Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council serves a diverse area, managing responsibilities across housing, planning, community safety and environmental protection and overseeing nearly 10,000 domestic properties along with a range of commercial premises.
We spoke with Kelly Murphy, Climate Change Officer at the Council about how championing ambitious net zero targets, fostering collaboration across departments, and engaging residents and partners proves that meaningful change starts at a local level.
TEAM: To start, could you give us an overview of the Council’s approach to climate action?
Kelly Murphy: Our Council declared a climate emergency in 2019, and in 2024 we published our new transition to net zero strategy. This strategy sets out our objectives and is supported by a climate action plan with over 100 actions across various themes. ’Action on Climate Change’ is now a corporate priority, and we have net zero targets for the organisation by 2030 and for the borough by 2050. We’ve strengthened our governance, with a climate and biodiversity cabinet panel, meeting every two months, and we have dedicated climate reserve funding for new projects. We also have a climate officers group with key staff from each directorate meeting regularly to coordinate and report on climate-related projects. The leader of the Council is also the portfolio holder for climate change and economic development, so it’s a real priority for us.
TEAM: Why is achieving net zero so important for the Council?
Kelly: Our organisational footprint is relatively small, but we have a significant sphere of influence. By engaging with the community and signposting resources, we can help others take meaningful steps towards net zero and more sustainable living. Our indirect impact is substantial.
We want to ensure the borough is sustainable and resilient for future generation, and it is imperative that we act now.
TEAM: What specific strategies have you implemented to move towards net zero?
Kelly: Many existing strategies and policies have sustainability embedded, however, more recently we have developed specific policies/strategies to focus on key areas. For instance, we have our transition to net zero strategy and supporting climate action plan (which is a live document). We’ve created a sustainable procurement strategy and a supplementary planning document to help residents make better decisions while our new local plan is being written. Additionally, there are various trees and woodland strategies, and a recently approved Minimum Energy Efficiency (MEES) policy. Our net zero transition and broader sustainability goals are embedded throughout the Council.
TEAM: What challenges have you faced, and how have you overcome them?
Kelly: Budget is the biggest challenge. Sometimes local authorities are not directly eligible for certain funding, and there are limited climate related funding opportunities, so we look for creative solutions. For example, as museum owners we were able to secure a museum grant to upgrade lighting in our two museums, and sports funding through the National Lottery for energy-generating outdoor gym equipment. Officer capacity is another challenge, so we engage with committed volunteer groups, for instance those who help manage woodlands and trees. Recently, these volunteers contributed over 800 days of time, worth about £64,000. Building these vital partnerships helps spread the workload and maintain impactful progress.
TEAM: How do you balance the financial cost of net zero with long-term benefits?
Kelly: Energy efficiency improvements have long-term financial benefits and future-proof us against market volatility. Some projects, like domestic retrofit work, focus on improving tenant comfort and well-being, not just financial gains.
TEAM: How do you engage your supply chain partners with net zero goals?
Kelly: We’ve identified our top 50 suppliers by value and plan to engage them using our new sustainable procurement appendix, to ensure they are measuring their carbon footprint and setting themselves ambitious yet realistic targets. Most large companies already report their emissions, and we’ll work with them to align their journeys with ours. It’s a large, ongoing piece of work, that is very complex and challenging.
TEAM: How do you measure and track progress towards your goals?
Kelly: The climate officers group meets every six weeks to review the climate action plan. Updates go to the Cabinet panel every two months, and we provide monthly updates to the portfolio holder/leader, and CEO. Progress is published on our climate hub, which is accessible to residents. We track greenhouse gas emissions annually, with data going back to 2005 for the borough and to 2019/20 for corporate emissions.
TEAM: Have you seen improvements from your initiatives?
Kelly: Yes, there’s been a steady decline in emissions. There was a spike after the main lockdown, but the trend is downward for both borough and corporate emissions.
TEAM: How do you ensure transparency and accountability?
Kelly: The climate hub, introduced in 2024, has been designed to be user-friendly and centralise all climate-related information, ensuring we are fully transparent on our approach and progress. It contains information such as news articles, initiatives, events, funding opportunities and ways to connect community groups. Greenhouse gas assessments are published annually on this platform to explain all emission sources and data collection methods. Also, progress reports presented at every Climate and Biodiversity Cabinet Panel are live-streamed and accessible through the climate hub and also through the council’s main website
Interviewer: How do you manage your energy data?
Kelly: TEAM Energy’s Sigma energy management software is our main energy management platform, and it plays a crucial role in how we monitor, manage, and report on our energy use across the Council’s estate. Both I and the building services team have access to Sigma, which allows us to track electricity and gas consumption in real time for all our buildings. This is essential for accurate reporting and for identifying trends or anomalies in our energy use.
One of the key benefits of Sigma is its ability to flag unusual patterns, like sudden spikes or drops in consumption, which often indicate issues such as faulty equipment, leaks, or even simple metering errors. By catching these anomalies early, we can investigate and resolve problems quickly, which helps us avoid unnecessary energy waste and costs.
Sigma also streamlines our billing process. Because it collects actual meter readings (and we’re working to reduce reliance on estimated readings), we can ensure our energy bills are accurate and reflect real usage. This is particularly important for budget management and for building a strong business case for future energy efficiency investments.
TEAM: Can you share examples of successful projects that have reduced your carbon footprint?
Kelly: We were successful in the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, installing heat pumps and solar PV in several council buildings. We’re working towards an ISO 50001 certification, which will further reduce emissions. We received £6.4 million from the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund for retrofitting social homes, improving both emissions and tenant comfort.
TEAM: Is the social homes project ongoing?
Kelly: Yes, it’s ongoing and is being approached in stages. The recent funding was the largest in Hertfordshire, based on past performance and deliverability. We also were awarded £1.5 million through the Warm Homes: Local Grant for privately owned properties, running for three years, which will help reduce borough wide emissions.
TEAM: How do you engage employees and stakeholders in delivering your goals?
Kelly: We’ve introduced climate awareness training for all staff, delivered by Meritec, funded from our climate reserves. It’s been well received, with positive feedback. Residents in our local community can also access a version of the training. Our governance processes ensure senior leadership and teams are engaged, and sustainability is included in team charters. We also have a number of employee incentives, such as discounted bus passes and cycle to work schemes, to encourage more sustainable travel to and from the office. The drive behind this is to give staff and residents an opportunity to learn and make their own positive changes towards sustainability because everyone has a part to play and can make a positive difference.