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EXTENSIONS to deadlines for new applicants and counter proposals to Climate Change Agreement scheme have been announced by the Government. Climate Change Agreements work by setting targets for reducing businesses’ energy use in return for discounts on the climate change levy on their energy bills. In Spring Budget 2020, the Government announced that the current Climate Change Agreements (CCA) scheme would be...

WAITROSE and John Lewis have announced plans to significantly increase the use of electric vans in their effort to end the use of fossil fuels across its entire transport fleet by 2030. The John Lewis Partnership will use two new designs of vehicle for its Waitrose.com food deliveries and for smaller John Lewis deliveries, saving over 20,000 tonnes of CO2...

MAYOR of London has announced a package of infrastructure works worth up to £1.5 billion to help kickstart London’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. The London Recovery Board, led by Sadiq Khan and Cllr Peter John, the Chair of London Council, have unveiled a plan to join forces with utility companies on the Mayor’s London Infrastructure Group. The Mayor of...

The Deputy Minister for Housing and Local Government for Wales, Hannah Blythyn, has launched a consultation on the Welsh Government’s proposals to ban a range of single use plastic items. The Welsh Government’s ambition is for a Wales free from unnecessary, single use plastics. Launching the consultation during a beach clean in Anglesey, Minister Blythyn said: "Plastic pollution and the impact...

Plastic carrier bag sales have dropped by more than 95% in England’s main supermarkets since the 5p charge was introduced in 2015, new government data reveals. In the last year alone, Asda, Marks and Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, The Co-operative Group, Tesco and Waitrose sold 226 million bags, 322 million fewer than in 2018/19 (59%). The average person in England now buys...

RENEWABLES had a record-breaking year on 2019 with wind playing a major role, the latest annual report on energy generation in the UK reveals. The Digest of UK Energy Statistics, published today by the Department for Business, Industry and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), confirms that renewables provided a record 37.1% of the UK’s electricity last year, up from 33.1% in 2018. Key...

Mayor of London has called on the Government to put political differences aside and start negotiations for 'significantly more investment' to build thousands of genuinely affordable homes in London, with a focus on new council and social housing. With funding negotiations between City Hall and Government for the new Affordable Homes Programme covering the next five years (2021/22-25/26) to begin...

Plans to reduce waste and establish an ambitious long-term path for waste management and recycling across the UK have been published today. In the latest step in government efforts to tackle waste, the Circular Economy Package sets a target to recycle 65% of municipal waste by 2035 and to have no more than 10% municipal waste going to landfill by 2035. It restricts...

OFGEM has today set out its proposals to rewire Britain at a local level to deliver 'a greener and fairer energy system for British consumers.' Electricity distribution networks, which transport electricity locally to British homes and businesses, have a crucial role in eliminating harmful carbon emissions from GB’s energy sector in line with Government targets. Ofgem’s proposals aim to unlock the...

WASTEWATER is anticipated to become cleaner and less harmful to plants and animals due to ultra-sensitive water sensor being developed by European scientists to detect tiny amounts of toxic substances with light. A new laser system to detect minute traces of toxic substances in wastewater is currently in development by a consortium of European scientists. Wastewater, water used in a commercial,...