Carbon Management & Climate Change
As a public body, we are committed to environmental sustainability and cutting our carbon emissions. Our Environmental Strategy sets out how we plan to do this.
Our Corporate Plan 2020-23 and our annual Business Plans commit us to continually improving the way in which we operate and deliver our services and to reducing our carbon emissions annually.
Public Bodies Climate Change Duties
We are bound by the Climate Change Public Bodies Duties set out in Part 4 of the Climate Change Act (Scotland) 2009. These duties require that when exercising our functions we:
- contribute to carbon emissions reduction (climate change mitigation)
- contribute to climate change adaptation
- act sustainably
The Scottish Government’s purpose is to focus government and public services on creating a more successful country with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish, through increasing sustainable economic growth. The National Performance Framework sets out how the Scottish Government and other delivery partners will achieve and measure the purpose, and details 16 national outcomes and 50 national indicators. Our work as registrar and regulator of charities aligns to many of these objectives, and our work during the life of our Environmental Strategy will contribute both directly and indirectly to the delivery of many of the national outcomes, most specifically to the following:
- We value and enjoy our built environment and protect it and enhance it for future generations.
- We reduce the local and global environmental impact of our consumption and production
Our biodiversity duty
As a Scottish public body, we have a statutory duty to further the conservation of biodiversity:
“It is the of every public body and office holder, in exercising any functions, to further the conservation of biodiversity so far as it is consistent with the proper exercise of those functions” Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004
The Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2011 places a duty on us to make a report publicly available every three years on our compliance with the biodiversity duty. Read our reports here:
Travel Plan
Travel is an essential part of our business, but also a significant part of our carbon footprint. Our Travel Plan sets out our travel usage and our aims to improve how and when we travel.
Annual reporting
The Climate Change Act (Scotland) 2009 further requires us to submit an annual report to Scottish Government, detailing our compliance with the climate change duties. Historical reports are available on the Sustainable Scotland Network (SSN) website.