Morrisons will offer customers 30p paper bags instead | Credit: Morrisons Supermarket announces it will gradually phase out ‘bags for life’ from all its stores over the coming year Morrisons has announced plans to become the first supermarket to completely remove plastic bags from its stores in a bid to curb the mountains of plastic […]

DHL debuted a pioneering an all-electric truck last November | Credit: DHL Fast charging networks ‘the linchpin’ in drive to decarbonise heavy transportation industry, according to study Electric freight vehicles will soon be able to compete commercially with the diesel vehicles that dominate the roads today if fast charging networks are developed for the haulage […]

Peter Ainsworth became chairman of the Churches Conservation Trust in 2016 | Credit: CCT, Twitter Former colleagues and friends have paid tribute to former Conservative frontbencher Peter Ainsworth, who played an integral role in pushing conservation and climate action into the political mainstream Prime ministers, campaigners, and green business leaders have paid tribute to former […]

The British Army is targeting net zero emissions by 2050, according to the MoD Plan to marshall a greener future for armed forces comes amid confusion around timetable for Army’s net zero goal, which was previously announced for an earlier date The British Army has unveiled plans to install a fleet of solar farms across […]

The British Army is targeting net zero emissions by 2050, according to the MoD Plan to marshall a greener future for armed forces comes amid confusion about timeframe of Army’s net zero goal, which has previously announced for an earlier date The British Army has unveiled plans to install a fleet of solar farms across […]

The UK’s roll out of smart meters has been delayed by the pandemic The public-private Energy Research Partnership warns all new decarbonisation incentives must include ‘behaviour change enabling plans’ for corporates and the public Achieving net zero will require a “cultural revolution” of information-driven decision making, visible peer pressure and strong government policies that encourage […]

Partnership will explore whether SSE’s under-construction Keadby 2 gas-fired power station could be ‘progressively decarbonised’ through hydrogen blending SSE and Equinor have unveiled plans for a ‘clean power hub’ near Scunthorpe, comprised of a blue hydrogen-fuelled power station alongside a fossil gas power plant equipped with carbon capture technology, with the energy giants aiming to […]

Nigel Pocklington is set to take over as Good Energy’s CEO from May 2021 | Credit: Good Energy Nigel Pocklington to take the reins from the green energy supplier’s founder Juliet Davenport, who will become non-executive director of the clean energy business Good Energy has appointed Nigel Pocklington as its new CEO, with the former […]

Zenobe was founded in 2017 | Credit: Zenobe Zenobe claims Battery will be largest grid-connected battery in Europe and first to absorb reactive power directly from a transmission network Zenobe Energy has announced plans for a “pioneering” 100MW battery storage project in north-west England, which it claims will be the largest of its kind in […]

The government estimates roughly 24 per cent of UK waters are ‘protected to some degree’ Carbon sequestration in and around UK waters trumps value of potential fossil fuel extraction in these areas, Office for National Statistics estimates The UK’s marine environment has more value as a store of carbon than it does as a site […]

A Range Rover sits in London traffic | Credit: iStock Fresh analysis suggests ‘Chelsea tractor’ stereotype holds true with gas-guzzling SUV sales largely concentrated in UK town and cities The UK’s advertising industry has been accused of pushing “persuasive and dishonest messaging” that encourages city and town dwellers to buy large, carbon-intensive cars they do […]

SAFs can be blended with conventional jet fuel in bid to reduce emissions from flight | Credit: LanzaJet Funding from oil giant aims to help scale production of waste-based fuel that can be mixed into conventional jet fuel in bid to reduce carbon footprint of flight Shell has invested in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) firm […]

Unilever’s Materials Innovation Factory in Liverpool | Credit: Unilever Winners of £75m public-private funding round for innovative technologies announced as government faces flak for ‘effective cut’ to UK’s research budget post-Brexit Projects exploring how shampoo, soap and other household goods can be manufactured more sustainably are among nine major business-led research schemes to have snapped […]

Tackling carbon border leakage and green trade tariffs are set to be high on the agenda of inaugural meeting of G7 ministers, according to reports International Trade Secretary Liz Truss is to call for global trade tariffs for ‘green’ goods to be slashed at a high-profile meeting of G7 trade ministers being chaired by the […]

VW spokespeople have revealed plans – unveiled just yesterday – to rename US branch ‘Voltswagen’ were a marketing stunt Volkswagen’s environmental agenda is once again courting controversy, after the firm confirmed late last night it will not rebrand its US operations as ‘Voltswagen’ in a nod to its electric future, despite announcing the name change […]

Deforestation in the Amazon and other tropical forests fuels the climate and biodiversity crises | Credit: iStock Update from NGO’s Global Forest Watch scheme highlights that deforestation of tropical forests crucial for biodiversity and storing carbon continue to rise 2020 was meant to be a landmark year in the fight against deforestation, a year by […]

