Prioritising our activity to have the greatest emissions impact Achieving our net zero 2040 goal will require ambitious action at scale across all sectors. However, to ensure we can maximise our impact, the Climate Emergency Action Plan will aim to prioritise actions that eliminate emissions, followed by those that reduce or substitute emissions. Offsetting will only be used where all other options have been explored first, in line with the principles of the carbon management hierarchy10, set out below. Source: Adapted from IEMA Greenhouse Gas Management Hierarchy (2020) Avoid / eliminate 1 Reduce 2 Substitute 3 Offset 4 challenges and opportunities challenges and opportunities 17 | Zero Carbon City 2040 Westminster Climate Emergency Action Plan Contents Contents Glossary Glossary accelerating Delivery accelerating Delivery Foreword and introduction Foreword and introduction commitment and Collaboration commitment and Collaboration Wherever possible, steps should be taken to avoid or eliminate the release of emissions at source and across the lifecycle by: Influencing business planning and decision making Considering the need and purpose of any proposal Exploring alternative approaches that avoid the production of emissions Avoid / eliminate Reduce Existing activity should seek to limit emissions at source by: Delivering real and relative reductions in carbon and energy use Promoting efficiency in operation, processes, fleet, or energy management Innovating and/or optimising new approaches to cut emissions Substitue Offset 1 2 3 4 Existing activities should seek to substitute carbon intensive activities with those that have a lower carbon impact by: Adopting renewable or low carbon technologies Reducing carbon intensity of use and purchased energy Prioritising products/services with lower embodied or embedded emissions Where all other steps of the hierarchy have been explored, and only as a last resort, any unavoidable residual emissions should be offset by: Investment in carbon saving activities elsewhere to save an equivalent amount of emissions by way of compensation.