.

Reduce biodegradable waste to landfill.

Encourage waste prevention.

Energy from waste.

Use the waste hierarchy.

Consider reduction of waste through service re-design.

On site storage of waste to consider changes in the climate, e.g. heavy rainfall events and increased run off.

Waste management across Scotland needs to consider changes in the climate, e.g. heavy rainfall events and increased run off to avoid pollution incidents.

Sector: Biodiversity and Ecosystem services

Reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions

Preparing for a changing climate

Direct impact on emissions

Indirect/Wider influence on emissions

Resilient in a changing climate (preparing your organisation)

Helping to prepare Scotland for a changing climate

On-site habitat enhancement initiatives.

Protect Scotland's soils.

Increasing forestry and vegetation.

Using natural features in urban environments, for example, shade from trees and shrubs to reduce demand for cooling.

Provide habitat corridors for movement of biodiversity through estate.

Onsite habitat enhancement initiatives.

Promotion of natural flood management in catchment planning, e.g. protecting bogs and marshes to act as a buffer in intense rainfall.

Protect soil quality to help reduce the risk of flooding.

Adaptive coastal management including coastal realignment.

Using natural features in urban environments, e.g. living roofs to improve habitat connectivity, reduce heat gain and slow the movement of rainwater into drainage systems.

Reduce pressures on habitats vulnerable to climate change.

Sector: Land Use (including spatial planning, agriculture and forestry)

Reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions

Preparing for a changing climate

Direct impact on emissions

Indirect/Wider influence on emissions

Resilient in a changing climate (preparing your organisation)

Helping to prepare Scotland for a changing climate

Woodland on estates.

Location of offices and buildings near to public transport.

Protect areas contributing to carbon sinks and stores.

Increase development of carbon sinks.

Encourage sustainable forestry and agriculture practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Protect peatland from forestry and agriculture uses.

Disruption of goods and services supply by increased heavy rainfall events, storms and flood risk.

Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems for own estates.

Use green roofs, green spaces, habitat corridors within public body's estates.

Protect land from erosion of soils, landslips and loss of organic matter.

Influence the creation of floodplain woodlands and wetland habitats.

Take flood risk and coastal erosion into account for location of developments.

Increase the development of habitat corridors and green networks.

Sector: Built Environment

Reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions

Preparing for a changing climate

Direct impact on emissions

Indirect/Wider influence on emissions

Resilient in a changing climate (preparing your organisation)

Helping to prepare Scotland for a changing climate

Design for environmental performance, e.g. reduce need for cooling.

Influence the design
for environmental performance in
buildings.

Influence the use of sustainably sourced materials in construction.

Design for environmental performance, e.g. minimise disruption to servers in warmer weather.

Influence design to cope with changing climate, e.g. drainage capacity, green roofs.

Sector: Water

Reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions

Preparing for a changing climate

Direct impact on emissions

Indirect/Wider influence on emissions

Resilient in a changing climate (preparing your organisation)

Helping to prepare Scotland for a changing climate

Water usage and water efficiency measures in public body's buildings.

Decrease water usage through water efficiency measures.

Install rain water storage for irrigation on own estate.

Increase resilience to floods through use of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems.

Protecting against pollution incidents from run off from an increase in intense rainfall events.

Help plan for water shortages during seasons of high demand and low availability, e.g. irrigation pond and sizes fit for the future.

Monitor and address water quality issues.

Ensure that new infrastructure is not at risk of coastal, drainage and river flooding.

Increase resilience to floods through use of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems.

Sector: Health and Wellbeing

Reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions

Preparing for a changing climate

Direct impact on emissions

Indirect/Wider influence on emissions

Resilient in a changing climate (preparing your organisation)

Helping to prepare Scotland for a changing climate

Reduce need for cooling in the work place due to higher temperatures.

Promote cycling and walking as modes of transport to and from work.

Prepare for impacts on air quality (e.g. increased likelihood of smog or increased algal or fungal growth in buildings) may affect respiratory conditions.

Prepare for warmer temperatures in the workplace.

Prepare for new diseases.

Prepare for warmer temperatures encouraging more outdoor recreation.

Prepare for impacts on air quality (e.g. increased likelihood of smog or increased algal or fungal growth in buildings) may affect respiratory conditions.

Prepare for new diseases.

Sector: Business and Industry

Reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions

Preparing for a changing climate

Direct impact on emissions

Indirect/Wider influence on emissions

Resilient in a changing climate (preparing your organisation)

Helping to prepare Scotland for a changing climate

Procurement - low-carbon goods demand from public sector. Effective implementation of the Scottish Sustainable Procurement Action Plan.

Look for opportunities to promote low-carbon opportunities when designing support services to businesses, and for businesses themselves to promote opportunities.

Provide advice or work with businesses in partnership/collaboration to reduce emissions.

Provision of public services as consequences, such as flooding, may lead to an increased demand for services in times of emergency.

Protect natural environmental assets, such as soil and water quality, that underpin vital ecosystem services essential to many sectors.

Understand threats and potential impacts on assets and critical infrastructure including increased risk of inland and coastal flooding in many towns and cities.

Provide advice to businesses on resilience to a changing climate.

Contact

Email: Central Enquiries Unit, ceu@gov.scot

Post:
The Scottish Government
St Andrew’s House
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG

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