Spotlight on Climate at Leadership Conference

Senior managers from across North Ayrshire Council gathered earlier this week at Saltcoats Town Hall for our latest Connected Leadership Conference.

This conference is a quarterly event which allows colleagues to share best practice as we continue to strive to deliver the best possible service for our communities.

Chief Executive Craig Hatton kicked off proceedings by praising staff for their ongoing work, which was recognised just before Christmas with an excellent Best Value report from the Accounts Commission, which described the Council as being “an exemplar” when it comes to change and innovation.

Discussion then moved on to the main theme of the conference – Climate Change – and how the measures we take every day to sustain and improve the natural environment can support our four council priorities – Climate Change, Wellbeing, Sustainable Council, and Communities and Local Democracy.

Russell McCutcheon, Executive Director for Place, highlighted some of the great achievements made by staff over the past year.

• continued reduction in carbon emissions from 67,719t CO2e in 2005/06 to 20,333t CO2e in 2024/25
• domestic and non-domestic energy efficiency programs to reduce energy use and emissions
• the opening of new solar farms at Nethermains and Shewalton – the first to be owned by a local authority in Scotland
• the first local authority in Scotland to deliver a Nature Network Strategy, and
• the continuation of our tree planting strategy

Laurence Cree, Head of Service for Sustainability, Transport and Corporate Property, then delved deeper into how the actions we all take on climate change support our Council Plan priorities.

He highlighted how active climate initiatives help build stronger communities by encouraging engagement, leadership, and inclusivity in decision-making processes and showcased our recent collaborative work with Arran Community Renewables as they seek to deliver a community owned solar farm for the island.

Jennifer Wraith, Senior Manager with the Energy & Sustainability team, then spoke about the Sustainable North Ayrshire Strategy and the five key themes of sustainability.

The event rounded off with those present taking part in a series of climate-themed challenges to give a greater understanding of how decision we take every day can have positive impacts on the lives of our residents.