Don't waste anything
The Green Masterplan is underpinned by three guiding principles. These help to bring focus to our work and planning for reducing carbon emissions and adapting to the changing climate at Lincolnshire County Council. The guiding principles also help to make sure that the work of decarbonising all our services is considered at the beginning and that everyone is involved.
The economy needs to move away from a take-make-waste linear approach to one that removes the potential for waste at the design stage.
Becoming a more circular economy over time is one tool to tackle the drive towards net-zero carbon emissions. The Council can act as an enabler for the wider economy by ensuring that infrastructure and services are in place to support circular business models.
Importantly, this principle is about more than the things that are thrown away. We have committed to minimise waste of all resources, including time, money and energy, but to also maximise the use of our assets, including our buildings and the skills of our people. We do not want to waste anything.
Consider wider opportunities
Considering the wider opportunities is all about partnerships and working together. This takes into account collaborations between teams in the same organisation and also working together with other organisations.
By working together, we are better able to pool our resources and deliver more benefits to the communities we work in.
Collaboration opens up the potential to share funding, experience and networks to reach more people and prevent duplication of effort.
Take responsibility and pride
This means:
- Leaving the natural environment in a better condition than found.
- We are custodians for the future. As the saying goes, "We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children".
- Doing the right thing as an organisation and leading by example.
- Causing no harm to the environment and where possible enhancing it.
- Having strong corporate and social responsibility.
Lincolnshire has a lot to offer and there are many reasons to be proud of the county – its wonderful green open spaces, coastline, its towns and villages. It is to be cherished, protected and improved.
With around a third of the county being close to sea level, climate change has the potential to have real and visible impacts, so we, as a collective, need to take action. We need to ensure that our activities do not cause harm and that we take responsibility for the sustainability of the whole value chain. Our activities align with the Government's 25 year environment plan, which you can see in our action plan.
Working within the government's enhanced standards as set out in the Environment Bill, there are many opportunities for action including biodiversity net gain, local nature recovery strategies and forestry enforcement measures. These will give our natural spaces the chance to flourish with new and mature species.
Looking after the natural environment is the right thing to do, which will minimise the impact of climate change and preserve our way of life.