Kiran Crawford volunteered for the Council Climate Action Scorecards — and now he’s a town councillor, using everything the Scorecards taught him about local authorities’ powers to take climate action.

Kiran was elected as a Green councillor for Royal Leamington Spa Town council in July 2026. Prior to that, as a longtime volunteer with Climate Emergency UK, he helped make the Scorecards a reality.

Part of Scorecards from the very beginning

“I originally volunteered for the first iteration of the Scorecards back in 2021, after hearing about them from a friend who had also signed up as a volunteer.

“Having been involved in some climate campaigning before, I was looking for more ways to support good policy. The Scorecards sounded like a great way to find out how good councils’ plans were, and I thought they could be really helpful tool in campaigning for action, so I signed up to help with the assessments.

“I found the process really interesting, and learnt a lot about what powers councils have around climate. Given how useful I could see the Scorecards would be, I then volunteered as a media amplifier to help get the launch out to the press, so that they could reach as many people as possible.

“After the first Scorecards were released, I joined a workshop on developing the criteria for the second iteration, which this time aimed to mark the action councils are taking rather than just the plans.

“I then became part of the advisory group refining these questions and how they would be marked. I was there to represent the campaigner’s point of view, alongside many experts from local government.

“When the 2023 Scorecards came around, I volunteered again to mark, this time assessing the transport and planning sections. The detailed criteria, and looking at civil documents to assess them, have given me so much knowledge of civil policies and how they work.”

Putting climate action knowledge to use

When Kiran was elected as a councillor, of course, that knowledge became all the more useful.

“It’s been so helpful to know exactly what councils can do. Even though a lot of it is at the District and County levels rather than Town, it means I know where to go and what to advocate for!”

When we spoke to Kiran, he had just attended his first council meeting — where he’d had a success.

“I proposed an amendment to add supportive comments from the town council to the net zero policies in a South Warwickshire Local Plan consultation, hopefully providing more justification to stop any planning inspectors trying to get rid of these higher standards — which I was only able to do from my knowledge of the Scorecard planning sections!

“The Plan includes loads of great Net Zero and infrastructure policies, including requirements for all new buildings to be Net Zero in use, with significantly greater energy efficiency standards and levels of onsite renewables than national minimums.

“It also sets maximum targets on up-front embodied carbon, calculated through whole life carbon assessment for large developments, basically ensuring that they’re built in sustainable methods.

“In addition, it exceeds minimum requirements on EV charging infrastructure, water efficiency and design to prevent overheating in summer. Many of these policies are reflected in questions on the Scorecards, so I immediately recognised their strengths from having marked other councils’ plans!

“Whilst the locations of new developments are of course always controversial, I thought it was important to recognise these policies, which ensure that where any new buildings are constructed, they are built sustainably and fit for the future.

“And as there have been several cases of the national government attempting to prevent councils from setting higher efficiency standards, providing the comments that Leamington Town Council supports these policies and that they are in line with the Town Council’s environmental objectives could help show to the government planning inspector that they are supported and justified locally.”

How to talk to your council about climate

Now Kiran’s one himself, how would he advise people who want to approach their councillors about climate action, which, while it sounds simple, can also be daunting?

“The most important thing is to just talk to them about climate, so they know it’s important to you — even if you don’t feel like you know the specifics.”

Kiran has a very good point: our representatives do pay attention to their constituents’ priorities, and are steered by their opinions.

‘Talking’ to your councillor can be as simple as sending them an email through WriteToThem, if you can’t spare the time for a face to face meeting. And your message really can be as simple as “Please prioritise climate action.”

Kiran also points out, however, that if you include some facts and figures relating to your local area, your message will immediately be more relevant to councillors. “If you want to find out details of policies you could suggest, then the Scorecards are a great place to start!”

It’s brilliant to hear how the Scorecards can help both sides of the equation — constituents and councillors — and not least, how involvement as a volunteer has led to a more informed, evidence-based approach to local policy in Leamington Spa. Thanks very much to Kiran for sharing his experiences.

The Scorecards are a joint project between Climate Emergency UK and mySociety.

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Image: Kristina Bekher