Can Brentwood become carbon neutral by 2040?

That is the hope set out by Brentwood Council as it commits to becoming a carbon neutral borough in less than two decades.

Its strategy encompasses a variety of sectors and focuses on encouraging behaviour change among residents.

While the council is only responsible for between two and five per cent of emissions in the borough, it does have the capability to influence up to a third of the total emissions generated by residents.

The council says it is planning to use the Brentwood Environmental Business Alliance (BEBA) to educate and encourage local businesses to reduce their environmental impact and will urge schools within the borough to become eco-schools.

Speaking at a recent environment, enforcement and housing committee meeting (March 7), Brentwood Borough Council leader, Chris Hossack, said: “Wherever possible these objectives and these actions should be smart, they should be specific, they should be measurable and they should be time-bound and they should be realistic.

“I think there’s always more we can do. Nobody more than me wants to see smart objectives and strategies - otherwise it is just words.

“I don’t want that to be the case.”