93% of local authorities have increased their focus on sustainability but cost and skills remain a challenge

There is a pressing need for additional funding to support local sustainability drives as councils work to keep communities green

Nine-out-of-10 local authorities in the UK have increased their focus on sustainability in the last five years, according to research from OVHcloud.

However, despite this emphasis, over three-quarters (86%) have found that cost concerns have impeded progress with projects aiming to improve the sustainability of their organisation.

Furthermore, almost half (49%) have found issues with staff resourcing and skills in realizing projects that will make themselves and their local area more sustainable.  

“Many local authorities declared a climate emergency in 2019,” said Emma Dennard, VP Northern Europe, OVHcloud. “Sustainability is high on their agenda and continues to rise in importance, but our local authorities need more support in terms of funding and skills to ensure that the UK has sustainability as part of its DNA.

“Sustainability is a key way to lower power bills, reduce carbon impact and meet the needs of today without compromising the world of tomorrow, so this isn’t just a ‘nice to have’ – it’s a business enabler,” added Dennard.

With such pressing cost concerns, the report – carried out as an FOI request – also looked at other ways that local authorities are working to become more efficient and innovative.

According to the latest report from the Cloud Industry Forum, 29% of organisations in the UK are using cloud computing to reduce costs, and almost all (96%) of the local authorities surveyed reported that they had increased their use of cloud computing in the last five years. 

“Cloud computing can significantly enhance the agility and processing power per pound of local government organisations,” said Dennard. “But it’s also a significant consumer of energy, so it is vital that councils assess the sustainability credentials of the cloud computing providers that they work with, ensuring that they are clear and transparent about their scope one, two and three emissions. This way, organisational drives to be leaner and more sustainable won’t be obscured by technology supply chain issues.”