Guildford’s Green Day Shows Commitment to Net Zero by 2030 Remains

Published on: 10 Jun, 2025
Updated on: 15 Jun, 2025

By Joshua Brown

Guildford hosted its second annual Green Day event to promote local climate action on Sunday (June 8). The borough council’s commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions from its operations by 2030 was clearly in focus.

Organised by GBC in partnership with local community groups and environmental organisations, Green Day took place on the High Street, featuring plant-based food vendors, vintage and antique stalls, and local organisations. This included Zero Carbon Guildford (ZCG) and the Surrey Wildlife Trust, which were present to engage the public on issues ranging from transport to energy use.

The council’s net-zero goal, adopted in response to a declared climate emergency in 2019, applies to its direct operations. In an interview during the event, Cllr George Potter (Lib Dem, Burpham), the lead councillor for Climate Change, said the council remained committed to the 2030 target and stated they are “probably on track” to reach it, despite acknowledging the ambitious nature of the goal.

Cllr Potter also acknowledged that the council has faced challenges in clearly communicating its net-zero strategy, and Green Day offered the opportunity to use its leadership role to promote environmental action. He said that the council is set up well for the day-to-day running of services, but less so for outreach and engagement.

Tunsgate Quarter’s stall demonstrating bee-keeping .

Zero Carbon Guildford (ZCG), a local environmental organisation that partners with the council, called Green Day “a great opportunity for people to find out not just what Zero is doing, but all the other things that are happening in terms of sustainability.”

The organisation aimed to offer easily digestible, well-presented, and passionately delivered information to help people make informed decisions on sustainability and reducing their carbon output.

It runs projects such as the Library of Things, housed in Guildford public library, which offers a stockpile of useful objects to promote borrowing instead of buying. The group also reflected on the role of local authorities, acknowledging the constraints many councils face. “We’d always love there to be more happening, but we also appreciate the council is doing what they can,” the spokesperson said.

Both the council and ZCG seemed to align on what Green Day offered the community, with it functioning as an educational tool, not only giving space to talk about the council’s environmental effort but also for Guildford to get involved and secure their greener future.

The event took place on Guildford High Street

Looking ahead, both the council and Zero Carbon Guildford acknowledge that more work lies ahead if the borough is to meet its goals. Potter envisions a Guildford with zero-emission waste disposal vehicles, more cycle paths, and increased wild spaces.

He also goes on to mention an aspirational goal of helping reduce the carbon emissions of the five thousand council houses provided by GBC, pointing to insulation and boilers as targets for improvement.

But he points out that these things are neither cheap nor straightforward. ZCG painted a picture of a town with safe cycling infrastructure, better-insulated homes, reduced food waste, and more plant-based eating options. “We want people to be able to make the right choices more easily, more cheaply. That helps the environment — but it also makes people healthier and happier.”

Various parties spoken to seemed to agree that the path to a low-carbon future is complex. Green Day showed that efforts are being made to connect with Guildford’s wider community and, whether through council-led infrastructure changes or small personal actions, Guildford’s greener future will require effort from all sides if the council’s goal of net zero by 2030 is to be met.