Climate Action

What do we mean by tackling climate change?

When we talk about tackling climate change we are talking about:

Reducing the number of greenhouse gases we are releasing into the atmosphere.
Protecting nature from the impacts of climate change and helping it thrive in a changing world.
Being prepared for the impacts that climate change will have on our lives.
Adapting to the impacts that we are already seeing.

We can all contribute to tackling climate change by making small changes:

Individuals: By making small lifestyle changes such as energy consumption and travel.
Workplaces: By reporting and reducing emissions and incorporating sustainable practices.
Communities: Through group action like planting trees and minimising waste.
City of Doncaster: With green spaces, education, public transport, and public emissions.
UK: Through robust climate policy, investment in green energy and a real commitment to net zero targets.

By working together, Doncaster can play its part in tackling climate change. Every individual, every family and every organisation can make a difference.

You can calculate your environmental footprint here: https://footprint.wwf.org.uk/. The results are broken down into categories to show which areas you can work on.

Do any of the small changes I make actually make a difference?

Yes!

We all have a responsibility to make changes to help slow climate change and limit its impacts. If we all make individual changes they add up and have a significant impact on the climate. Not only will all of the changes you make have a positive impact on the climate, many will also improve your health and wellbeing and finances. You do not need to completely change your lifestyle if you do not wish to, many of these suggested changes can be done with very little effort and disruption to your life.

Free changes:

Use your items for longer instead of throwing them out.
Avoid food waste.
Recycle as much as you can.
Participate in events such as No Mow May.
Encourage others in your family/community to make small individual changes like the ones mentioned on this page.
Turn devices off from standby.
Actively travel where possible instead of taking the car- for example, can you walk or cycle to work/school instead of driving?
Take a drink with you instead of buying one in plastic when you are out and about.

Low-cost changes:

Buy second hand instead of new.
Make small changes to your diet, for example, reducing your intake of animal products. Schemes such as Meat Free Monday or Veganuary are good introductory schemes to participate in to alter your diet.
Limit the amount of produce you buy in plastic.
Purchase a water butt to collect rain water and use this to water your plants.
Purchase a compost bin and dispose of compostable waste in this, you can then use the compost on your plants.
Use a reusable cup/cutlery when buying food and drink outside of the home.

Other changes:

Ensure your home is as energy efficient as possible. This could include adding solar panels to your roof, having double or triple glazing, insulating your loft/wall cavities, switch to water-efficient appliances the next time they need replacing (these could include: low-flush showers, ultra-low flush toilets, water-efficient washing machines), green roofing and so much more. Check out our pages on energy efficient homes for more information.
Instead of buying a new petrol/diesel car, purchase an electric one or consider whether a car is really necessary and if you could do without one, instead use public transport.
Buy organic and locally sourced food where possible.
If you own land, consider whether you could use some/all of it for things such as tree planting or creating wild-flower meadows to increase biodiversity.

Ideas for businesses:

Ensure you have the infrastructure for employees to actively travel to work instead of driving. For example, providing secure bike storage, changing facilities, etc..
Make the physical location of your business as energy efficient as possible- these could be large projects such as green roofing, solar panels, water-efficient appliances, heat pumps, etc, or as small as having LED lightbulbs and turning appliances off from standby. All make a positive difference.
If you have company vehicles, switch them to electric ones as soon as possible.
Ensure you have the infrastructure for electric vehicles- charging points that are accessible to employees.
Provide meat free/vegan food products in your canteens and vending machines.
Educate your employees on climate change/climate actions - organisations such as The Carbon Literacy Project are a good starting point for this.

What are City of Doncaster Council doing?

In 2019, Doncaster Council declared a climate emergency. In 2020, we commissioned the development and adoption of our Environment & Sustainability Strategy 2020-2030 which sets out 111 actions that we aim to take to reduce Doncaster's emissions, including our own, and do our part in helping the UK meet its legal binding target of reaching Net Zero (LINK) by 2050 and keeping our global warming temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

What we're doing right now:

Installing electric car charging infrastructure utilising Government Funding.
Assisting in the development of clean energy generation in Doncaster.
Deploying energy-saving measures to hundreds of homes across Doncaster.
Carrying out tree-planting initiatives to reach Doncaster's Million Trees Challenge.
Enhancing the quality of allotment environment, increasing plot usage, and promoting allotments as part of a healthy lifestyle and community resource.
Delivering Carbon Literacy training, climate education, behaviour change, and community engagement and support programmes.
Facilitating community action through the Environmental Pride programme.

If you would like to find out more, please click the links to our topic specific pages.