Leicestershire plans first zero-carbon industrial estates

Creating one of the first zero-carbon industrial estates in the UK is the headline ambition in Leicestershire County Council’s ambitious plans to tackle climate change.

The council is committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2030 and is set to invest £450,000 of seed funding to kick-start work on wide-ranging plans. As such, a report outlining some of the steps it will take to get there has been released, emphasising plans to switch to a green electricity tariff, launch a major tree planting programme and work with developers and others to build ‘green’ new homes.

This is on top of mooted plans to roll out a ‘green’ fleet and to run electric park and ride buses. If approved, the council’s Environment Strategy and Action Plan will be refreshed to reflect these more ambitious plans and brought back to cabinet and scrutiny in stages next year.

Nick Rushton, council leader, said: “We are a green council and tackling climate change is top of our agenda. We’ve seen real change and initiatives such as LED street lights and solar panels have enabled us to cut our CO2 emissions by over 60 per cent, reduce our wider greenhouse gas emissions by 55 per cent and halve the amount of office waste we produce.

“It’s clear there is a climate emergency and we’re committed to thinking globally and acting locally. That’s why we’re redoubling out efforts. And the investment and long list of projects we’re exploring signals our determination to tackle this head on.”