Leeds crowned Green Council of the Year

Labour-run Leeds City Council has made headlines by being named the Green Council of the Year at the prestigious Political Purpose Awards. This award recognises the councils that have ‘demonstrated exceptional leadership in protecting and enhancing the local environment or that have developed the most ambitious packages of local environmental measures.’

Leeds was praised for the council's ongoing response to declaring a climate emergency in 2019 and setting an ambition to become a net zero carbon city. A range of initiatives and service improvements across the council were highlighted for their positive environmental contributions to the city, including:

• The Leeds PIPES district heating network, which converts waste from household black bins into low-carbon, affordable and reliable heat and hot water to nearly 4,100 homes, commercial and public buildings across the city.

• Home Upgrade Grants providing heat pumps, solar power, insulation, and low-energy lighting to low-income households.

• Switching almost a quarter of council vehicles to electric, including bin wagons which can be recharged from 20 to 80 per cent in 75 minutes.

• Securing funding of £2.5million from developers to deliver the planting of woodlands and wildflower meadows, litter and fly-tipping removal and providing information boards to sites across the city.

• The East Leeds Orbital Route, which includes fully segregated cycle and bridal paths, sustainable drainage and more than 30,000 trees for biodiversity and habitat growth alongside a new 7km stretch of road.

• Meeting the government's Simpler Recycling requirements for dry recycling two years ahead of schedule. This includes the introduction of kerbside glass recycling from over 500,000 bins a week from 367,000 households and free garden waste collection - making Leeds the largest recycling service in the country.

• A range of measures and a progressive approach to the procurement and renewal of waste disposal contracts, for example changing the processing and destination of waste streams like large electricals and offensive waste, has helped reduce landfill to just 0.2 per cent currently in Leeds. Importantly no food waste from Leeds households goes to landfill, where it would create methane emissions and harmful leachate.

Leader of Leeds City Council Councillor James Lewis said:

"We are deeply honoured to receive this prestigious recognition of our council's dedicated work and leadership towards creating a healthier and more sustainable Leeds.

“Our comprehensive low-carbon initiatives and innovative waste management solutions are creating tangible benefits for all residents, making Leeds a greener, cleaner and healthier place to live for current and future generations.

“We are particularly proud to see the Leeds recognised for achieving a near-zero landfill rate for our city’s household waste, together with the progress made to electrify our fleet and deliver an extensive energy recovery heating network that provides lower carbon heating to buildings across the city.”

Leeds City Council’s executive member for climate, energy, environment and green space Councillor Mohammed Rafique said:

“We are delighted to be named Green Council of the Year, which is a wonderful reflection of the dedicated work being carried out across the council and our partners as well as our residents and businesses in Leeds for supporting our efforts to be as environmentally sustainable as possible.

“The impact of climate change affects us all, so this really is an ongoing ‘Team Leeds’ challenge as we strive to become a net zero carbon city.”