Corporate Environment and Sustainability
Our Ambitions
As an Urban Development Corporation tasked with delivering a 21st Century Garden City, Ebbsfleet Development Corporation plays a crucial leadership role in partnering and collaborating with stakeholders – public, private and voluntary sector – to deliver the overall vision for Ebbsfleet.
Alongside our stated ambition to deliver Ebbsfleet as an exemplar of sustainable development, we have also committed as an organisation to protecting and improving the environment and have set a target to achieve net zero carbon across our operations by 2030.
What we are already doing
Electricity: We have replaced the lighting in our office with energy efficient LED lighting and have introduced measures to use energy more efficiently to reduce energy demand.
Gas heating: We are replacing our gas heating system with a low-carbon heating solution.
Green infrastructure: We have started work to enhance the green areas around our office and land we own including the biodiversity, habitats and ecosystem services. We have planted wildflowers and plants and are introducing a reduced mowing regime.
Renewable energy: We use 116,000kWh of electricity annually, equivalent to around 46 homes, and have used 100 per cent renewable energy since 2022. We aim to install solar panels on our land and buildings. Our building has been assessed for the potential to host solar panels and while opportunities exist, there is a far greater potential on land surrounding our building, which is the current focus.
Supply chain: We have introduced a supplier engagement programme to collaborate on emissions reduction opportunities in partnership with our supply chain.
Travel: We have 4 electric car chargers and a car sharing club to reduce staff commuting emissions. We prioritise sustainable modes of travel such as walking, cycling, public transportation and zero emissions vehicles. Staff have access to an electric hire car to reduce business travel emissions and we are investing in electric bikes for short journeys.
Waste: We avoid, reduce, reuse and recycle materials wherever possible and are installing a composter to reduce food waste. We work with suppliers to implement circular economy solutions.
Water: We are implementing water saving behaviours and are reviewing opportunities for low flow devices and harvesting rainwater.
What we will be doing
We will develop annual delivery plans built around the five key areas of Carbon & Energy, Water, Waste, Natural Environment and Health & Wellbeing to ensure delivery and that relevant resources are assigned to each key activity.
We are committed to monitoring our environmental performance against our ambitions by tracking the progress of our actions against our sustainability commitments including the outcomes of projects delivered.