Climate Change Reporting
Public Bodies Climate Change Duties Reporting
Scotland’s climate change legislation sets a target date for net zero emissions of all greenhouse gases by 2045. Public sector bodies play a key role in meeting this target and have statutory climate change duties under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 to:
- cut greenhouse gas emissions;
- prepare for the impacts of climate change;
- and act sustainably.
Schedule 1 Listed Bodies (2015 Order, as amended by 2020 Order) are required to report annually on compliance with climate change duties. SSN publishes an annual summary analysis report presenting key findings from public sector bodies’ annual reports.
Public bodies must submit reports via ccreporting@ed.ac.uk no later than 30th November to be deemed compliant. Please contact ccreporting@ed.ac.uk for all reporting queries.
Reporting template and guidance
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Insights and recommendations for improving reporting, June 2024
This SSN Briefing draws on insights from analysis of 2022/23 annual reports and highlights recommendations to help improve future reporting. The briefing is intended primarily for Lead Reporters in public bodies who coordinate report completion, but it may be useful to others involved in compiling specific parts of the annual reports.
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Lead Reporters Seminar, 25 June 2024
Slide decks from the seminar to launch the above Insights Report:
Presentation 1 on Data Checks, new Boundary Info tab and Adaptation
Presentation 2 on Context: Targets, Procurement and Wider Workstream
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Leaders’ Climate Emergency Checklist, December 2022
Developed by SSN and partners, the checklist enables senior leaders in the public sector to assess their organisation’s maturity and capability in tackling the climate and nature emergencies.
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Illustrative net zero statement, September 2022
An illustrative Net Zero Statement is available for smaller public bodies that may lack sufficient technical expertise/capacity to set appropriate targets. The statement is an illustration only and bodies should amend and adapt it to suit their own circumstances. Where possible, bodies should set target dates in advance of those indicated in the illustration. The statement can be added to in future years, e.g., when setting specific targets for Scope 3 emissions. Please note that a Net Zero Statement is not a substitute for reporting and that the reporting template must still be completed and submitted by the 30 November annual deadline.
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Public sector leadership on the global climate emergency, October 2021
Guidance produced by the Scottish Government and SSN for Scotland’s public bodies on their leadership role in the shared national endeavour to tackle the global crises of health, climate emergency and biodiversity loss.
