Rother District Council were the first local authority in the UK to commit to the Couch to Carbon Zero Sprint, a 10 day event which ran from 7^th – 18^th November 2022. Participants of the Sprint received 1 email a day with easy to action information and a short video on different topics to engage, empower and encourage climate action.

All Staff and Councillors were invited to take part with around a third signing up. Parish Councillors, residents and businesses were also encouraged to join in through a District-wide campaign, resulting in 228 additional individuals sprinting from Couch to Carbon Zero with us. The event was timed to coincide with COP27 to further raise awareness of the Climate Agenda across the District and demonstrate our commitment to our Environment Strategy 2020, having declared a Climate Emergency in 2019.

A prize draw was offered to the staff & Members that took part and made a change, with Chair of the Climate Change Steering Group, Councillor Kathryn Field, and Chief Executive of the Council, Malcolm Johnston, presenting the prizes to the winners on 5^th December 2022.

Malcolm said “During the sprint we saw some fantastic engagement on the internal Staff Notice Board each day, raising further questions and sharing experiences. The feedback and ideas for the future given in the post-sprint surveys are now being reviewed so we can implement future initiatives to support and inspire internal sustainability and Climate Action.”

If you missed out, the next public sprint offered by Every One of Us, which is free and open to everyone, kicks off on 2^nd January 2023: Couch to Carbon Zero — JOIN IN.

Contact: Elize Manning, Projects Officer (Environment), elize.manning@rother.gov.uk, 01424 787487

Published: 7th December 2022