Ipswich Borough Council decided last night (13 July 2021) to move to new energy contracts that will use zero-carbon electricity and “green” gas that will cut carbon emissions by over 80%.

The Council has declared a Climate Emergency and is working towards becoming carbon neutral by 2030. In 2019/20 the Council’s electricity use was 1605 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) – around 35% of all emissions. In the same period, gas used was 2254 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) – around 47% of total emissions.

A move to use zero carbon electricity from 1st April 2022, when a new contract will start, will reduce the Council’s carbon footprint by more than a third. Moving to “green” gas from October 2023 will remove another 47% of the Council’s emissions. The total reduction in emissions as a result of this procurement will be more than 80%.

The Council will carry out a new procurement to buy electricity and gas using Crown Commercial Services (CCS). Buying electricity and gas through CCS will see the Council join with over 1,100 public-sector organisations in this framework, making use of the enhanced purchasing power of joint buying.

Cllr Martin Cook, Portfolio Holder for Resources at Ipswich Borough Council, says:

“Ipswich Borough Council is already working hard towards our target of being carbon-neutral by 2030. We already generate an estimated 445,000 kWh of zero-carbon energy every year from solar panels installed across the Council’s property estate. We are replacing all of our fossil-fuelled cars and small vans with electric vehicles with an expectation that at least 95% of them will be powered by electric motors by the end of 2021. We are also starting to replace our gas boilers with alternative heating solutions.

“This decision to use only zero-carbon electricity and green gas will get us a long way towards our carbon-reduction target and in doing so we will also benefit from the bulk-buying power of the government-owned Crown Commercial Services which could actually see the price we pay for energy fall.”

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View the papers for the Ipswich Borough Council Executive meeting 13 July 2021 here