York businesses are being urged to sign up in time for a free green makeover scheme that has already made 587 tonnes of CO2e savings. Run by the Green Economy in partnership with City Of York Council, the carbon reduction scheme offers a package of free tailored support to help businesses reduce energy costs and boost their green credentials as they transition to Net Zero. Alongside access to training and expert advice, the successful scheme includes green makeovers – with specialist decarbonisation consultants producing carbon reduction plan masterplans after conducting onsite inspections and reviews of buildings and energy use. More than 35 businesses have signed up since its launch in September 2023 and a whopping 587 tonnes of CO2 savings have already been identified – equivalent to taking 214 petrol cars off the road for a year. Savings have been achieved in a host of ways ranging from switching to LED light fittings, implementing low and no cost energy efficiency solutions and investing in green tech. But the scheme, funded via the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and part of York’s ambition to be a net-zero carbon city by 2030, can only accept applications until the beginning of January. City of York Council has set an ambition for York to be a net-zero carbon city by 2030. With businesses accounting for around a third of emissions through industry, farming and buildings, the local business community has a vital role to play. Green Economy officials issued a rallying call for applications and is particularly keen that rural businesses and those in the hospitality and services sector don’t miss out on the free support. Green Economy Sustainability and Net Zero consultant, Suhail Ahmed, said: “The scheme is already achieving huge carbon savings as well as slashing businesses’ energy costs across York, but we want to ensure other businesses sign up while they can and benefit from a superb package of free support to transition to Net Zero. “These green makeovers have a raft of benefits including reduced energy bills through a mix of quick wins and longer-term planning to improve efficiency and reduce carbon footprints. “Aside from the Net Zero and sustainability benefits, a proper environmental strategy can also increase your competitiveness and demonstrating green credentials will help businesses win more work and play a key role in recruitment and retention of talent.” Businesses already benefiting from the scheme include City Cruises. Since signing up they have replaced 38 fluorescent bulbs with LEDs, generating anticipated annual energy savings of 5,788 kWh, annual cost savings of £1,157.67, and carbon savings of 1,304 kgCO2e. They’re now planning to present a business case to their US parent company to install solar power onto their site. Chris Pegg, Head of Regional Commercial, Sales & Marketing of City Cruises, said: “We do as much as we can to be sustainable, but our options aren’t always clear. The Green Economy team visited our site and outlined six suggestions for sustainable growth. We’ve since acted on two of these six recommendations, focussing on two quick wins. “The support was enormously helpful in helping us focus on activity that will bring results, and we’re starting to see how sustainability can give our business a competitive edge and attract more customers.” Applications for the scheme which is open to businesses that reside in York close on 10 January 2025. To apply click HERE.

Lincoln Business Improvement Group has won a mandate to continue its work for the next five years, with more than 85% of voting businesses in favour. The organisation’s chair John Latham said the renewed mandate enabled BIG to further enhance the visitor experience, support local businesses, and contribute to the city’s continued growth and vibrancy. He said: “We are absolutely thrilled with the outcome of the ballot. This is an exciting time for us, and we’re full of anticipation for what the next five years will bring. Our focus has always been on creating an enjoyable environment for residents and visitors alike while boosting the amazing businesses that make Lincoln so special. “We would like to thank the businesses for the continuous support over turbulent five years and for us trusting to continuing delivering our services.” Lincoln BIG is already working on a number of exciting projects aimed at making Lincoln a must-visit destination. From enhancing public spaces and promoting local events to improving business support services, we are committed to fostering a thriving city that will continue to attract visitors and ensure a prosperous future for all. Mr Latham added: “We are so proud of our city, and the projects we’re working on will help ensure that Lincoln remains an enjoyable and welcoming place for everyone.”

Hot on the heels of its acquisition of Kent-based agency, Miles and Barr, Lomond has made its 65th acquisition, a deal which further strengthens the firm’s existing presence within the student lettings space. Lomond’s latest deal, brokered by Atomic Consultancy, sees it acquire Sugarhouse Properties, a Leeds-based lettings and property management company with 13 years of experience. Sugarhouse Properties was founded in 2011 by Charles Aston and Richard Napier, both of whom boast years of experience operating within the rental market and, more specifically, within student lets and HMOs. With their flagship office located on the Otley Road, Sugarhouse Properties is one of the largest independent student lettings agents in Leeds, with the firm having also branched out to provide lets to professional tenants in the last few years. The firm currently manages 372 properties, including large numbers of HMOs within the Leeds area and places a strong emphasis on providing high quality and well managed accommodation – an approach that has seen the firm win multiple industry awards. Lomond’s latest acquisition sees it significantly strengthen its foothold in the student lettings space, an area where the firm has already placed a great deal of focus. Lomond’s CEO, Ed Phillips, said: “Sugarhouse Properties is an outstanding company and one that has formed a formidable reputation within the student lettings space over the last 13 years. “The company’s culture is centred around delivering high quality accommodation, with management and customer service to match, so it was clear from the start that both Lomond and Sugarhouse shared a great deal of synergy and that combining forces would be beneficial for all involved. “What’s more, they’ve gone against the grain with respect to traditional marketing methods, utilising online channels that resonate with their target audience and with the help of Lomond’s marketing assets, we look forward to helping supercharge these efforts.” Director of Sugarhouse Properties, Richard Napier, said: “We’ve put a great deal of blood, sweat and tears into Sugarhouse Properties and we’re immensely proud of the outstanding business we’ve built and the reputation we’ve developed across the student lettings sector. “However, we believe that now is the right time to allow the business to evolve and with the help of Lomond, we’re extremely excited about what the future holds. “It’s clear that Lomond places a real emphasis on empowering the businesses they acquire and with the additional assets that this deal will provide Sugarhouse Properties, we can’t wait to see how the brand evolves going forward.” Founder and CEO of Atomic Consultancy, Lucy Noonan, said: “Sugarhouse Properties is one of the best established operators within the students lettings space in Leeds and we’re delighted to have played a pivotal role in the evolution of the company via its acquisition by Lomond. “Both companies are ideally aligned with respect to their company culture, the quality of the service they provide and their ambitions for future growth and we’re excited to see what the future holds now that the deal has completed.”

