Rhondda Cynon Taf council emissions fall 9% in a year, but supply chain remains 74% of footprint

Rhondda Cynon Taf council has reported a 9% drop in its carbon emissions for 2025-26, falling to 111,523 tonnes CO2e. The reduction from the previous year is 11,037 tonnes, with electricity and natural gas both down. However, supply chain emissions still account for 74.6% of the total, and the council notes that improved data and reclassified spending categories contributed to the reported decrease. The council's scope one and two emissions, which cover direct operations and purchased energy, were 18,437.8 tonnes, down 5,020 tonnes from the 2019-20 baseline. Scope three emissions, including supply chain, travel, and waste, came to 93,085.2 tonnes. While waste emissions fell 75.8% since 2019, fleet and equipment emissions rose 25.8%, and LPG use jumped 730% from a small base. The report to the energy efficiency and decarbonisation sub-committee attributes part of the improvement to better supplier-specific data and updated spend categories, making year-on-year comparisons difficult. The council added new reporting categories in recent years, including commuting and F-gases, which adds over 4,000 tonnes to the current total. Without consistent methodology, it is hard to separate real cuts from accounting changes.