Nottingham City Council has been working hard to reduce the city’s carbon emissions as Nottingham strives to become the UK’s first carbon neutral city by 2028. A lot has been achieved in the first year of delivering the Carbon Neutral 2028 Action Plan, and city-wide CO2 emissions per capita have fallen by over 50% in the last 15 years.
The built environment
After years of positive action retrofitting thousands of cold homes across Nottingham, the Midlands Energy Hub has secured an additional £82m of Government funding from the Sustainable Warmth competition. The money will be used for a range of home improvement projects across the Midlands such as insulation, low carbon heat pumps, and whole-house retrofit. These vital projects will help lift residents out of fuel poverty, reduce their energy bills, and improve quality of life.
The council is also installing over 650 solar panels on homes across the city for free. This will save households up to £240 on their energy bills per year, as well as reducing carbon emissions.
Transport
This year has seen the city continue to build on its world-class public transport network, whose green credentials include an electric tram network run entirely on renewable energy and the world’s largest fleet of biogas double deck buses.
Lots of initiatives have been carried out to encourage walking and cycling, and the Government-backed e-scooter trial has been extended, to see whether this greener, more affordable mode of transport could help take polluting cars off the road.
In continued support for electric vehicles, the council loaned electric vans to local businesses through the Electric Van Experience and installed a record-breaking 81 charge points in the new Broad Marsh Car Park.
Find out more about our transport initiatives
Support for businesses
The D2N2 Growth Hub has been helping businesses to reduce their carbon emissions, including local SME RoadGas. The team supported RoadGas to implement a Sustainability Plan, from early presentation to the board through to the execution of removing carbon from across all areas of the business. This has opened fantastic opportunities for RoadGas to grow while supporting the CN28 agenda.
The Accelerating Reduction in Carbon project has also been helping SMEs in Nottingham to decarbonise. In addition to identifying opportunities to make businesses more energy efficient, the project offers grant funding to implement the recommended carbon reduction measures.
Getting involved
As well as engaging businesses, the council has been helping Nottingham citizens reduce their carbon footprint through a range of initiatives. The Green Light in the City pop-up shop, created in partnership with local charities and universities, has provided a space to have conversations with residents about climate change.
The Green Rewards app gives residents the opportunity to win prizes for making sustainable choices in their everyday lives. Even small actions help make a difference, so discover changes you can make today.
An A-list city
In 2021, Nottingham was recognised as one of the top 11 cities in the UK for taking bold leadership on environmental action. Over 1,000 cities worldwide are reporting their carbon reduction measures to CDP, and Nottingham has been celebrated as one of the best for showing urgent and impactful climate action. With the help of organisations like CDP, we can take the action needed to build a sustainable and thriving economy.
And that’s not all. Look out for the annual report in the new year which details the progress so far. Every single action makes a difference, so get involved to help Nottingham on its journey to carbon neutrality.