Our carbon emissions
Carbon emissions is the release of carbon compounds into the atmosphere. Carbon emissions is simply greenhouse gas emissions, the main contributors of climate change.
In 2020, the borough of Rochdale produced 1.25 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.
The breakdown of these emissions is:
- 54.6 per cent from transport
- 23.9 per cent from housing
- 18.4 per cent from industrial and commercial activities
- 2.12 per cent from waste
- 1 per cent from agriculture and land use
This data is taken from SCATTER (Setting City Area Targets and Trajectories for Emissions Reduction).
- Detailed information about the borough's carbon emissions in our Carbon Budget report
- SCATTER information
Reducing our carbon emissions
We're responsible for producing less than 5 per cent of the borough’s carbon emissions. We'll aim to do all we can to reduce our contribution and take a lead role in driving climate action and sustainability where we can.
We measure carbon emissions in different areas otherwise known as ‘scope one emissions’ and ‘scope two emissions’.
Scope one emissions - come from sources owned or controlled by us like buildings, vehicles and machinery.
- Between 2019-2023 our scope one emissions have reduced from 6242.15 tonnes to 4791.61 tonnes of carbon emissions. This is a reduction of 23 per cent. This is equivalent to the annual energy use emissions of approximately 537 average UK homes.
Scope two emissions - are generated through activities undertaken by us in areas we don’t own or control the source of, like electricity or heat we buy from the national grid or energy provider.
- Between 2019-2023 our scope two emissions have reduced from 5891.87 tonnes to 3876.91 tonnes of carbon emissions. This is reduction of 34 per cent. This is partly because of investment in low carbon technologies such as solar panels, air sourced heat pumps, LED lighting and other energy efficiency measures.