Agenda and draft minutes

To consider any appeals in accordance with Procedure Rule 15.2 of the Access to Information Procedure Rules (in the event of an appeal the press and public will be excluded).

(*In accordance with Procedure Rule 15.2, written notice of an appeal must be received by the Head of Governance Services at least 24 hours before the meeting)

There were no appeals against the inspection of documents.

1)  To highlight reports or appendices which officers have identified as containing exempt information, and where officers consider that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, for the reasons outlined in the report.

2)  To consider whether or not to accept the officers recommendation in respect of the above information.

3)  If so, to formally pass the following resolution:-

RESOLVED – That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following parts of the agenda designated as containing exempt information on the grounds that it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the press and public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information, as follows:-

The agenda contained no exempt information.

To identify items which have been admitted to the agenda by the Chair for consideration

(The special circumstances shall be specified in the minutes)

No late items of business were added to the agenda, however, supplementary information was circulated to Members prior to the start of the meeting. This related to the reports for items 9, 10 & 11.

To disclose or draw attention to any interests in accordance with Leeds City Council’s ‘Councillor Code of Conduct’.

No declarations of interest were made.

To receive any apologies for absence from the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor R Downes, Councillor O Newton and Councillor N Harrington, with Councillor S Seary substituting for Councillor N Harrington.

To receive and approve the minutes of the meeting held on the 4^th of November 2024.

RESOLVED - That the minutes of the meeting held on the 4^th of November 2024, be approved as a true and correct record.

At the discretion of the Chair, a period of up to 15 minutes may be allocated at each ordinary meeting for members of the public to make representations or to ask questions on matters within the terms of reference of the Committee. No member of the public shall speak for more than five minutes in the Open Forum, except by permission of the Chair.

Please note: Members of the public are asked to submit a video of their question or statement to climate.emergency@leeds.gov.uk  by 5.00 pm on

At the discretion of the Chair, a period of up to 15 minutes may be allocated at each ordinary meeting for members of the public to make representations or to ask questions on matters within the terms of reference of the Committee. No member of the public shall speak for more than five minutes in the Open Forum, except by permission of the Chair.

The following submission was made as part of the Open Forum:

Circular Fashion

The fashion and clothing industry contributed to a largely hidden carbon crisis, with 92 million tonnes of textile materials wasted globally per annum, which was forecast to rise to 130 million tonnes by 2030 unless the issue was addressed. Unwanted or unsold clothing was often burnt or sent to landfill, and better practises were sought to reduce the negative carbon impact that the textile industry had, through circular fashion initiatives. The Circular Fashion Incubator CIC had been set up as a platform for sustainable fashion shows, with an ambition being to open a hub within Leeds to host workshops and teach upcycling and repair work and also provide solutions to address fast fashion carbon impacts through designer support projects, such as providing studio spaces and a clothing exchange programme, to allow clothing to be more sustainable and to make clothes items last longer. It was noted that slow fashion designers struggled to find spaces to work and also sell products. The Little Circular Fashion Design Academy was a programme engaging with children to raise awareness, increasing eco-consciousness for the next generation, and provide life skills, such as how to sew and repair clothes. The Circular Fashion Incubator CIC team was comprised of 5 staff members who worked across a number of key focus areas, including eco-art, education, emotional support, financial advice, leadership skills and slow fashion design to influence positive change. The organisation was partnered with the Circular Fashion Week Conference and Competition, with an event scheduled from the 28^th – 29^th of May 2025 at Nexus, Leeds University. Teaching sustainable practises was a tool to transform the fashion industry and Members support was encouraged, including assistance seeking grants, sponsorships and identifying suitable venues for discussions, events and studios.

The Chair thanked the speaker for their submission, highlighting this key issue and addressing it through appropriate means. Support was offered to the organisation and Members were encouraged to attend relevant events.

To receive a verbal update/presentation from the Strategy & Resources Directorate.

A verbal update/presentation from the Strategy & Resources Directorate, was provided to update Members on recent work of the department.

Andrew Dodman, Chief Officer, Human Resources/Interim Assistance Chief Executive, and Andrew Byrom, Deputy Chief Digital & Information Officer, provided Members with the following information:

·  The Directorate was the largest within the Council and was split into professional support functions such as finance, human resources, marketing and IT and then front line delivery covering catering, cleaning and facilities management. There were six dedicated teams within the directorate.

·  Legal, Democratic Services and Information Governance supported the climate emergency agenda by providing legal advice for a variety of meetings and strategic plans, such as Net Zero, supported hybrid meetings and had reduced levels of printed paper packs.

·  The Finance team held a similar position, supporting a range of advice and management processes for capital, revenue and finance, including for energy efficient projects and links to the Best City Ambition. Sustainable methods for procurement were outlined as contracts over £5million required a carbon reduction plan and delivery of additional social value beyond the core contract requirements was sought. Joining up a single approach with other Leeds Anchor organisations was sought to add to social value ambitions.

