As a council, we want to make sure that we have a positive impact on our environment.
Leeds City Council carries out lots of activities that have positive and negative impacts on the environment. Some of the environmental impacts we control ourselves, for example the carbon emissions from our buildings. In other areas we influence the environmental impact, for example, the way that we deliver our services and spend public money. Our greatest environmental impact is clearly through our service delivery.
Our Environmental Policy identifies how we want to improve the environmental impact we have on the city by taking action on the areas we control ourselves, and work with others so we can help them have a positive impact on the environment too.
The policy helps us makes decisions about what we do and how we do it so that we protect the environment, reduce the amount of resources we use and cut our carbon emissions. To help us do this, we have included an action plan as part of our policy to help deliver our objectives.
Our policy can be viewed below and is downloadable to the right of this page. However, the action plan is presented within a table and can only be viewed by downloading the full policy to the right of this page.
Environment Policy
2012-2015
We all recognise that for Leeds to become the 'Best City' we must consider the environment in everything that we do. This Environmental Policy aims to guide our people to do their best to protect the environment and deliver high quality, value for money, public services and places.
We will:
- Reduce the use of energy and carbon dioxide emissions directly linked to our activities.
- Reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and increase the proportion of energy coming from low and zero carbon technologies.
- Reduce waste to landfill by improving recycling rates for the council and Leeds.
- Reduce the environmental impact of transport and travel and promote sustainable alternatives.
- Reduce the use of material resources and improve environmental quaity where possible.
- Improve the environmental quality of our buildings and those within the city.
- Improve the environmental quality of our land and landscapes across the city.
- Protect, enhance and increase bidiversity where possible.
- Encourage our schools to be more sustainable.
- Protect the elderly and vulnerable against fuel poverty.
- Comply with all relevant environmental legislation and other initatives.
- Prevent pollution to air, water and land by regulating and monitoring.
The environmental performance of Leeds City Council will be made publicly available and updated on an annual basis in our Environmental Statement.