Promoting a better quality of life for Derbyshire's residents and communities, encouraging clean and sustainable development and protecting and enhancing the natural and built environment are part of everything we do.
This is reflected in our Council Plan which incorporates commitments and priorities for championing, protecting and enhancing Derbyshire's environment for the social and economic benefit of all the county's residents, communities, and businesses.
To support delivery of these commitments and priorities, we have produced an environmental sustainability policy which sets out our aims and promises.
The policy was approved on 4 November 2025 by Councillor Carol Wood - Cabinet Member for Net Zero and Environment.
Environmental Sustainability Policy
Our Environmental Sustainability Policy establishes the overarching principles that demonstrate our commitment to championing, protecting and enhancing Derbyshire's natural and built environment for the social and economic benefit of all the county's residents, communities, and businesses. We will reflect these principles in our strategies, priorities, plans, service delivery, and decision making.
We will maximise the impact of this intent within the resources available to the council whilst ensuring financial efficiency and evidencing the value for money to our residents of decisions arising from this policy.
We will engage, collaborate and communicate with our partners, other sectors, communities and residents, recognising that a joined-up approach is required to create the best outcomes.
Our principles
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We will provide strategic leadership and direction to conserve, enhance, and celebrate Derbyshire's environmental assets, and with our partners mobilise shared resources to act as good stewards to protect and enhance them for their intrinsic value, and harness the benefit they provide to improved quality of life and sustainable economic growth.
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We will use fuel, energy, and water efficiently in delivery of our services and encourage our suppliers and partners to do the same.
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We will seek opportunities for the generation and use of clean energy, thereby reducing pollution, increasing energy security, and creating employment and investment opportunities for Derbyshire.
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We will enable the appropriate management, development and connectivity of Derbyshire's rural and urban landscapes (including land that we own) so that our soil, waterways, plants and wildlife can flourish.
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We will attract new sources of investment to mobilise the significant wealth of Derbyshire's natural capital for our communities, businesses and visitors.
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We will work with partners to maintain good levels of air quality and, where needed, improve Derbyshire's air so that our county is a healthy place to live, work and visit.
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We will promote a circular economy for the sustainable use of resources and thereby reduce waste and the environmental pollution it causes.
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We will prepare for more adverse and extreme weather by enhancing the resilience of council services, and the communities we serve, to environmental hazards such as severe heat, storms, and flooding.
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We will protect biodiversity from the impacts of pests and diseases, and ensure such occurrences are managed to minimise health and safety risks to the public.
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We will encourage an improved relationship between people and the natural environment through improving and encouraging access to Derbyshire's distinctive and varied landscapes and biodiversity, thereby delivering health, wellbeing and social benefits.
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We will comply with our legal responsibilities and the statutory duties placed on us by legislation including the Environment Act 2021 and our planning and public health responsibilities.
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We will establish corporate governance to mandate the collective ownership of this policy across the council's departments and track and report on our progress in implementing this policy.
This policy will be communicated to our employees and contractors working for us or on our behalf to continually improve standards across service delivery. We will encourage and enable our employees to translate these commitments into practice and will work with our contractors and suppliers to improve our environmental performance.
We will review this policy every 3 years in view of changes to our activities and priorities and taking account of new developments.