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Environment Plan

Our Environment Plan outlines our commitment to protecting and enhancing Kent's unique and diverse environment, ensuring sustainable economic and social growth, and improving the health and wellbeing of our residents.

Read our Environment Plan (PDF, 7.0 MB).

Executive summary

Kent boasts a rich and diverse environment, full of internationally important habitats, nature reserves and protected landscapes that enhance Kent’s natural beauty and ecological health. Our environment is crucial for sustainable economic and social growth, supporting a range of industries, driving innovation in green technologies and fostering community identity and cohesion. A healthy environment that provides access to green open spaces also improves the mental and physical wellbeing of our residents.

We have invested significantly in enhancing our environment, reducing our own environmental footprint and supporting our residents and businesses to do the same. However, the Kent environment faces unprecedented challenges from climate change, air and water pollution and biodiversity loss, with communities and industries across the county already dealing with the environmental, economic and health related consequences of these challenges.

The size and scale of this task means that we need to transform the way we think and the way we operate, harnessing the multiple benefits that come from considering environmental improvement alongside sustainable economic growth and population health.

This plan aims to do just that, through identifying six environmental goals that we will embed in our business, whilst enabling and inspiring all parts of our community to work together to deliver environmental step change.

Our goals

  • Goal 1: Deliver green energy and reduce carbon emissions.
  • Goal 2: Adapt to our changing climate.
  • Goal 3: Reduce flood risk and manage water resources effectively.
  • Goal 4: Protect and improve the natural and built environment.
  • Goal 5: Manage resources through a circular economy.
  • Goal 6: Conserve and promote Kent's natural beauty and heritage.

Delivery approach

Our Environment Plan outlines our role in delivering the national agenda locally, focusing on holistically protecting and enhancing the Kent environment. The plan acts as an umbrella to enhance and improve previous strategies and policies, linking to wider strategies that deliver health, growth, transport, and asset management. This approach allows us to build on past work and progress, enabling us to move further and faster, driven by a consistent framework that addresses both current and future challenges.

We will deliver these goals through six interconnected approaches:

  • Partnerships.
  • Private finance.
  • Strategic planning.
  • Our buildings.
  • Our assets.
  • Social value.

Measures of success

Each goal has a set of clear actions that are flexible and scalable, enabling activity to be responsive to opportunities and resources as they arise. The action plan will be reviewed annually, with progress published on our website.