·  The Integrated Digital Services team were working to reduce the number of applications used across the Council and to move away from physical data storage to the cloud model in order to reduce hardware requirements. The team also supported hybrid working and were working to reduce printing requirement, including installing more efficient printers.

·  Human Relations and Business Support developed active travel schemes and corporate travel plans to reduce grey fleet car use and overall millage. Carbon literacy training was offered to increase overall expertise and climate consciousness.

·  Strategy and Performance covered climate resilience and serve weather planning, including creating regional and national links to join up work and share best practise.

·  Civic Enterprise covered facilities management, cleaning and travel and considered sustainable planning for efficient vehicle use, telematics and the electric vehicle fleet. In order to increase the efficiency of buildings LEDs lights were installed, hybrid working, the Big Switch Off and increased recycling of waste was also supported.

·  Leeds Building Services focused on increasing sustainability considerations for procurement decision making and scheme design for elective vehicle charging and sustainable power generation, such as air source heat pumps. 43 of the Craft Operatives had completed training for maintaining renewable schemes.

·  One quarter of the Council’s vehicle fleet were now electric vehicles and trials for electric refuse vehicles had commenced. Telematics to improve routing efficiency was also implemented.

·  Catering Leeds were mindful of their impact on the Net Zero ambition, with a need to reduce food waste and also use digital solutions to reduce reliance on paper.

·  The next steps were to consider the Directorates position within wider Council strategies, including a strong emphasis on climate consciousness, continuing and strengthening partnership working to streamline national and regional approaches and identify further sensible funding opportunities. These steps considered digital and physical infrastructure,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 43.

Further information to follow

The report of the Chief Officer, Climate, Energy & Green Spaces, introduced the update of the Director, Yorkshire & Humber Climate Commission and Research Fellow, Leeds Climate Commission which provided and update on the work of the Yorkshire and Humber Climate Commission and Leeds Climate Commission. The Committee also received a presentation.

Amelia Duncan, Research Fellow for the University of Leeds, provided Members with the following information:

·  A Climate Commission was a model inspired by the UK’s Committee on Climate Change and had originally been experimental partnerships between the third sector, public sector and relevant organisations.

·  Leeds Climate Commission (Leeds CC) was the first to be established in 2017 which was followed by a significant research grant to apply this model to other locations, with over 20 established since, as well as a national network of Commissions.

·  The Yorkshire and Humber Climate Commission (YHCC) had been established in 2021, with good governance and working partnerships developed across the region.

·  Work was conducted to influence climate action, develop and share best practises, facilitate research and attract investment, alongside regular service reviews.

·  The University of Leeds acted as a secretariate for the Leeds CC, as an entity to convene in order to discuss and promote climate initiatives. Leeds had over 20 Climate Commissioners and YHCC had over 40.

·  Areas of focus were, keeping on track through regular evaluation, partnership working and acting as a catalyst for climate action, including managing new partnerships.

·  Evaluation was done through robust evidence gathering, and covered risk and resilience, biodiversity and nature, fairness and climate justice. A climate action dashboard had been developed to explore different profiles of carbon output across individuals, businesses and public institutions. Logistics and engagement were managed through performance indicators.

·  Parentship working was scaled up where appropriate, as well as encouraging ownership of projects. A Climate Awareness Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) was to be made publicly available, and a spiral model education programme had been developed to engage with students consistently through their education and to support carbon literacy.

·  A solar and fuel poverty map had been produced to empower residents and encourage fairness and informed delivery partners. Leeds sustainable supply chain pilot involved anchor institutions to create circular supply chains.

·  Leeds CC and YHCC shared ideas and best practise, with a regional focus to scale up action and inform regional and national policy.

·  YHCC was comprised of four groups, the Regional Picture and Evidence Group, Regional and National Policy Collaboration, Public Affairs Steering Group and Communities and Engagement.

·  Flagship projects from YHCC worked to develop pledges, strategic framework, adaptation plans and mobilise and encourage funding.

·  Public engagement included promoting climate talking points, our carbon story, transport and the climate action pledge.

·  The climate action pledge sought for the region to be climate change ready, to reduce emissions and support biodiversity. It promoted leadership and fairness and engaged with employers, stakeholder and workers.

·  Future opportunities were to make the climate action dashboard widely available and to create further links across the region, including future  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44.

Further information to follow

The report of the Chief Officer, Climate, Energy & Green Spaces, presented an introduction to the update of Prof. Jim Parker, Leeds Beckett University on the current and future risks of overheating in Leeds’ buildings and public spaces, and what work could be done to mitigate and adapt.

Jim Parker, Senior Research Fellow, Leeds Beckett University, provided Members with the following information:

·  Leeds Sustainability Institute, as part of Leeds Beckett University, conducted applied research in three key areas, sustainable building, urban environments and behaviour changes.

·  The update focused on retrofit work related to the findings of the Urban Heat Island (UHI) and associated intensity and overheating data and predictions. The UHI effect was the retention of heat from the sun in dense urban areas, which was a global issue and lead to the retention of heat at night time which impacted upon peoples sleep and could exacerbate health issues.

