Environmental policies and reports

Find out more about our environmental strategies and read our performance reports

Subscribe to our Newsletters
Subscribe to our Newsletter

Subscribe to our Leicestershire newsletters for the latest news, tips, and support.

Indicates required field
Select your Subscriptions

See our privacy section. You can unsubscribe at any time from within the emails you receive.

Environment Strategy

We have a continuing commitment to the environment through the authority’s environment strategy. This strategy coordinates the Council’s overall approach to environmental management, while recognising that there are a number of other strategies and plans that deliver aspects of our environmental duties, responsibilities and commitments.

The strategy covers both the Council’s own operations and also where it has control and influence within the county of Leicestershire.

Vision

We will minimise the environmental impacts of its own activities and will contribute to the improvement of the wider environment through local action. We will continue to play a significant role in protecting and enhancing the environment of Leicestershire, meeting the challenges and opportunities of climate change, and seeking to embed environmental sustainability into both social and economic development in the county

Aims and Objectives

The strategy’s aims and objectives are set out on pages 18-22 of the document, which can be downloaded below.

Implementation

Implementation of the strategy is overseen by the Environment Strategy Delivery Board. The Council’s environmental management system is the key tool used to support and manage this process and to measure progress (see next section).

Implementation is also supported by a live action plan (latest version below) which provides a high level overview of the key areas of action to deliver on the aims and objectives of the Environment Strategy.

Environmental management system

The Council’s environmental management system (EMS) has been designed to ensure that all activities, services and policies of the Council conform to the requirements of BS EN ISO 14001:2015 Environmental management system standard.

The scope of the Council’s environmental management system

The processes and procedures in the EMS apply to all significant environmental aspects arising from the functions of the Council. These include:

  • those aspects relating to direct impacts of activities which could, if not managed, risk breaching environmental legislation or compromise the Council’s environment strategy aims and objectives (such as oil storage, use of pesticides, energy and water use);
  • those impacts of, or on, the community which the Council has a statutory duty to control or influence, or that are related to an environment strategy aim or objective (such as household waste disposal, business trading regulation, flooding and emergency management);
  • indirect impacts of suppliers and contractors;
  • external environmental issues that affect or may affect the ability of the Council to perform its functions (such as climate change and extreme weather events).

Greenhouse gas report

All local authorities need to report on greenhouse gas emissions from their own estates and operations and publish the information online.

Environmental performance

A clear and comprehensive update on the council’s wider environmental performance and on progress in delivering its commitments to Net Zero, as an organisation and for Leicestershire as a county, contained within a single report.

An easy read summary of our environmental performance for 2022 - 23, including case studies that provide more information on some of the projects that have contributed to reducing the council’s impact on the environment.

Tree Management Strategy

The Tree Management Strategy 2020-2025 recognises the importance of the tree resource under the stewardship of the county council and identifies standards for its management. The strategy provides a framework to maintain a healthy, balanced and sustainable tree population capable of withstanding predicted climate changes and impacts of diseases such as ash die back.

Waste disposal authority plan (2018-2030)

We are a waste disposal authority.

Our aim is to deliver a waste management service that encourages prevention, reuse, recycling and reduces waste to landfill, recognising the importance of value for money to Leicestershire residents.

The plan sets out the overall ambition of the council with regards to its waste management duties in the form of a set of priorities and supporting objectives for each aspect of waste management.

Action for Nature - A strategic approach to biodiversity, habitat and the local environment 

The Action for Nature document sets out our strategic approach to biodiversity, habitat and the local environment and seeks to compile into a single document:

  • an understanding of the policy and legislative context within which achievement of the relevant aims and objectives in the Environment Strategy are set
  • an understanding of the current state of nature in Leicestershire
  • the guiding principles and rationale of our approach to taking action for nature
  • identification of the key opportunities for action
  • a supporting delivery plan that provides more detail of the actions to be taken
  • a foundation on which further action for nature can be taken as greater understanding of future legislative and other changes arise, such as the Environment Bill.

Note: the delivery plan is a live document and will be updated as actions are completed and new ones added.