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THE UK will not achieve its net zero ambition without the active engagement of the people and organisations living and working in each of the UK’s nations, cities and regions, new paper declares. A locally led energy transition can bring the skilled jobs, investment and resilience needed for a green recovery and put the country on course to achieving a zero...

VIRIDOR and 'Project Green' councils have celebrated one million tonnes of non-recyclable waste being diverted from landfill and used to generate low carbon energy at the Trident Park Energy Recovery Facility. Trident Park Energy Recovery Facility, a £220m investment by Viridor, was officially opened in 2015. The plant receives 350,000 tonnes of residual waste (non-recyclable) waste a year with 172,000 tonnes...

SWITCHED On Portsmouth, a home energy efficiency programme in the city and surrounding areas, has released a report charting the past 12 months to show the extent of the positive impacts that they have had. The programme was established by Portsmouth City Council last year in order to deliver a number of existing energy and affordable warmth schemes, including homes...

OFWAT has launched an investigation into whether Thames Water is contravening the Wholesale Retail Code. The Code is the statutory code that sets out the relationship between Wholesalers and Retailers, and how the market operates. The regulator is looking into whether the £25,000 credit limit that Thames Water has set for non-primary services is consistent with the requirements of the Code. The...

Landsec is progressing plans for what aims to be the UK’s first net zero carbon commercial building. The Forge, previously known as 105 Sumner St, SE1, a 139,000 sq ft office development in Southwark aspires to be the first commercial building to be both constructed and operated in line with the UK Green Building Council’s (UKGBC) net zero carbon buildings...

Primark has announced the roll-out of its nation-wide recycling programme, inviting customers to donate their pre-loved clothes, textiles, footwear and bags from any brand. Collection boxes will be available in Primark’s 190 stores across the UK and the clothing giant has stated that all donated items will be reused, recycled or repurposed, with nothing going to landfill. Katharine Stewart, Ethical Trade...

WATER companies have reduced the amount of water leaked from pipes by 7% to the lowest level since records began in the mid-1990s. This improved picture on leakage is part of a general update to the Discover Water website which also reveals that: Water quality continues to be maintained at a high standard, passing 99.96% of quality tests; Supply interruptions are down...

The UK Green Building Council and Sustainable Ventures have published the Open Innovation Levels Framework, a resource aimed at enabling open innovation with the goal of reducing the climate impacts of the built environment. 40% of UK carbon emissions are attributable to the built environment which requires significant innovation to reduce its impact. Alastair Mant, Head of Business Transformation at UK...

The largest pension scheme in the UK with 9 million members, has announced a new Climate Change policy to decarbonise its investment portfolio. The policy aims to align Nest with the Paris Agreement goals to keep global temperature rises within 1.5C above pre-industrial levels by 2050. It sets out a goal of being net-zero across its investments by 2050 or earlier,...

The Office for National Statistics, the Bristol City Office and the University of Bristol are working together to help improve the accessibility of data needed to monitor the UN Sustainable Development Goals at the local authority level. This new work builds on research by academics at the Cabot Institute for the Environment at the University of Bristol. Dr Sean Fox, Senior...