A mock-up of a balacing solution launched by power technology firm Wärtsilä this week | Credit: Wärtsilä New report says raft of policy changes geared incentivising innovators to create new low carbon products and services for consumers could generate ‘big bang’ moment for the energy sector akin to finance in the 80s and telecoms in […]

All electric vehicles sold in the US roads will be brandished with Voltswagen name, company confirms Volkswagen’s US arm has announced it is to be renamed as ‘Voltswagen of America’ in May, as the auto giant looks to accelerate the development of its electric vehicle (EV) business. The announcement comes a day after Volkswagen of […]

Chemicals is one area where industrial biotechnology has major emissions reduction potential, according to report National standards body partners with government innovation agency InnovateUK and the Industrial Biotechnology Leadership Forum on major new report setting out full potential for bio feedstocks The British Standards Institution (BSI) has this morning published a roadmap setting out how […]

A solar plant owned by Shell in the US | Credit: Shell Cost of climate change could hit $30tr a year by 2075 – upwards of five per cent of GDP – according to major new survey from Institute for Policy Integrity While the economic case for not acting to address the climate crisis has […]

Despite gains in offshore wind and low carbon vehicles and infrastructure, the number of people employed in ‘green fields’ dropped by more than 30,000 between 2014 and 2019, according to the ONS The Office for National Statistics has revealed the number of people employed in low carbon and renewable energy economy (LCREE) fell from 235,900 […]

CCC warns use of credit will detract from decarbonisation of domestic sectors | Credit: iStock Government says it will consider CCC’s advice and make a decision on whether to include international carbon credits by June The Climate Change Committee (CCC) has urged the government to not count international carbon credits in the UK’s Fourth Carbon […]

In his first non-political role, the former UKIP and Brexit Party leader has been hired as the first member of the advisory board for carbon offsetting business Dutch Green Business Group Green campaigners and clean energy experts have expressed shock at the appointment of broadcaster, former politician, and long-time critic of climate action Nigel Farage […]

The UK and US produce more plastic waste per capita than all other countries Green Alliance argues UK needs a ‘new vision for resource use’ in report published this morning Green campaigners have urged the government to set a legally-binding target to halve resource consumption by 2050, arguing that by doing so it would set […]

Addition of 43 new asset managers triples size of fast-expanding investor-backed climate group The Vanguard Group and BlackRock, the world’s two largest asset managers, have this morning significantly bolstered their climate commitments as they joined a wave of major investors from around the world in signing up to the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative. The […]

SMMT CEO Mike Hawes warns the EV revolution has so far been for ‘fleets, not families’ and has called on the government to improve its support for private buyers The government is facing fresh calls from the auto industry to introduce more generous incentives to drive consumer uptake of electric vehicles (EVs), in the wake […]

The conference is slated for Glasgow in November Reports suggest UK government is facing calls to scale back in-person component of high profile Climate Summit, as concerns over coronavirus risks continue Speculation is mounting about whether parts of the forthcoming COP26 Climate Summit could be moved online, as Covid-19 cases continue to soar around the […]

A tech cell at an Arrival microfactory | Credit: Arrival Arrival’s president and chief strategy officer Avinash Rugoobur sits down with BusinessGreen to expand on the newly listed company’s ambitious plans and its pioneering new approach to EV production Yesterday, British zero emission van and bus start-up Arrival snatched the record for the UK’s largest […]

Arrival’s van is set to start production next year | Credit: Arrival Oxfordshire-based start-up Arrival began trading on the tech-heavy Nasdaq under ticker ARVL at 1:30pm UK time British electric van and bus start-up Arrival is believed to have delivered the biggest stock market listing of all time by a UK firm, after securing a […]

Sunak speaks at a Bloomberg conference earlier this week | Credit: The Treasury Chancellor demands that PCA and FCA take net zero target into account, just weeks after similarly updating key Bank of England regulators’ remit All of the UK’s principal financial regulators now have an explicit mandate to consider climate-related risks and trends in […]

Business leaders from around the world provide perspectives on the impact economic downturn could have on corporate sustainability efforts in major Deloitte poll A survey of hundreds of top business executives by consultancy giant Deloitte suggests the Covid-19 crisis could slow sustainability initiatives at companies around the world, despite climate change remaining a major concern […]

Transitioning to low carbon power is a key pillar of most net zero pledges | Credit: Equinor A series of resources analysing the state of net zero pledges unveiled by nations and companies to date are aiming to drive a step change in the quality of climate plans The concept of ‘net zero’ has come […]

