Our environmental strategy
In October 2020, the Fire Authority declared a climate emergency and endorsed the Green Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service environmental strategy.
Our environmental strategy outlines our green goals in respect of environmental mitigations and adaptations.
Changing our working habits
We are exploring, developing, and implementing ways to change our working habits so we reduce our impact on the environment. These ways include:
- our people – working smarter, cleaner, and greener
- our buildings – green and sustainable
- our journeys – travelling less and talking more
- our services – reducing demand and risk.
Green action plan
Our green action plan is about making green outcomes happen. We are aiming to be:
- carbon-neutral/net-zero by 2030
- carbon net positive by 2050; averting more carbon dioxide (CO2) than we produce.
We are calculating and tracking our carbon footprint to understand the impact our emissions have while monitoring our progress as we strive to reduce those emissions.
Projects we're working on
Since the launch of our Environmental Strategy, work has commenced on some key areas we need to be targeting.
The three main projects we are working on are as follows:
- reducing our electricity and gas consumption
- introduction of vehicle telematics
- alternatively fuelled vehicles and electric charging points.
Our Initial Environmental Review (IER)
We have engaged an environmental consultant to develop our understanding of the impact we as a Service have on the environment through our operations. This process will help ensure our compliance requirements but seek to develop the opportunities to create a positive impact for the future.