New partnership funding to support York’s net zero ambitions

York has been awarded £65,000 to spend on building projects designed to help reduce carbon emissions and reach ‘net zero’.

City of York Council was one of only 30 places in the country to receive the new funding, which is being awarded for innovative approaches to delivering ‘net zero’, cutting the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere.

It will be spent this spring and summer on measures tailored to the specific needs and characteristics of buildings and building users across the city, in partnership with Brightsparks, Energy Systems Catapult, the University of York and Abundance Investment. The new measures will be backed up with financial solutions to make delivery easier.

The funding has come from Phase One of Innovate UK’s Net Zero Living programme. Innovate UK is part of UK Research and Innovation, will invest up to £2 million in innovation projects. 

Councillor Paula Widdowson, Executive Member for Environment and Climate Change, said,

“This is an exciting opportunity and further evidence that York - already recognised as an A-List Global Climate Action Leader - is at the forefront of Net Zero innovation and progress. 

“I’m proud of our staff and partners who have brought this Net Zero Living programme funding to York through an evidenced and urgent approach to the problems of climate change, and I encourage property owners in the action zones to work with us to take advantage of this boost to our Net Zero ambitions.” 

Andrew Clark, Business Leader (Place) at Energy Systems Catapult, said, 

“York City Council’s Local Area Energy Plan demonstrated what is possible and what needs to be done to achieve its aims of becoming Net Zero by 2030.

“We’re incredibly excited to be working with the council and other partners in taking the next step on the decarbonisation pathway by exploring how evidence from the LAEP can be used to establish a neighbourhood-centred approach to Net Zero."

Karl Harder, Co-founder and Director of Abundance Investment, added,

"York is a pioneer council in terms of delivering action to address the climate emergency. We are therefore thrilled to be partnering with them to develop and scale a ground-breaking new approach to delivering a low carbon city."

Professor Charlie Jeffery, Vice-Chancellor at the University of York, said, 

"This is an important and exciting project, and our experts in environmental sustainability and public policy are looking forward to advancing the City of York's Net Zero transformation.

“Environmental sustainability is at the heart of everything we do. As a University community, we have planted over 3,500 trees and hedges last year, allocated 5,500 cycle spaces on campus and invested in electric fleet vehicles.

"We have already achieved zero waste to landfill and have set the target to achieve net zero carbon emissions on campus by 2030.”

Andy Simpson, Managing Director at Brightsparks Agency, added, 

"As a York-based business, Brightsparks Agency is delighted to be working on this exciting and important local project to accelerate the City's transition to Net Zero. We are passionate about co-production and look forward to engaging with residents and businesses to research and co-design innovative approaches to decarbonisation across York."