Aberdeenshire Council will become one of the first public bodies in Scotland to adopt a carbon budget next week.
The scheme is part of the authority’s overall budget process and will control the environmental impact of everything council workers do.
Last year, the Press and Journal revealed Aberdeenshire was failing to meet its climate change targets. Thus, Martin Ford, a member of the Democratic Independent and Green Group, regards the move as a significant step.
He said: “The decision of the council to set a carbon budget alongside its revenue, housing and capital budgets is an important governance reform.
“It will enable the council to better manage its carbon emissions, be more effective at reducing them, and reduce them in the most financially efficient way.”
Under the scheme, Aberdeenshire Council will limit itself to emitting no more than 74,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide this year, a 5% cut on emissions from 2014-15.
Last night, council co-leader Alison Evison added: “Aberdeenshire is really driving the way with the carbon budget.
“It makes Aberdeenshire an authority fit for the modern age in what we’re doing and how we’re using our energy supplies. It’s a positive, exciting way forward.”