The Environment Scrutiny Committee is scheduled to meet on Friday, 7 November 2025, to discuss service level performance, greenhouse gas emissions, and the committee's work programme. The meeting will include reports from several senior officers, including Chris Miller, Head of Environment, Chris Yorston, Head of Waste, and Simon Evans, Health Scrutiny Officer. The meeting is scheduled to be broadcast live on the internet.

Lincolnshire County Council Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report 2024-25

The committee is scheduled to review the Lincolnshire County Council Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report 2024-25. The report, prepared by Chris Miller, Head of Environment, and Dan Clayton, Sustainability Manager, quantifies energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions across the council's operations. Councillors will be asked to note the work that has been done and support ongoing efforts to reduce energy consumption.

The report pack includes the full Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report 2024/25, which states that it is the fourth annual report from Lincolnshire County Council on greenhouse gas emissions from the operations of the council. The report states that the council has a target to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The report highlights a mixed picture in energy consumption trends:

• Natural gas consumption rose in line with increased heating demand during the winter.
• Electricity consumption from council-owned buildings increased slightly.
• Electricity consumption in Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) controlled schools fell.
• Electricity consumption for street lighting fell due to the ongoing switch to lower energy LED versions.

The report also notes that when energy consumption data is combined with national greenhouse gas emission factors, overall emissions from council-operated buildings and vehicles have fallen by 694 tonnes of carbon dioxide, putting emissions 54.3% below the 2016/17 baseline.

The report also breaks down emissions into three scopes¹:

• Scope 1: Direct emissions from owned or controlled sources (e.g., burning fuel to heat buildings).
• Scope 2: Indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, heating, and cooling.
• Scope 3: All other indirect emissions that occur within an organisation's wider value chain (e.g. business travel).

The report sets out emissions from each fuel type and source. The later sections of the report include information on indirect (Scope 3) emissions, which are generated by the activities of the Council but are not in the direct control of the Council. These include business mileage, commuting and transmission of electricity. The amount of business mileage has increased – this is partly due to increased demand for services and some staff being moved back into the Council from outsourced providers.

The report notes that since 1990, greenhouse gas emissions have fallen by 75.4%.

Service Level Performance Reporting against the Performance Framework 2025-26 as at Quarter 2

Chris Miller, Head of Environment, and Chris Yorston, Head of Waste, are scheduled to present a report on service level performance against the Performance Framework 2025-26 as at Quarter 2. The report summarises performance for Flooding and Waste.

The report indicates that of the performance measures that can be reported as at Quarter 2:

• 3 measures exceeded their target.
• 0 measures achieved their target.
• 2 measures did not meet their target.
• 1 measure does not have a target (contextual).

Waste Management

The report pack includes a glossary of terms related to the waste hierarchy², which prioritises waste prevention and minimisation.

The report states that Lincolnshire County Council is already meeting most of the government's planned changes regarding waste management. The council is working through the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership (LWP) to deliver a programme of communications and engagement campaigns to include simpler recycling, segregated food waste, waste minimisation and reuse.

The report highlights that the introduction of separate food waste collections from April 2026 will improve the recycling rate, as anaerobic digestion³ is classed as recycling.

Flood Management

The report states that all Section 19 Investigations⁴ linked to the most recent significant storm events (Storm Babet in October 2023, Storm Henk in January 2024 and the extreme weather of January 2025) are complete.

The report also notes that during the financial year 2024/25, 180 properties were identified as being better protected from flood risk as a result of four large flood alleviation projects that were undertaken alongside smaller flood risk mitigation interventions.

Environment Scrutiny Committee Work Programme

Simon Evans, Health Scrutiny Officer, is scheduled to present a report inviting the committee to review and comment on its work programme. The Environment Scrutiny Work Programme report lists the following items for discussion:

• Service Level Performance Reporting Against the Performance Framework 2025 - 2026 – Quarters 1 and 2: Environment (including Flood Risk Management and Waste)
• Lincolnshire County Council Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report

The report also lists items scheduled for future meetings, including:

• Flood Risk Management Authorities Update
• Budget Proposals for 2026/27
• Humber 2100+ Strategy
• Flood and Water Risk Management Capital Programme - Annual Position
• Environmental Policy
• Minerals and Waste Local Plan – Timetable and Statement of Community Involvement
• Fens 2100+ Outline Business Case and Baseline Report
• Adoption of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy
• Collaborative Working on Strategic Flood Risk Management Schemes
• Salix Scheme – Conclusion to Scheme

The report also lists a number of items to be programmed into the work programme, including:

• Anglian Water – Resources Provision
• Lincolnshire Reservoir – Progress Updates
• Sustainable Drainage Systems - Approval Body
• Emissions Trading Scheme
• The Planning and Infrastructure Bill
• National Planning Policy Framework Alterations
• Horncastle Flooding Report
• Review of Minerals and Waste Local Plan – Regulation 19 Consultation
• Carbon Capture Storage Schemes – Safety and Environmental Impacts