The recent decarbonisation work carried out on our council offices and leisure centres, along with other work we’re taking to tackle climate change, has sent Teignbridge up the rankings into the top ten districts nationally, in a recent Net Zero survey. 

The Council Climate Action Scorecards is a project of Climate Emergency UK and assesses all councils on the actions they’ve taken towards Net Zero. 

Teignbridge joins Exeter City Council in the top ten districts out of 164 across the country to be working towards Net Zero, ranking sixth, with Exeter coming second. 

Cllr Jackie Hook, Teignbridge lead member for Climate Change, said: " I'm very proud that Teignbridge Council has come sixth in this independently assessed league table of district councils for its work on reducing carbon emissions, both within the council and across the district.  

“This Executive has placed climate change as one of its top priorities, and although we know there is still much more to do, this is a fantastic recognition of the work of our council officers, and our collaboration with partners, including our community partners Action on Climate in Teignbridge.  

“We have done particularly well with introducing energy efficiency and renewable energy at our main buildings including our leisure centres, but we need our government to assist more if we are to fully address some of our largest district emissions, such as those from transport and travel." 

The top 10 best performing district councils highlighted by Climate Emergency UK are: 

1. Lancaster City Council
2. Exeter City Council
3. Oxford City Council
4. Cambridge City Council
5. Winchester City Council
6. Teignbridge District Council
7. City of Lincoln Council
8. Warwick District Council
9. Lewes District Council
10. Eastbourne Borough Council

The Council Climate Action Scorecards assessment scores each council against a number of categories including buildings and heating, planning and land use, governance and finance, biodiversity, collaboration and engagement, waste reduction and food. 

Teignbridge scored particularly well for the work done to decarbonise its buildings, work on climate policy within the emerging Local Plan, and the community engagement work delivered under the Garden Communities projects and the emerging District Carbon Action Plan. 

The Council also believes there is scope to increase its current score further and is seeking discussions with Climate Emergency UK to ensure their assessment accurately reflects the cross-department progress on climate.