How does your parish, town, street and home get to Net Zero?
The simplest solution is to cut carbon emissions by as much as possible in our everyday activities.
We need to try and switch from using polluting technologies to cleaner, greener ones. This could be the cars we drive, how we heat our home or how we commute to work.
How can Leiston become the first Net Zero community?
The first step is to work out what we will need to change to reduce the current levels of emissions down to Net Zero.
The initial work shows that the key challenges will be reducing emissions from cars, heating and powering our homes and businesses.
We are going to make a start now, by looking at how we can use low carbon energy and reduce the energy used at home. We will work initially with a small number of residents to use more low carbon energy, and improve the efficiency of their homes with insulation, energy-efficient lighting and other ways to use less energy and save on bills.
We are also drafting a route map to show how it is possible for the parish to achieve Net Zero. This will be written by our partner engineers and experts – but we want it to be informed by you, the people living and working in Leiston-cum-Sizewell.
Route map
The route map for Net Zero Leiston (NZL) is the key deliverable of the project. It illustrates the fully engineered path for Leiston to reach Net Zero emissions and enables other towns to replicate the approach. We hope more communities take a lead from Leiston and take ownership of their own path to tackling harmful climate change.
The Net Zero Leiston project mobilised a working group of engineering, clean-energy experts to create the route map. It is completely open-source, ensuring complete transparency and replicability. The robustness and integrity of the route map and project approach sets NZL apart from other projects.
The route map:
- Defines what we mean by ‘Net Zero’
- Defines the boundary for Leiston plus surrounding rural areas for the project to work within
- Assesses the baseline carbon emissions of Leiston
- Assesses the local land use, land use change and forestry in Leiston through human activity
- Highlights thoroughly engineered options required to take this town to Net Zero
The route map includes a social value framework to ensure Net Zero Leiston is a just transition; a catalyst for social mobility in the area.
In addition, there is information on financing which highlights opportunities for making use of relevant public financing or private investment.
If you would like to request a copy of the route map, please visit our contact page to message us and request a digital copy.
Technical Report Summary
This summary provides a more concise description of the project and our path to net zero, whilst signposting to the relevant sections in the more detailed document.
A key feature of the Technical Report Summary is the insight it provides other towns looking to replicate the project. It does this by breaking the report down into six key steps:
- Define the Boundary
- Carbon Emissions
- The Net Zero Journey
- Financing
- Engagement and Community Measures
- Monitoring and Promotions
These steps allow other towns to start their net zero journey on the front foot, saving time and effort on the planning phase of the project.
In addition to these key steps, the Technical Report Summary gives a concise description of the projects starting phase, as well as our next steps for development on the project.