·  There were building regulations in place for London and Manchester to consider the effects of UHIs and allow consideration of and to condition for ways to reduce the effect.

·  Leeds city centre was outlined to be dense but dissipated and with the climate getting warmer, the city centre experienced higher temperatures when compared to outer areas. Foliage retained heat and released it at a slower rate.

·  Modelling and prediction of variables were understood through dynamic simulation, where an average temperature was determined and informed what would need to be accounted for in terms of heat dissipation methods. 3D models were also used to predict weather effects.

·  Part O had just been included as a new building regulation for new dwellings, but dynamic simulation was not mandated within Leeds yet.

·  Simulation weather files were currently taken from data sets at Leeds Bradford Airport, Leeds East Airport RAF Base, University of Leeds, Leeds Beckett University and Leeds City Council.  Using weather files from airports was not ideal to compare with city centre locations.

·  Historically, dwellings were naturally ventilated, other non-domestic buildings, often used air conditioning to reduce temperatures, which required energy. TM59 assessments provided guidance on mechanically ventilated properties to ensure that the ventilation system was appropriately sized to prevent overheating.

·  Design summer year files, based on previous data, was noted to often be out of date and morphing it to predict future temperatures was often not accurate. UK Climate Impact Projections provided different scenarios, considering the level of wind and rain.

·  A network of sensors were in place across the city to provide more granular data to help understand the difference in heat retention between grey spaces and green spaces. Five new weather stations had also been constructed, collecting more accurate, detailed data, informing a bespoke, nuanced approach for the city centre and outer areas.

·  Recommendations and future work were to increase the sophistication of data analysis, develop more accurate data gathering methods, raise awareness of UHI, capture micro-climate data through the new weather station locations and partnership working.

During discussions the Committee discussed the following:

• How these models, findings and heat projections  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.

Reports to follow

The report of the Chief Officer, Climate, Energy & Green Spaces, presented an introduction to both the Climate Emergency Advisory Committee annual report and the Climate Emergency Annual report (presented to Executive Board in October 2024). The reports provided an update on both the work being done through the Climate Emergency Advisory Committee and separately the work being done throughout the city to achieve our net-zero ambition.

Polly Cook, Chief Officer for CEGS, provided Members with the following information:

·  In introducing the Climate Emergency Annual report which had been presented to Executive Board and Scrutiny Boards, the key headline figures were, since 2005, the Council had reduced its carbon output by 63%, the city as a whole had reduced by 38% and also highlighted retrofit, electric vehicle, community projects and fleet milage workstreams.

·  The Climate Emergency Advisory Committee annual report was to be submitted to Full Council, subject to additional comments by Members, and its contents reflected on the work conducted and the progress made through the Committee.

During discussions the Committee discussed the following:

• Given that the data on the Council’s scope 1 and 2 emissions outlined there was still a lot of work to be done to reach carbon neutrality targets, further information regarding the plans which were in place to meet targets were sought. In response, it was noted that over previous year, carbon emissions had stabilised and kilowatt per hour data showed a decline, however, nationally, carbon output from the grid had increased.
• The focus currently, for the Council to make progress, was to reduce kilowatt per hour energy consumption as national plans changed to the grids carbon reliance, alongside a mix of sustainable power sources beginning to come to fruition. There were also corporate initiatives in place to seek funds for public sector decarbonisation.
• The variety of Council owned buildings posed challenges, with retrofitting some heritage buildings taking detailed consideration, with significant costs to connect air source heat pumps. City centre buildings had been connected to district heating and options to improve all building efficiency were continued to be explored.
• Decarbonising the Council vehicle fleet was challenging as the required technology for some vehicle types was not yet ready or was high cost. The trial for electric refuse vehicles was positive, however, was still in its initial stages and a wider review was to continue.
• Work to improve insulation efficiency for Council buildings was explained to be considered by the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme and focused primarily on draught proofing windows and doors and was often dependent on a buildings age.
• An evaluation of leisure centre efficiency was ongoing, the corporate estate was moving away from gas heating and improvements to the housing stock were considered.
• Members were satisfied with the contents of the CEAC report to be submitted for consideration at Full Council and thanked CEGS Officers for their continued work.

RESOLVED – That the presentation, along with Members comments, be noted.

The Chair updated Members, noting a Working Group had been held, considering glyphosate usage, climate risk to the Council estate and had identified future topics. A visit to Lotherton Hall was planned for the new year, which was to link to a previously identified topic for consideration of communication and engagement.

The next Working Group meeting had been scheduled for the 27^th of January 2025; however, it was noted this potentially clashed with a Community Committee review working group and an alternative date may to be sought, in consultation with Members. It was suggested that Doodle polls could be used as a digital method to consult on dates with Members for future Working Group dates.

To note the date and time of the next meeting as Monday 20th January 2025 at 2:00pm, which is proposed to be consultative and held remotely.

RESOLVED – To note the date and time of the next meeting as Monday the 20^th of January at 10:00am.