Net Zero Carbon Supplementary Planning Document

6. Policy NZC2(C) – Carbon Offsetting

6.1 Applicants who cannot demonstrate full compliance with the suite of NZC policies, and achieve net zero operational (regulated) energy on- site, will be required to offset any residual regulated carbon emissions.

6.2 Carbon offsetting should only be used as a last resort, and only when an applicant has maximised on site carbon reductions through stages 1 and 2 of the energy hierarchy. The Council will only accept offsetting where it is demonstrated that measures under NZC2(A) and NZC2(B) are not feasible having regard to the type of development involved. This should be demonstrated within the Energy Statement and justification provided where Policies NZC2(A), NZC2(B) and on-site net zero regulated carbon is not achieved.

Policy NZC2(C): Carbon Offsetting

• a cash in lieu contribution to the District Council's carbon offsetting fund

and/or

• at the Council's discretion, a verified local off-site offsetting scheme. The delivery of any such scheme must be within Warwickshire or Coventry, guaranteed and meet relevant national and industry standards. If it is a nature-based carbon sequestration scheme, then it must be backed by the national government's Woodland Carbon Code initiative (or future replacement/equivalent national scheme) and meet the Warwickshire ecosystem service market trading protocol.

Where full compliance is demonstrably not feasible having regard to the type of development involved and its design, proposals must offset any residual carbon emissions to the greatest extent viable.

Contributions to an offsetting scheme shall be secured through Section 106 Agreements and will be required to be paid prior to the occupation of the development.

The amount of carbon to be offset will be calculated according to the SAP or SBEM carbon emissions submitted in the energy statement required under policy NZC(1). This must then be multiplied to reflect emissions over a period of 30 years from completion. Where "zero-carbon ready" technology is proposed, associated carbon emissions should be calculated in accordance with the stated national trajectory for carbon reduction of the energy source (i.e. annual Treasury Green Book BEIS projections of grid carbon intensity or future national equivalent).

The carbon offset contribution amount will be calculated within the energy statement at the submission 
of the application. It must then be recalculated at completion and pre-occupation. Where assessment undertaken at completion shows that there is a performance gap between the design and the performance of the completed building, carbon offsetting contributions will be required to reflect any associated additional carbon emissions not accounted for at the point of determination of the planning application and an adjusted payment made if necessary.

The carbon offset price is the central figure from the nationally recognisednon-tradedvaluationof carbon, updated annually as part of the Treasury Green Book data by BEIS.

Funds raised through this policy will be ringfenced and transparently administered by the Council to deliver a range of projects that achieve measurable carbon savings as locally as possible, at the same average cost per tonne. The fund's performance will be reported in the Authority Monitoring report on: amount of funds spent; types of projects funded; amount of CO2 saved.

6.3 Where there is genuine viability concerns the Council expects that contributions to the Carbon Offsetting Scheme are made to the greatest extent viable. See Section 11 of the Net Zero Carbon DPD.

6.4 The Energy Pro-Forma (Annex 1) includes the calculation of any residual emissions and the total monetary value of carbon offsetting required for a development. These funds represent a contribution to the Council’s Carbon Offsetting Scheme which would be secured via a Section 106 agreement and paid before the occupation of a development.

6.5 The Section 106 agreement would include the Council's approved formula for calculating the offsetting amount based on the 'as built' calculations of carbon emissions as submitted via a discharge of condition. This is to ensure that the offsetting contributions reflect the residual carbon emissions of a building as constructed.

6.6 Contribution to Warwick’s Carbon Offsetting Fund is the preferred form of offsetting as the Council are already partners in a verified scheme of delivering carbon offsets through woodland creation within Warwickshire.

6.7 Warwickshire County Council have prepared the Warwickshire Environmental Services Trading Protocol (WESTP). The WESTP details what nature-based solutions are available to compensate for development and outlines the principles and rules for the creation, enhancement and maintenance of habitats by landowners in order to be traded as compensation units.

6.8 The Council’s prioritised method of carbon offsetting is through tree planting and aligns with Warwickshire’s target to plant 566,000 trees by 2030. Warwickshire’s Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund (NEIRF) Report identifies that 1 tree can offset 1 tonne of carbon in its lifetime, providing that the trees are managed in good condition to maturity.

6.9 In the future the Council will also consider applying the carbon offset fund to other forms of carbon offsetting, including other habitat creation/restoration, retrofit of council owned buildings for improved energy efficiency, or the provision of renewable energy. It is important to note that funds received from offsetting would not fund projects where funding could be secured from other sources or grants. Projects must demonstrate that funding from the Council’s Carbon Offset Fund would be ‘make or break’ for the project, and that the carbon emissions saved relate exactly to those which are being offset.

Can applicants provide carbon offsets directly rather than contributing to the Council’s Offsetting Fund?

6.10 NZC2(C) includes the mechanism for applicants to offset residual carbon emissions through a verified offsetting scheme. This is at the discretion of the Council and will only be deemed acceptable where an applicant can demonstrate that the offset scheme is:

• Located in Warwickshire or Coventry.
• Guaranteed to meet national or industry backed standards.
• For nature-based solutions:
  • Registered with the Woodland Carbon Code;
  • Created and maintained for a period of 100 years;
  • Adheres to the Warwickshire landscape character guidelines
  • Complies with the Warwickshire's Ecosystem Trading Protocol (WESTP), including the Compensation Hierarchy

6.11 Carbon offsetting undertaken through the Council's offsetting fund scheme will meet the requirements set out above through the WESTP, and such it is the expectation that applicants will use the opportunity to contribute to the Council's fund over organising their own scheme which meets the requirements.