The meeting received an update from the Council’s Climate Change and Sustainability Team Leader on the Council’s progress in meeting the goal of becoming Carbon Neutral and Plastic Free by 2030. The meeting also received a presentation from Emma Cantillion, Project Co-Ordinator of the Shropshire Good Food Partnership, and asked for the partnership to be a standing item on the Committee’s future work programmes.

Telford and Wrekin Council Becoming Carbon Neutral and Plastic Free Update

The meeting received a presentation on the Council’s progress on the goal, set in 2019, of becoming Carbon Neutral and Plastic Free by 2030.

The Council is on target to reduce carbon emissions by 70% by 2027, and reported on a number of projects that have helped contribute to this, including:

• Decarbonising Oakengates Leisure Centre
• Installing 140 electric vehicle charging points
• Retrofitting Newport Swimming Pool, which has resulted in a 40% reduction in gas usage at the site

The meeting heard that the Council will be applying for funding to support the retrofit of buildings in Wellington, and is supplying residents with LED light bulbs to help them reduce their carbon emissions.

Councillor Healy, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, said that the Council “had been one of the first to declare the ambition to be plastic free”, and that three Town and Parish Councils have already achieved plastic-free accreditation.

Shropshire Good Food - 12 Month Review

The meeting received a presentation from Emma Cantillion, Project Co-ordinator of the Shropshire Good Food Partnership.

The Committee heard about the work of the partnership, including:

• The Partnership’s work with Food Banks and Food Hubs across Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin.
• The partnership’s work with Harper Adams University to support first-year students to use local produce, and to learn to cook healthy meals for £2.50.
• The Shropshire Food Trail - a project to promote local businesses that produce sustainable food.
• The Partnership’s £100,000 grant from the Let’s Go Zero Scheme to support local schools to reduce carbon emissions, for which Hollinswood Primary School has been chosen to pilot the project.

A member of the public raised a question about the lack of support from Telford and Wrekin Council for community schemes to grow food.

The Committee noted a request from the Vegetarian Society to promote National Vegetarian Week in October, and asked for the Council to communicate carefully to avoid misinterpretations of the message on social media.

Councillor Boylan, Chair of the Committee, praised the Partnership’s work “to promote sustainable food, local businesses and reducing carbon emissions across the county.”