Sustainability and Climate Change

What is Sustainability?
A good quality of life today should not be at the expense of people enjoying the South Hams as a place to live, work and visit tomorrow. Sustainability is about current populations satisfying their needs and improving their quality of life, without sacrificing the ability of future residents, workers and visitors to meet their own needs.

Sustainability is not just about preventing climate change. It is about ensuring the wise use of natural resources within a framework of an innovative and productive economy, the promotion of community well being and a just society, and the protection and enhancement of the natural environment.

About the South Hams:
Size of district:	350 miles²
Population:	83,500
Households:	42,086
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB):	130 miles²
Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI):	30.86 miles²
Coastline:
Council (owned):	60 miles
National Trust (owned):	30 miles
Heritage Coast (designated):	47 miles

Sustainability and the Council
South Hams District Council is working towards a sustainable South Hams community. We are not only striving to provide the conditions for economic prosperity, ensuring key natural sites are well managed and our communities are active and inclusive, but we are also changing the way we operate and manage the Council to become a more sustainable organisation. This is to ensure that we can continue to deliver key services and support the communities we serve, long into the future.

How SHDC is encouraging a sustainable South Hams:

Below are the key areas where the Council is striving to achieve a sustainable community.

THE 3 PILLARS OF SUSTAINABILITY

Environment	Social/Cultural	Economic
More environmentally friendly vehicles; our new fleet have engines with some of the lowest emissions in their class.	We are working hard to keep the amount of graffiti, fly-tipping and abandoned vehicles to a minimum.	We are working with local partners on building greater broadband availability and speeds to future-proof local businesses.
Specialist council officers regularly monitor air quality across the South Hams particularly in areas where there is a high amount of traffic.	We deliver and collect free waste containers to Gypsy and Traveller communities when required.	We developed and launched a new website to encourage businesses to go ‘greener’ (www.greentourismadvice.co.uk)
We are an active partner in environmental conservation, being a core funding partner of the South Devon AONB Partnership.	We continue to support community projects through our Member’s Locality Budgets.	Our Prosperity Strategy Action Plan encourages local businesses to buy local.
We are encouraging residents and school pupils to think about the amount of waste sent to landfill and Reduce, Reuse and Recycle is an important message promoted by the council.	We strive to make our services as accessible as possible through our ‘South Hams Connect’ initiative. Our services now reach more rural locations and populations who previously may have felt excluded.	We are working to make the Council more efficient by collaborating with neighbouring councils to continue to deliver a range of high quality services during tough economic times.
We are partners in two schemes aimed at helping residents keep their homes warm and reduce fuel bills: Cosy Devon - offers heavily subsidised loft and cavity wall insulation; and Devon Warm Front - provides a package of insulation and heating improvements for people on low incomes.	We provide Disabled Facilities Grants and Safer Homes Assistance that has helped over 106 vulnerable households.	We aim to reduce the Council’s overall carbon footprint by 20% over the next two years through at least £40,000 investment.

The following pages and documents give more detail on the work we are doing aiming for a more sustainable South Hams:

Simple steps towards helping to reduce carbon and become more sustainable at home:
Simple actions can help to reduce both fuel bills and CO2 emissions. Making your home as energy efficient as possible will help towards lowering bills.

Insulate your home, e.g. place an insulating jacket on your hot water tank, insulate your loft, fill wall cavities and use draught excluders.
Use energy saving lights bulbs.
Switch off electric appliances that are not in use - avoid having appliances on standby.
Turn down your thermostat by just 1 degree and this will help to save energy.
Close your curtains at dusk.
Fix any dripping taps.
Fill a kettle with only the water you will need.
Put a water saving bag in all toilet cisterns.
Wash your clothes on a lower temperature e.g. 30 degrees.
Make full use of the Council’s kitchen caddy and compost all suitable food waste.
Make sure you are recycling everything you can.
Donate items e.g. furniture and clothes to charities.
Car share whenever possible.

Greenhouse Gases (GHG) Emissions Data Report for 2010-2011 financial year:

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) have requested that each Local Authority publishes its own Greenhouse Gases (GHG) report to provide data on emissions which are released from Local Authority operations. This report will ensure that local authorities are accountable to local people for their GHG emissions.

Useful websites:

www.direct.gov.uk/actonco2 - climate change and protecting the environment
sd.defra.gov.uk - sustainable development in government