Continuing our journey: the Barnet Zero annual report

Over the past year we have:

• Launched the Barnet School Strategy for Sustainability, to support educational settings in promoting sustainability and guiding climate action.
• Collaborated with faith groups across the borough, to support them in taking climate action within their own communities.

Over the past year we have:

• Partnered with Green Doctors to deliver Barnet's Free Home Energy Fix, to provide free tailored home energy support to residents across the borough, and saw over 500 residents referred.
• Collaborated with MapMortar, and together launched an online energy efficiency advisory platform for residents looking to undertake retrofit projects.
• Have continued to work closely with the Greater London Authority and other London Boroughs to deliver the Warm Homes: Local Grant.

Over the past year we have:

• Launched our first Community Energy Fund, pledging £50,000 to support the growth of community energy throughout the borough.
• Continued to work with other West London boroughs through the West London Alliance (WLA), to continue development of our Local Area Energy Plan, which will support us to transform the borough's energy system.

Over the past year we have:

• Continued to roll out over 800 public electric vehicle charge points, including 50 JOLT charge points, and have proposals to install a further 500 next year.
• Opened Barnet's first cycleway connecting neighbourhoods in Burnt Oak and Colindale, as part of the Barnet Loop, a 17-mile network across the borough.
• Continued to support the renewal of Colindale Station, with improvements such as step-free access to everyone, due to be complete by autumn 2025.

Over the past year we have:

• Opened the new £1.5m wetland area in Halliwick Recreation Ground, the first of its kind in, which will reduce property and road junction flooding in the borough.
• Installed 2 rain gardens in Muswell Hill and 2 rain gardens and tree pits in schools across the borough.
• Continued our work with Bloomberg Associates, who created Barnet specific Climate Risk Maps, which are being used to develop our wider Adaption work, making Barnet more resilient to climate change.
• Worked to increase the number of registered Cool Spaces across the borough, and continued our work with CivicLabs and the University of Derby to improve the boroughs resilience to rising temperatures.

Over the past year we have:

• Reseeded more locations with a mixture of over 26 species of wildflowers and meadow grasses.
• Continued work to tackle biodiversity loss by enhancing our greenspaces and increasing the list of No-Mow-May sites.
• Supported the seeding of Barnet's first ever 'Tiny Orchard' with help from local residents.
• Partnered with Earthwatch Europe and Pure Data Centres to bring together hundreds of volunteers to plant 1,800 trees, creating three new 'Tiny Forests' in Mutton Brook, East Finchley.

Over the past year we have:

• Delivered financial savings of over £8,700 to BarNET ZERO Pledged businesses, as well as reducing carbon emissions in the borough by almost 12,000 kilograms of CO2e.
• Opened the Skills Centre in Edgeware, offering a gateway for residents looking to start or grow a career in construction and gain green skills.

Over the past year we have:

• Continued to deliver the Community Skips programme across Barnet, which since its conception, has seen an amazing total of 452 bikes, 592 white goods, 1801 items of furniture, 1018 children’s toys, and 582 textile items have been sent for recycling or reuse.
• With support from the North London Waste Authority, we have also secured funding to deliver Repair Cafés in the borough, extending the life of clothes and electricals, and diverting waste from landfill.
• Worked with residents and communities to expand the Ready Steady Grow project, seeing 54 people completing the programme, and the establishment of an additional 4 new community food growing sites across the borough.

Over the past year we have:

• Developed and released our Annual Carbon Report sharing our progress in reducing emissions.
• Continued our partnership with Barnet Homes, where we are improving the energy efficiency of 238 council homes with funding from the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.