Climate change

View our decarbonisation project playlist

Here are some of the most recent actions we’ve taken to address the council’s carbon use:

• Following positive public feedback from the trials held in 2022, we are extending our wildlife friendly approach to grassland management for 2023 to further verge and parks sites.
• From October 2021, all of our school and council electricity supplies are being procured on a green tariff, with our demand matched by generation from renewable sources such as wind and solar.
• Our vehicle fleet now includes 16 electric vans, from which our meals on wheels and a range of other services are delivered.
• The majority of our remaining vehicles meet the highest Euro 6 emissions standard.
• Over recent years we’ve supported a significant programme of solar panel installations at school sites, with 16 Harrow schools now producing a proportion of their own electricity.
• The solar panels on our new building at Forward Drive will generate the equivalent electricity needed to power 29 homes.
• We've installed our first large capacity heat pumps in school and council buildings, including Harrow Arts Centre, which will significantly reduce their gas consumption.
• We’re engaging with companies that provide the council with goods and services to see what opportunities exist to drive down emissions throughout our supply chain.
• We’ve reviewed our pension investment strategy and diverted significant funds towards delivering low carbon outcomes.

View our biodiversity project playlist

We’re also undertaking a range of initiatives to help the borough as a whole to decarbonise:

• In October 2020 we introduced an emissions based parking permit scheme for residents, to incentivise a transition to low emission vehicles.
• In 2021 we helped low income families in poor energy performing households access funding to retrofit their homes via the local authority green homes grant scheme.
• In early 2021 we installed a further 24 on-street charging points for electric vehicles, with plans to install more over the next 12 months.
• Working closely with community groups, in 2021 we completed major works as part of the Headstone Manor Park Project, which aims to increase local biodiversity and resilience against future flood events.
• New policies are also being introduced to help residents save money through a free bulky waste collection.
• Harrow Sustain IT is a project run by Voluntary Action Harrow. They take unused laptops, which they then clean and fix up before passing them on to local charities and voluntary organisations.
• The Woodmeadow at Pinner Recreation Ground is undergoing some changes; eagle-eyed residents will have noticed digging, planting and other activities over the last year.

Activities for schools

In May 2024 delegations of children from 17 primary schools from across the country attended the second YESFest (Youth Eco Summit Festival), held at Harrow School in the London Borough of Harrow.

YESFest gives young people the knowledge, skills, understanding, network, resources and the enthusiasm to take action for their part of the planet.

The event aimed to deepen young people’s understanding of our relationship with the natural world, and to share ideas on the things they are doing already to make a difference for the planet and to inspire each other to take further action in their schools and communities.

The children attended sessions on biophilic and eco-therapeutic practices, practical approaches to stewardship of the planet and nature recognition of plants and creatures.

In September 2023 West Lodge Primary School here in Harrow hosted the first ever YESfest (Youth Eco Summit festival).

The event brought young people together with the aim of deepening their understanding of our relationship with the natural world. We shared ideas on the things we're doing already to make a difference for the planet, and inspired each other to take further action in their schools and communities.