Dudley Council Climate Action Scorecard
Dudley Council Climate Action Scorecard
Hello,
As a follow up from the meeting on the 24th August, I have been working on Dudley Council Climate action scorecard. Luckily, a lot of the work has already been completed by Climate Emergency UK. I have completed the report below based on 5 sources listed at the end. Please get a cuppa and have read through the report when you have a chance - any feedback would be most welcomed and I have added a "what can we do" at the end to discuss at our next meeting.
Why this matters
Every couple of years Climate Emergency UK marks every council in the UK on what it is actually doing about the climate. The last set of results came out in June 2025, and the next set is being marked now, due out in spring 2027. That gives us a few months to press Dudley on the gaps before the new scores are published.
Dudley did badly last time. It scored 24% overall. The average for councils of the same type (single-tier councils like Dudley, Sandwell and Wolverhampton) was 43%, and the best, Islington, scored 71%. Dudley has improved from 16% in 2023, but it is still near the bottom of the table.
What the council has promised
Dudley declared a climate emergency in July 2020. It has said it will make the council itself net zero by 2030 and the whole borough net zero by 2041. Its Climate Change Action Plan (Phase One) was approved in March 2024 and covers 2024 to 2027, so it runs out next year. As far as we can tell, the council does not publish a yearly progress report against the plan. Updates tend to come through press releases and Cabinet papers.
Dudley's scores
The scorecards are split into seven sections. Here is how Dudley did in each, compared with 2023:
Source: councilclimatescorecards.uk
Transport is the only section that went down, and it is now Dudley's second-weakest area. It also lost marks through penalties. Some of these were for approving or expanding high-carbon transport schemes since 2020, and some were for air pollution (nitrogen dioxide and fine particles) above World Health Organization guidelines across a large part of the borough. Governance and finance was also docked marks, for the council having direct investments in airports or carbon-intensive industries. Altogether, penalties cost Dudley nearly eight points.
The main gaps
Looking at the individual questions, a lot of Dudley's zeros are for things it simply hasn't done or published. These are the ones that stand out:
• There is no sustainable procurement policy, and no environmental requirements in the council's tenders.
• There is no published evidence that the council's own emissions are coming down.
• There are no retrofit targets for council buildings or council homes, and energy standards in privately rented homes are not being enforced.
• There is no fleet electrification, no school streets, no Clean Air Zone and no workplace parking levy.
• Renewable energy: suitable sites haven't been mapped, and there is no support for community energy schemes.
• Biodiversity: most questions scored zero, and the council lost the Green Flag marks for its parks that it had in 2023.
• Engagement: nine questions scored zero, mostly about involving residents and working with local groups.
• The pension fund has not divested from fossil fuels.
To be fair to the council, it did get full marks on some things. These include parts of its work on buildings, support for local businesses to decarbonise, a climate partnership with health bodies, and its circular economy work. Planning was its biggest improvement, up 23 points.
What we could ask the council for
1. A yearly public progress report on the Climate Action Plan, including the council's own emissions. Newark and Sherwood, and Rotherham, already do this.
2. A sustainable procurement policy, with environmental criteria in major contracts.
3. Retrofit targets for council buildings and council housing.
4. A clear plan for what replaces Phase One when it ends in 2027.
5. Action on transport and air quality, starting with school streets and moving the council fleet to electric.
6. A review of the pension fund with a view to divesting from fossil fuels.
7. A proper way for residents and groups like ours to be involved, such as a climate partnership or citizens' panel.
8. Publishing its scorecard answers, as Bracknell Forest has done for 2027.
What we can do
Things the FoE could do:
• Put public questions to full council or Cabinet, using the specific zero-scoring questions above.
• Write to our ward councillors and the Cabinet member responsible for climate, with this note and the 43% comparison.
• Send Freedom of Information requests for anything not published, such as emissions figures, tender criteria and pension investments.
• Compare Dudley with Sandwell, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Birmingham on the scorecard website. That comparison could interest the local press.
• Be ready to respond when the 2027 results come out.
Sources
Council Climate Action Scorecards, Dudley MBC: councilclimatescorecards.uk/councils/dudley-metropolitan-borough-council/
Climate Emergency UK, 2025 results press release (17 June 2025): climateemergency.uk/press-release-councils-race-to-net-zero-is-slow/
Climate Emergency UK, update on 2027 scorecards: climateemergency.uk/district-councils-update-on-the-2027-scorecards-marking/
Dudley Council, Dudley Climate Action: dudley.gov.uk/council-community/dudley-climate-action/
Bracknell Forest Council, 2027 scorecard answers: bracknell-forest.gov.uk/climate-change/2027-climate-action-scorecard-answers
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