The Climate Change Officer introduced the report as set out in the agenda papers.

The Chair invited Members to make comments and ask questions, and these included:

·         This was an excellent report;

·         the Swale Cycle Recycle project worked well and with other groups such as the prison cluster, it worked well on many levels and typified what the Council should be looking for in partners moving forward;

·         welcomed the continuance of the Carbon Literacy training at schools;

·         the tree planting scheme was excellent;

·         what were the costs of providing the carbon literacy day training?;

·         the report should include more detailed information on the budgets for the service and what the cost to the Council was, versus the benefits;

·         requested an update on the contamination of recycling bins;

·         encouraged Members to lobby Government on reducing retail packaging etc.;

·         the connection between the Borough’s ancient woodlands and new tree planting alongside it was important as this improved biodiversity;

·         there was a typographical error in paragraph 7.5 on page 43 of the agenda pack, and Conyer was a hamlet not a village;

·         was there information on what environmental impacts, or savings the Council could receive from its suppliers?;

·         was the Faversham Car Share scheme still operating?; and

·         did the Council ensure that its suppliers provided ethical and fair trading?

In response, the Climate & Ecological Emergency Project Officer explained that two tool kits at a cost of £500 each had been purchased and enabled the provision of Carbon Literacy Training for schools and for Members at no additional cost to the Council.  The Climate Change Officer advised that the climate change team was salary only with a small budget.  Funding for the Active Travel scheme projects was from Kent County Council (KCC), and the targets were funded from the Council’s existing departmental budgets and this information could be shared with Members.  The Chair agreed that the budget for the Climate and Ecological Emergency would be discussed by the Steering Group.

The Environmental Services Manager reported that officers had carried out some work around contamination of the recycling bins with some positive communication around food recycling as previously reported.  He said officers were working on reducing contamination alongside the Council’s Communications team and the Council’s refuse contractor Suez.  There was some work proposed for March 2026 prior to the Simpler Recycling Regime, and rolling-out food and recycling bins to some of the communal areas.

The Climate & Ecological Emergency Project Officer reported that the supply chain omissions were monitored and fell within Scope three which had the net zero target by 2045.  There were specific questions during the tender process which did look at the supply chain to avoid any environmental damage, and the Council’s Procurement Policy had been updated in 2025.  He was aware that a sustainable procurement tool-kit was being developed by the Kent wide climate change network.  The Climate Change Officer added that with regard to solar panels, there was an industry protocol to ensure that no slave labour was used in the manufacturer of those panels.

The Climate Change Officer reported that the car share scheme in Faversham operated by HiyaCar, was no longer running as the Council could no longer justify subsidising the limited number of regular users. 

Councillor Terry Thompson proposed the recommendation, which was seconded by Councillor James Hunt.

Resolved:

(1)   That the Climate and Ecological Emergency Annual Progress report be noted, and submitted to Full Council for noting.