Lancaster West Estate in West London | Credit: Danny Robinson/Wikipedia Creative Commons Funding boost designed to ‘green’ homes of low-income families and social housing tenants, but RIBA warns new support is ‘simply not enough’ The government has today announced a £562m cash boost for local authorities designed to make tens of thousands of the UK’s […]

Mining, metals, oil and gas, aviation, automotive, chemicals and paper are among the sectors inspected by the framework First edition of investor coalition’s ‘net zero company benchmark’ highlights long distance big emitters must travel before climate engagement is aligned with Paris Agreement goals Despite the wave of net zero and climate commitments unveiled by corporates […]

UAE airline Emirates, which gave its name to the Arsenal football stadium, is the second most prolific sponsor of professional sports Study warns major polluters are the ‘new tobacco’ in sports sponsorship, counting 250 deals between high-carbon industries and industry The sports sector is facing calls from athletes and environmentalists to stop accepting sponsorship deals […]

Artist impression of a zero emission ferry being developed by Artemis Technologies in Belfast | Credit: Artemis Technologies New Department for Transport initiative will support development of zero emission vessels and infrastructure that can propel decarbonisation of shipping The government has called on shipbuilders, shipping firms, ports, scientists, and academics to submit proposals to a […]

Credit: WaterAid, Jordi Ruiz Cirera Water Aid-led Resilient Water Accelerator launched as UN-backed Race to Zero campaign urges water utilities around the world to commit to net zero emissions The Prince of Wales has today launched a new initiative geared at fast tracking finance for improving water services in water-stressed regions in Africa and South […]

Rapid growth of clean energy is critical to meeting global climate goals | Credit: Charles Cook Study from IEA and Imperial highlights decade of clear evidence that renewables firms are performing better than fossil fuel-focused businesses Over the last decade, renewable investors have reaped significantly richer rewards than investors in fossil fuels, and yet levels […]

The Teesworks site where BP is planning a major CCS project| Credit: BP Oil major announces intention to build major hydrogen plant just days after government grants funding for carbon transportation and storage network in region BP has announced plans to develop the UK’s largest blue hydrogen facility in the Tees Valley, just days after […]

HSBC and IFC tout sizeable fund raise as evidence of investor appetite in funding net zero transition in emerging markets HSBC Asset Management and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) have this week announced a $538m fund raise through a pioneering green bond designed to increase access to climate mitigation finance in emerging economies. PROPARCO, a […]

Environmental Audit Committee warns government has underestimated challenge of decarbonising UK’s housing stock, putting net zero goal in jeapordy MPs on the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) have accused the government of “failing to grasp” the challenge of decarbonising the nation’s housing stock, warning that existing support for homeowners looking to ‘green’ their homes falls far […]

Diverse Sustainability Initiative aims to provide mentorship and support to existing workers from diverse backgrounds while making environmental professions more accessible to minority groups The Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment (IEMA) has unveiled a new scheme that aims to boost the environment and sustainability sector’s chronically low levels of racial diversity. The Woodland Trust, […]

After reducing its emissions by 51 per cent over the last 30 years, the UK has another 30 to make the same reductions again and hit net zero, Carbon Brief reveals Greenhouse gas emissions in the UK in 2020 fell to half the levels recorded in 1990 in the wake of the pandemic, meaning the […]

Redcar steelworks on the south bank of the River Tees | Credit: iStock The government has set out a raft of new ambitions in its 117-page Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy, but how will the new proposals impact the green economy? Immediately after the details of the government’s new Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy were published, Labour accused Ministers […]

Real estate investment manager vows to decarbonise its assets in line with global climate goals by developing net zero business plan for every building in its portfolio Nuveen Real Estate has committed to delivering net zero emissions across its $133bn portfolio of assets by 2040, citing the need to future proof its investments and reduce […]

Strategy to set out a number of new targets for the decarbonisation of industry, as government confirms details of nine projects to be awarded funding through Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge – but opposition warns plans lack necessary ambition The government has unveiled a package of new climate promises and funding announcements designed to catalyse the decarbonisation […]

Strategy to set out a number of new targets for the decarbonisation of industry, as government confirms details of nine projects to be awarded funding through Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge – but opposition warns plans lack necessary ambition The government has unveiled a package of new climate promises and funding announcements designed to catalyse the decarbonisation […]

The funding competition aims to support development of aircraft fuels made from waste Government launches fund for SAF production as it confirms appointment of Heathrow COO Emma Gilthorpe to head up its Jet Zero Council The government has launched a £15m competition designed to nurture the development of a number of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) […]

St Mary Axe, known as the Gherkin, Swiss Re headquarters in London | Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Unsplash Reinsurance giants revs up coal phase-out as it pledges to reduce carbon intensity of equity and corporate bond portfolios by 35 per cent by 2025 Swiss Re has announced it is to phase out thermal coal from its treaty […]