JSNA – Planet – Sustainability

Last Updated: March 2026

Sustainability

Our ambition as a council is to be a vocal climate leader that leads by example for our residents and communities. We are committed to reducing our own carbon emissions in our Estate and Operations, and we aim to be a net zero borough by 2042. The Sustainability Dashboard below includes data sorted into five core themes: Energy and Carbon, Sustainable Movement, Adaptation and Resilience, Waste Management, and Green Infrastructure.

What’s new?

Council operations carbon emissions for 2024/25
Renewable energy generation data for 2024
Property energy efficiency scores for 2023/24
Greenhouse gas emissions (CO₂, CH₄, NO₂) for 2023
Licensed cars and plug-in vehicles data for 2024 and 2025
Public and active transport data for 2022/23 to 20223/24
Household-level waste management data for 2023/24, plus the addition of London data for all years

Headline figures

In 2023, the mean amount of energy consumed per domestic meter was 3,719kWh in Barnet – this is a decrease compared to 2012 but is still above the London (3,213kWh) and England average (3,334kWh).
Borough-wide carbon dioxide emissions have been decreasing over time, and in Barnet are currently 2.63 tCO2e per capita in 2023, down from 5.6 tCO2e per capita in 2005. This is below the England average.
The number of licenced plug-in vehicles in Barnet has been growing over time, from just 1,000 in Q1 2010 to 100,400 in Q1 2025.
Overall, greenspace in Barnet is valued at £543 per person per year.
In 2023/24, the Barnet household recycling rate was 29%, which is below both the London average (33%) and the England average (42%).

You may also be interested in the Sustainability – BarNET Zero web-pages, please click here.

Narrative

Energy and Carbon

Renewable energy: In England, the amount of electricity generated from renewable fuel types has been increasing and is on track to soon overtake the amount generated from non-renewable sources. In Barnet, there were 3,261 photovoltaic sites in Barnet in 2024, that together generated 9,488MWh of electricity.
Energy consumption: In 2023, the mean amount of energy consumed per domestic meter was 3,719kWh in Barnet – this is a decrease compared to 2012 but is still above the London (3,213kWh) and England average (3,334kWh). The domestic sector is Barnet’s largest consumer of energy, with 497 million kWh energy consumed in 2022; this is followed by the transport sector (262 million kWh consumed), and the industrial and commercial sector (246 million kWh consumed).
Energy efficiency: the energy efficiency rates of buildings varies across Barnet by property type and tenure. As of 2023/24, flats and maisonettes had the highest median energy efficiency score of 74, followed by terraced homes (median score of 66) and detached and semi-detached homes (both with a median score of 61). Energy efficiency scores tend to be higher in homes that are rented (median score of 69) as opposed to homes which are owner-occupied (median score of 65).
Borough greenhouse gas emissions:
- Carbon dioxide emissions have been decreasing over time, and in Barnet are currently 2.63 tCO2e per capita in 2023, down from 5.6 tCO2e per capita in 2005. The largest source of CO2 in Barnet is domestic, followed by the transport and commercial sectors.
- Methane emissions are largely from the waste sector in Barnet. Emissions in Barnet have fluctuated over time and are currently at 0.18tCO2e per capita; this is below the London (0.25 tCO2e) and England average (0.62 tCO2e) and is the lowest observed since data began in 2005.
- Nitrogen dioxide emissions in Barnet have stayed relatively the same over time at roughly 0.03 tCO2e, which is far below the England average of 0.22 tCO2e. The waste sector is the primary source of NO2 in Barnet, followed by the transport and industrial sectors.
Council operations carbon emissions: There has been a 36% decrease in council operations emissions between 2018/19 and 2024/25.

Sustainable Movement

Vehicles: The pattern of car ownership differs across Barnet. In an LSOA in Cricklewood ward, 62% of households don’t own a car or van whereas in an LSOA in Totteridge and Woodside, only 5% of households don’t. The number of newly licenced cars hit a peak in Barnet in 2019 of 12,188 and has since dropped to 6,570 in 2024. The number of licenced plug-in vehicles in Barnet has been growing over time, from just 1,000 in Q1 2010 to 100,400 in Q1 2025. The number of electric vehicles charge points has also grown over time to a peak of 204 per 100,000 population in July 2025. This is higher than the England average (124 per 100,000) and the Outer London average (182 per 100,000).
Public transport: in 2022/23-2023/24, 56% of trips by Barnet residents were completed by walking, cycling, or public transport; this represents an increase of 6% since 2012/13. 117,000 trips by Barnet residents were completed on public transport daily in 2022/23-2023/24. This is a large decline compared to 2017/18-2019/20 where the average daily trip number was 209,000; this is likely due to the rise of hybrid working after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Active transport: In 2022/23-2023/24, 24% of Barnet residents did at least two sets of 10-minutes of active travel a day. Cycling as a mode of transport appears to have increased in 2022 compared to previous years and remained high in multiple monitoring points across Barnet.

Adaptation and Resilience

Air quality: Nitrogen dioxide and Particulate Matter 2.5 concentrations vary across Barnet, with establishments in the South-West of the borough having higher exposure levels than those in the North-East.
Temperature and heat mortality: according to measurements from the Hampstead Climate Station, Barnet has a higher average maximum and minimum temperature throughout the year compared to the England average. Across London, the relative risk of mortality begins to gradually increase once the temperature passes 21C. A temperature of 29C carries a 3.6 relative risk of mortality.

Green Infrastructure: Tree canopy cover varies by ward. Between 2019 and 2021, Hale and East Finchley had the highest coverage at 28.7% whilst Edgware had the lowest at 12.5%. Greenspace in Barent has great economic benefits, adding £2.4 billion in property value, £832 million in recreational benefit, £26 million in temperature regulation and avoiding £685 million in combined physical and mental health costs. Overall, greenspace in Barnet is valued at £543 per person per year.

Waste Management: In Barnet, 34,400 tonnes of waste was collected in Q4 2023/24. The primary waste stream type was comingled recyclate and the largest material group collected by weight was paper and card. As of 2023/24, the average household in Barnet produced 643kg of residual waste per year; this is higher than the London and England averages of ~500kg per household. The Barnet household recycling rate of 29% is below the England average of 42% whereas the recycling contamination rate of 13.2% is higher than the England average of 5.8%.

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