Sustainable Watford

A cleaner, greener town

In 2023, Watford Borough Council passed a new Environmental Strategy 2023-2030 and Delivery Plan 2023-2025:

We're also hosting Sustainability Forums for the general public, so we can work collaboratively to reach the goals set out in our strategy. Please email sustainability@watford.gov.uk if you'd like to attend. The forums will take place on the following dates:

Sustainability Watford focuses on those areas where we can make a positive impact – both in our homes and in how we live our lives.

  • Water - reducing water consumption and tackling pollution
  • Energy - lowering carbon by reducing our energy consumption
  • Food – tackling waste and reducing the impact of food production on the environment
  • Clothing - reducing the impact of textile production on the environment
  • Waste – promoting reduce, reuse, recycle
  • Transport – changing to ways to travel
  • Biodiversity – delivering projects to improve biodiversity across the town
  • Business – helping smaller businesses to become more sustainable

Find out more about a cleaner, greener Watford.

What we are doing

Watford Borough Council is taking a stand against climate change, having declared a climate emergency back in 2019, and setting a goal of being carbon-neutral by 2030.

These are some of ways that we're helping to make Watford a greener, cleaner, and healthier town.

  • EV charging points - We installed five on-street electric vehicle (EV) charging points back in 2020, and in 2021, are installing seven additional 7kW fast EV chargers – offering residents an environmentally-friendly way to charge their vehicles for as little as 32p per kilowatt hour.
  • Warmer, greener homes - We're helping residents across the town to lower their bills while making a difference to carbon emissions, with our Green Homes Grants. These grants are worth up to £5,000, and can be used towards energy-saving measures like smart meters and insulation
  • Transforming Travel - in Watford We've embarked upon an ambitious 20-year journey to create a brighter future for travel in Watford – one with less traffic congestion, cleaner air, and more and safer cycling and walking routes.
  • Rediscovering the River Colne - We've launched a new 10-year project that aims to clean up the River Colne and its surrounding areas. The river will undergo an extensive clean-up, with the key goal of attracting back the original biodiversity of the river and its banks – including plants, fish, birds and insects and other species.
  • Rewilding of Cassiobury Park - Work started this summer on the new wetlands restoration project in Cassiobury Park Nature Reserve. Its aim is to transform the area's former watercress beds into a wildlife sanctuary, complete with reeds, ponds and scrapes – creating an ideal long-term habitat for the area's native birds, mammals and insects

Get involved

If you are a Watford resident or business join the Sustainability Watford forum or find out more about environmental groups in Watford and Three Rivers and nationally and how you can make Watford a cleaner, greener town.

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