Sutton Borough Council Has No Budget For Climate Change Despite Plans

Sutton Borough Council has not allotted any specific budget for climate change, according to a Freedom of Information request.

This is despite the council declaring a climate emergency last July and having ambitions to be London’s “most sustainable borough”.

The council has claimed all its buildings have social panels and is switching to a 100% renewable energy supplier. 

A strategy to reduce waste and double recycling rates has been introduced by the council, with all single-use plastics being removed from its operations and contracts.

A total of 2,000 trees have been planted and the council is installing new bike parking spaces and racks.

Sutton is also the first London borough to build two new carbon-neutral schools, which also have sustainable drainage measures installed to reduce flood risk.

The council also plans to install measures to make 100 of its council homes zero-carbon.

A spokesperson said the council is still committed to reducing carbon emissions during the Covid 19 pandemic.

They added: “However, the Council is responsible for less than three per cent of emissions in Sutton. During February and March 2020, more than 880 people shared their views on how individuals, businesses, local and national government should respond to the climate emergency through a council-run campaign of events and an online survey.

“While the Council’s primary focus right now is on responding to the COVID-19 emergency, we are continuing to implement our ambitious environment strategy, and will launch our climate emergency action plan in due course.”

More details on the actions the Council is taking can be found here.

The findings were made by media literacy charity The Student View following submission of a Freedom of Information request.