The environment is fundamental in how we protect our communities from harm. Policing directly supports the public in dealing with these challenges and helps communities deal with extreme weather events. But, as with all of us, policing must do more to reduce its impact on the environment and support local and national efforts to respond to climate emergencies and deliver reductions in CO2.

Our first environmental sustainability strategy starts the journey for Wiltshire and Swindon’s Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) and Wiltshire Police to both understand and reduce our impact on the environment. We know this is simply the start and we need to jump start our activity quickly. Our actions focus on better understanding the immediate actions needed to instantly reduce this impact now and in the future.

Wiltshire OPCC and Wiltshire Police share the same vision: to reach net zero emissions by 2050 from the current 2019/20 levels. To achieve this vision, we must significantly reduce our emissions by 78% by 2035, 5.2% every year, with 1.5% reductions until 2050.

This strategy sets out a clear direction of how we will deliver our vision. We are challenging Wiltshire OPCC and Wiltshire Police to reduce their impact and become carbon neutral, while delivering an effective and efficient policing service to our communities. We are reviewing our day-to-day policing activities, such as vehicle fleet and our estates, using our buying power to move to environmentally-sustainable products, for use by our officers and staff, investing in sustainable technology which reduces our organisational and
individual impacts.

While offsetting our impact may be a valid approach for some, our organisations want to deliver sustainable transformation as soon as possible, and work with policing nationally to innovate and to develop sustainable solutions where they currently do not exist. So, as we deliver our plans set out, we will need to keep pushing for more and respond to changes in technology, working practices and national commitments.

Our commitment to residents is that Wiltshire Police and the OPCC will continue to protect our communities in tandem with a reduced environmental impact. This is our responsibility, not only as a good member of our communities but so we can play a leading role in the collective effort to meet our national and local obligations.

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