Abstract
The journey to Net Zero in the UK is well underway. Net Zero is achieving a balance between the addition and the removal of CO2 emissions to/from the atmosphere from human activities to stop global warming.
This research was commissioned by North Yorkshire County Council to continue previous work on “Low carbon infrastructure and business growth”. This report explores the current progress by businesses in North Yorkshire towards the Net Zero goals, including their current practices, the opportunities and challenges that they face, as well as unveil the divergences in understanding when aiming towards a low carbon and high-value economy. The research was carried out from February to September 2022.
First, a qualitative methodology consisting of semi-structured interviews with managers of local businesses, both online and face-to-face, was employed. Second, a quantitative methodology consisting of a survey questionnaire was used, the survey was distributed via Qualtrics to a wider set of managers of local businesses.
The recommendations to the North Yorkshire County Council, from the research reported here, are summarised below.
-Increase the level of awareness and provide some more guidance to reach Net Zero
● Improve the awareness of companies by designing measures to share good practices and provide sectoral advice, i.e. to identify good practices towards attaining Net-Zero goals based on sectoral analysis and disseminate them to organisations.
● The government can develop plans to work in partnership with large organisations as sector leaders, which have successful Net Zero carbon strategies implemented where they can share their experiences to the organisations in their sector.
● Set up a specific “Net Zero Goal Office”, where companies can get in touch to make related enquiries, e.g. general information, technical advice, funding, etc.
- Promote further research to understand the sectoral progress to achieve Net Zero
● There needs to be a better understanding of the sectors depending on their nature,
the challenges they face and the opportunities available for the sectors.
● There seems to be some confusion among businesses on what can be done and not done especially in terms of ‘heritage’ buildings.
● Policies need to be designed to be clearly communicated to the sectors, further
research should be carried out on each sector to understand:
✓ The enablers/barriers organisations face when implementing their Net Zero strategy.
✓ The opportunities/challenges they face to effectively implement their Net-Zero
strategy.
- Provide further government financial support and motivation towards Net-zero
strategy
● Develop funding opportunities to help organisations moving towards Net-Zero
strategy.
● Design and develop attractive incentives for organisations which attain each level of Net-Zero goals.
● Time seems to be another constraint for the organisations to focus on the Net zero strategies. Therefore, specific support groups, which can include Communities of Practices and expert panels should be organised to provide Net Zero assessment for organisations in each sector.
This research was commissioned by North Yorkshire County Council to continue previous work on “Low carbon infrastructure and business growth”. This report explores the current progress by businesses in North Yorkshire towards the Net Zero goals, including their current practices, the opportunities and challenges that they face, as well as unveil the divergences in understanding when aiming towards a low carbon and high-value economy. The research was carried out from February to September 2022.
First, a qualitative methodology consisting of semi-structured interviews with managers of local businesses, both online and face-to-face, was employed. Second, a quantitative methodology consisting of a survey questionnaire was used, the survey was distributed via Qualtrics to a wider set of managers of local businesses.
The recommendations to the North Yorkshire County Council, from the research reported here, are summarised below.
-Increase the level of awareness and provide some more guidance to reach Net Zero
● Improve the awareness of companies by designing measures to share good practices and provide sectoral advice, i.e. to identify good practices towards attaining Net-Zero goals based on sectoral analysis and disseminate them to organisations.
● The government can develop plans to work in partnership with large organisations as sector leaders, which have successful Net Zero carbon strategies implemented where they can share their experiences to the organisations in their sector.
● Set up a specific “Net Zero Goal Office”, where companies can get in touch to make related enquiries, e.g. general information, technical advice, funding, etc.
- Promote further research to understand the sectoral progress to achieve Net Zero
● There needs to be a better understanding of the sectors depending on their nature,
the challenges they face and the opportunities available for the sectors.
● There seems to be some confusion among businesses on what can be done and not done especially in terms of ‘heritage’ buildings.
● Policies need to be designed to be clearly communicated to the sectors, further
research should be carried out on each sector to understand:
✓ The enablers/barriers organisations face when implementing their Net Zero strategy.
✓ The opportunities/challenges they face to effectively implement their Net-Zero
strategy.
- Provide further government financial support and motivation towards Net-zero
strategy
● Develop funding opportunities to help organisations moving towards Net-Zero
strategy.
● Design and develop attractive incentives for organisations which attain each level of Net-Zero goals.
● Time seems to be another constraint for the organisations to focus on the Net zero strategies. Therefore, specific support groups, which can include Communities of Practices and expert panels should be organised to provide Net Zero assessment for organisations in each sector.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - 14 Oct 2022 |