Hydrogen could play a vital role in delivering a secure, decarbonised electricity system in the UK, according to a new report by Centrica and FTI Consulting. The report says a future energy system without an established hydrogen market would leave the UK at risk of huge swings in electricity generation from renewables, with no way of addressing the shortfalls and the surplus. It says: “By 2050, there could be excess electricity generation, driven by renewables around 15% of the time. Electricity generation from renewables could also rise or fall by as much as 100GW over the course of a single day making it incredibly difficult to balance the grid.” Not only would hydrogen storage and transportation help address these issues, but the report also found that large scale hydrogen storage could reduce customer energy costs by as much as £1bn per year by 2050. The UK currently has the lowest levels of energy storage of the world’s major economies. It goes on to say that although the UK has committed to net zero by 2050 and made more progress towards this ambition than other major economies, significant delivery challenges remain. By providing a means of storing energy over a longer period of time, and transporting energy over a greater distance, hydrogen could address the major issues with renewable generation – intermittency and curtailment. For this to be successful, the report found that the development of a hydrogen transportation network and sufficient large-scale storage facilities would be necessary. Repurposing underground gas pipes to be used as a hydrogen transport network would create an underground ‘superhighway’ to move renewable electricity as hydrogen gas. This could also reduce the volume of above ground electricity transmission infrastructure needed and significantly reduce the cost of net zero for consumers. Increased dependence on renewable generation will introduce greater supply volatility and increase cost on both a daily and seasonal basis. The report illustrates that making hydrogen when there is excess energy that can be stored and used when the wind isn’t blowing, and the sun isn’t shining, will be an essential part of the solution required to balance intermittent renewables. The report took a ‘whole-systems approach’ to explore a net zero future, reviewing all available and established methods for decarbonising the UK. Its publication comes as the National Energy System Operator (NESO) has been tasked with ensuring a secure and affordable future British energy system and planning for Britain’s electricity and gas networks. It concluded that both salt caverns and depleted gas fields will be required for hydrogen storage, with salt caverns being used for short term responses, and depleted gas fields, such as Rough, used for longer term storage. The modelling illustrates how both types of storage would work together to ensure hydrogen was in the right place, at the right time. Chris O’Shea, Group Chief Executive of Centrica said: “At Centrica we believe wholeheartedly that the UK can reach net zero, but we’re realistic about the challenges the transition will pose. We need to be agnostic about the technology; there won’t be a single silver bullet that delivers this crucial change. “What this report clearly demonstrates is the vital importance of hydrogen in decarbonising the UK’s energy system. By providing a way to store excess electricity, hydrogen will be crucial to managing more intermittency. “We now have a blueprint for the role that hydrogen could play as a very big battery in a net zero energy system, providing electricity when the wind doesn’t blow, and the sun doesn’t shine. All we need now is the green light from regulators and the government to unlock £2bn of investment to transform our existing Rough storage facility to become the world’s biggest hydrogen storage facility and start building out the energy system of the future.”

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP), the world’s largest independent bottler of Coca-Cola, has revealed a planned investment of £42.3m for a new Automated Storage Retrieval System (ASRS) warehouse at its site in Wakefield, Europe’s largest soft drinks plant by volume. The new ASRS will take two and a half years to build. To maximise space, it will stand at 38 metres tall and will increase Wakefield’s warehouse capacity, allowing it to hold and move an additional 29,500 pallets on top of its current capacity of 29,000 pallets. It will also deliver a reduction of 18,500 vehicle journeys per year from the road, equating to 441,000 km per year. This funding follows a £31m site investment for the installation of a new state-of-the-art, canning line, capable of producing 2,000 cans per minute, which has been operational since July of this year. The line provides additional production capabilities for CCEP’s light-weight 330ml cans across brands including Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Fanta, Dr Pepper and Sprite. The site has received £103 million in investment since 2019 to enhance efficiencies and operate more sustainably, such as the replacement of its material handling equipment (MHE). This includes a fleet of 75 gas-powered forklift trucks, which is used to move cases of product around the site, replaced with units powered by lithium ion batteries, producing no carbon emissions in their day-to-day operation. Vanessa Smith, Director of Wakefield Supply Chain Operations at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, said: “The new ASRS warehouse ensures we continue expanding our production capabilities as we look to the future, and operate as efficiently and sustainably as possible.” Stephen Moorhouse, Vice-President and General Manager, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (GB), said: “Wakefield offers a range of modern manufacturing jobs and sits at the heart of many of our latest manufacturing technologies. We’ve invested more than £100million since 2019 to help us evolve operations on site and further support the local economy.” Simon Lightwood MP for Wakefield and Rothwell said: “CCEP continues to play an important role in and around Wakefield. It’s fantastic to see the business invest in delivering more efficient and sustainable operations, which shows the organisation’s commitment to being a major employer in West Yorkshire.”