A LOCAL authority is aiming to become carbon-neutral by slashing its paper consumption, driving down energy use, and increasing its fleet of electric vehicles.

As reported, Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC) declared a climate emergency in September 2019.

Since then, it has been pushing forward plans to cut its carbon emissions.

Members of various political parties came together to help create a Climate Emergency Action Plan, which was given the green light by TVBC in June 2020.

Now, figures in the authority's overview and scrutiny committee (OSCOM) have shown between October 2019 and July 2020 the council reduced the number of pages printed by around 100,000, halving the number of trees consumed and reducing costs by more than half a million pounds.

The authority has ordered three refuse collection vehicles with electrically operated bin lifts.

These are each expected to save around 2,000kg of carbon dioxide per year.

TVBC has also switched to an electricity tariff that uses renewable energy, meaning it will use electricity generated from non-fossil fuel sources.

Environmental Portfolio Holder, Cllr Alison Johnston, said: “We were already driving forward our climate emergency plans when coronavirus hit.

"COVID-19 has, understandably, taken the lion’s share of the news coverage over the past few months. But the climate emergency is still very much at the forefront of our minds and green recovery will continue to be at the core of our response to the pandemic.

"Indeed, the impact of lockdown has accelerated a move towards more energy-efficient ways of working."

She added: “We remain keen to explore all options to help reduce our carbon footprint, with a view to achieving carbon neutrality as quickly as possible and certainly before the government target of 2050.

“Some of the changes we implement will have a relatively small impact but this is about seeking to reduce our CO2 emissions wherever we are able to do so.”

The update on the action plan, which the OSCOM receives every six months, considered the impact coronavirus restrictions had on the council’s progress.

It found the pandemic has meant quicker progress has been made on some goals, including video conferencing and live streaming council meetings to the public.

Lockdown also highlighted the importance of providing quality open spaces to support people’s physical and mental wellbeing.

To support this, the council has launched a Green Spaces Strategy consultation to hear from residents on how the environment can be protected and enhanced between now and 2030.