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Context
West Sussex County Council has identified the importance of responding to climate change in Our Council Plan 2021 – 2025, which outlines our key priorities that are all underpinned by a commitment to protecting the environment. This is also linked to our Climate Change Strategy 2020 – 2030, which sets out our ambition to become a carbon neutral and climate resilient organisation by 2030 and is supported by the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, the council's delivery and action plan for achieving these goals.
The yearly Climate Change Awareness and Commuting Survey will help WSCC to better understand staff engagement with, knowledge of, and behaviour around climate action. It will be run annually to help track progress toward 2030 and inform how the Sustainability team is able to support each directorate, service area, and team across the council. To meet the county council's carbon neutral emissions target by 2030, we also need to ensure that we fully understand our current carbon footprint. We do this by carbon baseline reporting, which measures all the fossil fuels that we emit in the delivery of our services and is represented in tonnes of carbon dioxide or equivalent (CO2e) that are released into the atmosphere. The Climate Change Awareness and Commuting Survey provides invaluable data to inform this mandatory reporting, including insights into our total emissions from staff travel.
Yearly carbon baseline reporting, including results from this annual survey, will show our progress towards our carbon neutrality ambitions.
Results
We Asked
We wanted to know how you engage with the council's climate change goals and how you get around the county to do your job. Topics covered within the annual survey included: awareness of the core principles of the Climate Change Strategy, familiarity with climate change concepts, work from home and commuting patterns, sustainable travel, and business travel.
The survey is launched each summer, and is a short, targeted consultation for all WSCC staff. Completion of this survey is tied directly to the targets established in the CAAP, which has been signed-off by both the Climate Change Board and Executive Leadership Team. Responses will be compared year-over-year to determine progress toward our sustainability goals.
You Said
The most recent survey closed in August 2024. Over 1,100 WSCC staff completed the survey, representing an increase in responses from the 2024 consultation period. We had good representation from across the organisation. Some key takeaways include:
WSCC staff remain committed to supporting work that protects the environment. 92% of respondents believe it is important that we work in a way that considers the climate.
We can do more to make sure that everyone understands the key principles of climate action, which are carbon reduction and climate adaptation. However, almost one-in-five staff members reports being very or extremely familiar with these concepts.
Using sustainable travel is a priority for many staff, but can be challenging. Travelling by car is still seen as a quicker option, and lack of public transport reliability makes it difficult for many staff to use it.
We Did
We published a fuller analysis of the survey results along with some guidance and resources for travelling more sustainably, which can be found here. The responses to the survey will inform the development of staff travel resources and ensure our carbon emissions reporting is as accurate and detailed as possible.
Since the 2024 survey concluded, we have formalised the WSCC Fleet Transition and Transport Decarbonisation Project, which will oversee the council's aims to reduce emissions from its fleet of vehicles and transport associated with our services and contracts, as well as to provide resources and support for staff who wish to travel more sustainably. Activity will include improving fleet-related information and data management, catalysing the transition to electric vehicles, and reviewing policies needed to deliver change in how staff are supported in travelling around the county.
Alternate formats and accessibility
If you require any of this information in an alternative format, then please contact us by phone 0330 222 4931or via email at david.sale@westsussex.gov.uk and we will assist you. If you are deaf or hard of hearing and have an NGT texting app installed on your computer, laptop or smartphone, you can contact us on 18001 0330 222 4931.
Any personally identifying data (e.g. Prize Draw entry) will be removed and separated from the final analysis to ensure that reports remain completely anonymous.See the data privacy statement here.
Context
West Sussex County Council has identified the importance of responding to climate change in Our Council Plan 2021 – 2025, which outlines our key priorities that are all underpinned by a commitment to protecting the environment. This is also linked to our Climate Change Strategy 2020 – 2030, which sets out our ambition to become a carbon neutral and climate resilient organisation by 2030 and is supported by the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, the council's delivery and action plan for achieving these goals.
