Climate change and what we are doing to help
Climate change means the Earth's temperatures and weather patterns are shifting. While the planet’s climate has naturally changed over thousands of years, the pace of change in the last century has been much faster - mainly due to human activity.
Burning fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas releases greenhouse gases that trap heat in the atmosphere. This warming affects global weather patterns, sea levels, and leads to more frequent extreme weather events.
What this means for Newark and Sherwood
We’re already seeing the effects locally, and they’re likely to increase over time. These include:
- more frequent heatwaves
- longer periods of drought
- stronger and more severe storms
- increased flooding - even in areas that haven’t flooded before
- loss of wildlife and habitats in our parks and green spaces
To reduce these impacts, we need to cut down the amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂) we produce.
What we're doing
Since declaring a climate emergency in July 2019, we’ve taken a range of actions to reduce our environmental impact and support a greener future.
Strategic change
We:
- have audited our environmental practices and worked with the Carbon Trust to understand our carbon footprint, producing our annual carbon footprint
- outlined key climate objectives in our Community Plan – Ambition 6, ‘Reduce the impact of climate change and Enhance Greenspaces’
- regularly monitor progress, assess environmental risks, and report updates through our carbon group and committees
- developed a Tree Strategy to protect and grow our green spaces
- developed the climate emergency strategy
- developed the Greening Newark and Sherwood action plan
Changes to our operations
We:
- have planted and given away to residents more than 20,000 trees
- seconded a colleague into the county to work in partnership with others to deliver the planting of over 70,000 trees on sites across Newark and Sherwood, including working two major woodland creation schemes at Thorney Abbey and Little Carlton which boast more than 100,000 trees – go to trees and nature conservation
- reduced peat use and switched to electric-powered gardening equipment
- introduced 'no mow' zones and wildlife-friendly grass areas
- encouraged residents to reduce, reuse, and recycle
- installed electric vehicle charging points across the district
Investing in clean energy
We:
- have installed solar panels at multiple sites, saving over 100 tonnes of CO₂ per year
- have installed air source heating at Blidworth Leisure Centre
- have upgraded lighting to energy-efficient LEDs at multiple sites
Looking ahead
We are:
- updating our Climate Strategy and Climate Action Plan
- expanding EV charging infrastructure at Castle House
- exploring the switch to Hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) fuel for our fleet vehicles
- exploring more locations for solar energy, including Castle House and Brunel Drive
- installing upgraded lighting to energy-efficient LEDs at multiple sites
- considering clean energy in all new build projects such as PV, battery storage, increased insulation
- expecting the LAEP (Local Area Energy Partnership) report by the end of ’25, giving us more data to ensure energy efficiency decisions are made strategically