Teignbridge District Council has performed well in the first UK-wide Council Climate Action Scorecards produced by Climate Emergency UK. It scored 47% overall, placing it 6th among other district councils. Among neighbouring councils, only Exeter City Council is ahead of Teignbridge, with its score of 56% putting it in second place, behind top scorer Lancaster City Council (61%).
Teignbridge is ahead of East Devon (42%), South Hams (37%) and Mid Devon (28%), while Torbay, a unitary authority, scored 22%.
Councils are scored for the action they have taken in seven areas, with the two most influential in the scoring for district councils being Buildings & Heating and Planning & Land Use. Teignbridge scored well above average for both of those. It performed worst in the Transport section, with a below average score of 8%, although the average was only 9%, so transport is clearly a problem area for many councils.
Devon County Council also scored well, coming third in the county council section with 50%. The top scorer in that section is Oxfordshire (53%). Devon did particularly well in the Buildings & Heating and Collaboration & Engagement sections.
The Scorecards are helpful in seeing what climate action your council has taken, how it compares with others, and what more it could do. Climate Emergency UK offers ideas for how councils could improve and various ways residents and community groups can use the Scorecard information. These include sharing your council’s score on social media and sending a letter about it to the local paper.
Climate Emergency UK assessed all UK councils on the actions they’ve taken towards net zero. The Scorecard assessment consists of 91 questions or less, depending on council type, across seve different sections, created in consultation with over 90 different organisations and individuals. Each council was marked against these criteria and given a right to reply before the scores underwent a final audit. This work was completed between January and August 2023.
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