The yearly Climate Change Awareness and Commuting Survey will help WSCC to better understand staff engagement with, knowledge of, and behaviour around climate action. It will be run annually to help track progress toward 2030 and inform how the Sustainability team is able to support each directorate, service area, and team across the council. To meet the county council's carbon neutral emissions target by 2030, we also need to ensure that we fully understand our current carbon footprint. We do this by carbon baseline reporting, which measures all the fossil fuels that we emit in the delivery of our services and is represented in tonnes of carbon dioxide or equivalent (CO2e) that are released into the atmosphere. The Climate Change Awareness and Commuting Survey provides invaluable data to inform this mandatory reporting, including insights into our total emissions from staff travel.
Yearly carbon baseline reporting, including results from this annual survey, will show our progress towards our carbon neutrality ambitions.
Results
We Asked
We wanted to know how you engage with the council's climate change goals and how you get around the county to do your job. Topics covered within the annual survey included: awareness of the core principles of the Climate Change Strategy, familiarity with climate change concepts, work from home and commuting patterns, sustainable travel, and business travel.
The survey is launched each summer, and is a short, targeted consultation for all WSCC staff. Completion of this survey is tied directly to the targets established in the CAAP, which has been signed-off by both the Climate Change Board and Executive Leadership Team. Responses will be compared year-over-year to determine progress toward our sustainability goals.
You Said
The most recent survey closed in August 2024. Over 1,100 WSCC staff completed the survey, representing an increase in responses from the 2024 consultation period. We had good representation from across the organisation. Some key takeaways include:
WSCC staff remain committed to supporting work that protects the environment. 92% of respondents believe it is important that we work in a way that considers the climate.
We can do more to make sure that everyone understands the key principles of climate action, which are carbon reduction and climate adaptation. However, almost one-in-five staff members reports being very or extremely familiar with these concepts.
Using sustainable travel is a priority for many staff, but can be challenging. Travelling by car is still seen as a quicker option, and lack of public transport reliability makes it difficult for many staff to use it.
We Did
We published a fuller analysis of the survey results along with some guidance and resources for travelling more sustainably, which can be found here. The responses to the survey will inform the development of staff travel resources and ensure our carbon emissions reporting is as accurate and detailed as possible.
Since the 2024 survey concluded, we have formalised the WSCC Fleet Transition and Transport Decarbonisation Project, which will oversee the council's aims to reduce emissions from its fleet of vehicles and transport associated with our services and contracts, as well as to provide resources and support for staff who wish to travel more sustainably. Activity will include improving fleet-related information and data management, catalysing the transition to electric vehicles, and reviewing policies needed to deliver change in how staff are supported in travelling around the county.
Alternate formats and accessibility
If you require any of this information in an alternative format, then please contact us by phone 0330 222 4931or via email at david.sale@westsussex.gov.uk and we will assist you. If you are deaf or hard of hearing and have an NGT texting app installed on your computer, laptop or smartphone, you can contact us on 18001 0330 222 4931.
Any personally identifying data (e.g. Prize Draw entry) will be removed and separated from the final analysis to ensure that reports remain completely anonymous.See the data privacy statement here.
Climate Change Awareness & Commuting Survey has finished this stage
The annual Climate Change Awareness & Commuting Survey will be launched in July every year. Keep an eye out for the next consultation period during summer 2025.
Autumn - Survey Closes and Results Analysed
Climate Change Awareness & Commuting Survey has finished this stage
Contributions to this consultation are closed for evaluation and review. The project team will report back on key outcomes, including updates to the organisation's carbon emissions reporting.
Winter - Key Findings
Climate Change Awareness & Commuting Survey is currently at this stage
this is an upcoming stage for Climate Change Awareness & Commuting Survey
The Sustainability team will review the survey each year to ensure it continues to provide critical data for our carbon baseline and staff travel programmes.
