Bristol City Council has received £ 1.5 million of funding through the government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS), unlocking the next stage in the council’s corporate decarbonisation programme.
The investment will be used to fund heat decarbonisation and energy efficiency measures in the council’s Corporate Estate, enabling the switch to cleaner heating, cutting emissions and speeding up the transition to becoming carbon neutral.
The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme is a government grant scheme designed to support the reduction of emissions from public sector buildings.
Councillor Martin Fodor, Chair of the Environment and Sustainability Committee, said: “The council is committed to achieving its goal of becoming carbon neutral. The money we have received through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme unlocks the next stage of works in our decarbonisation programme, to remove the remaining emissions from our direct activity.”
“The council has already taken significant steps towards decarbonising its own estate. Since 2015, we have successfully more than halved our direct emissions by reducing the carbon footprint of our buildings, we are moving to more sustainable forms of electricity and heat supply, and developing our vehicle fleet to ensure that it is operating in the cleanest way possible and lowering running costs. We know the public expects us to set a real example by cutting carbon, saving costs, and using energy more efficiently.”
The agreed strategy to help achieve the council’s climate goal of becoming carbon neutral is to initially focus on the decarbonisation of the top 30 carbon emitters in the council’s estate, which account for three-quarters of the council’s direct carbon emissions.
Of the top 30 buildings identified, nine buildings are eligible for the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme. These include the coroners’ court, community centres, museum buildings and council depots.
Works are expected to include: the replacement of old heating systems with renewable alternatives, installation of smart building controls, ventilation and draught proofing measures and loft, cavity wall and external wall insulation.
The council worked with Bristol City Leap throughout the application process and will enter into a contract to deliver the decarbonisation works.
Mark Apsey MBE, Senior Vice President at Ameresco, said: “We are delighted to have secured £1.5 million investment from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme to deliver savings for the Bristol City Council estate. The projects we implement will reduce operating costs, support local jobs and help mitigate climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This is a great example of how our teams have worked together, in the Bristol City Leap partnership, to unlock funding for real projects in the city.”
In September 2024, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) confirmed the continuation of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, with Phase 4 running for financial years 2025/26 to 2027/28.
Grants have been awarded through a targeted allocation process to ensure funding is used on high-quality projects that contribute most to the scheme’s direct carbon saving goal.
Bristol has worked with DESNZ’s delivery body, Salix Finance, since 2004 to deliver carbon reduction projects, and Salix funding has become a crucial tool in the council’s decarbonisation strategy.
The recent launch of Bristol Climate Action Investment gives people the chance to directly invest in the council’s decarbonisation programme. The money raised will be used to install energy-efficiency improvements to other buildings in the council’s top 30 list.
