A council initiative to cut its carbon footprint has been recognised with a national award for the second consecutive year.

Powys County Council's Procurement and Commercial Services Team won the Best Net Zero Initiative category at the GO (Government Opportunities) Awards Wales.

The accolade was presented for work on the Supply Chain Sustainability Portal, launched to help social care businesses reduce carbon emissions and enhance their managers' carbon knowledge.

This portal asks questions to assess each organisation's decarbonisation progress.

It then uses generative AI to create a tailored plan for further action, outlined in five key steps.

Businesses that follow these suggestions can reduce their carbon footprint and boost their competitiveness when applying for public sector contracts.

Councillor David Thomas, cabinet member for finance and corporate transformation, said: "Nearly three-quarters of our carbon emissions come from our supply chain, so it is a key area to drive down.

"A large amount of this spend (around a third) goes on social care.

"I congratulate the Powys staff in our Digital, Adult Social Care and Procurement and Commercial Services, who worked on the Supply Chain Sustainability Portal.

"I would also like to thank Welsh Government for funding the work through a Health and Social Care Climate Emergency Grant."

Councillor Sian Cox, cabinet member for a caring Powys, said: "Social care has a very big carbon footprint and it’s a big area of spend within the council.

"We have a duty but also a moral obligation to be at the forefront of the effort to decarbonise, and that includes the agencies we commission and purchase from.

"Our Adult Social Care Commissioning Team worked with suppliers to understand the barriers to decarbonisation for them, and the web app was designed to help overcome those barriers.

"It’s a leading piece of work that the team can be very proud of."

The sustainability portal is currently being developed for all businesses within the council's supply chain.

The highways, transport, and recycling sectors are expected to benefit next.

This initiative forms part of the council's Climate and Nature transformation programme, which aims to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2030 and to have 30 per cent of the county's land and water protected and positively managed for nature by the same date.