Net Zero Living

Innovate UK’s £60 million, three-year Net Zero Living Programme aims to help places and businesses across the UK to accelerate the transition to net zero. 

About the programme

Innovate UK’s Net Zero Living Programme is a £60 million, three-year programme that aims to help places and businesses across the UK to accelerate the delivery of the transition to net zero.

Many of the immediate solutions needed to transition places to net zero already exist. However, challenges are often encountered when trying to deliver these solutions at scale. There are often barriers to overcome including coordinating many stakeholders, engaging with citizens, attracting finance or navigating procurement and governance processes.

We recognise that local authorities can directly address or influence up to 30% of the UK’s total carbon emissions, and help facilitate the reduction of emissions across a place even more, through their influence in planning decisions, policy setting and defining local goals.

 

Aims and objectives

The Net Zero Living programme aims to help places to open markets by:

  • Removing the non-technical barriers to demand, including skills, organisational capacity, citizen engagement, financing, procurement and governance processes, which can all create barriers to the rapid scale up and adoption of net zero solutions.
  • Driving widespread business growth and innovation across the economy.
  • Unlocking significant additional private investment to enable true levelling-up both between and within places.

To understand what is meant by non-technical systemic barriers, please watch this short recording.

Focus areas

The programme has two focus areas: 
Thriving Places

FOCUS AREA

Thriving Places

Providing support to local authorities, their partners and communities to overcome non-technical systemic barriers to the scaling and adoption of net zero solutions. This challenge will be delivered under two grant funding awards and supported by our Future Ready procured support.

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User Focused Products

FOCUS AREA

User Focused Products

Supporting businesses to better understand and respond to the needs, opportunities and barriers preventing the large-scale roll out of net zero solutions. Includes funding for a Digital Accelerator, Design Foundations and international activities including City Twinning, Bilaterals, Net Zero Incubators and an International Net Zero Pilot. 

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Related Opportunities

Net Zero Living: User focused design

Opens: 01/08/2023 Closes: 04/10/2023

UK registered businesses can apply for a share of up to £3.8m to support them in developing net zero products or services.

More Information

SSPP: Liquid food and beverages in refillable packaging

Opens: 18/09/2023 Closes: 25/10/2023

Up to £1.5m available to demonstrate a reuse or refill packaging system for liquid food and beverage products, at scale, in a retail chain.

More Information

SBRI: Approaches to encourage and enhance schools' knowledge of health benefits by sourcing from local food supply chains

Opens: 28/08/2023 Closes: 09/10/2023

Cardiff and Monmouthshire Councils are looking for new approaches to food sourcing and food education in schools.

More Information

Our Experts

Related Events and Recordings

Thu
26
Oct
2023

Overview of the UK’s Net Zero Strategy for Public Sector

10.00 - 11.30 | Online

Register for this event
Thu
21
Sep
2023

Procurement Net Zero: The Basics

10.00 - 11.30 | Online

Recording coming soon
Thu
23
Nov
2023

Procurement Net Zero: Meet the Advisor

10.00 - 11.30 | Online

Register for this event
See all events

Related News

Net Zero Living: Understanding the User Focused Products programme

03/08/2023

Net Zero Living: Understanding the User Focused Products programme

The User Focused Products programme of work is part of Innovate UK’s broader Net Zero Living Programme – a £60 million, three-year initiative that helps places and businesses across the UK to accelerate the delivery of the transition to net zero.

Read more
Digital Accelerator Winners Announced

01/08/2023

Digital Accelerator Winners Announced

The Digital Accelerator is part of Innovate UK’s Net Zero Living programme, it is looking to stimulate digital innovation by utilising existing and emerging data to drive forward digital innovation across net zero sectors.

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Fast Followers accelerate towards Net Zero

24/05/2023

Fast Followers accelerate towards Net Zero

Innovate UK is funding 21 Local Authorities across the UK to accelerate progress towards hitting Net Zero targets.

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Net Zero Living - Thriving Places: ‘Pathfinder Places’ or ‘Fast Followers’, how to be involved?

18/11/2022

Net Zero Living - Thriving Places: ‘Pathfinder Places’ or ‘Fast Followers’, how to be involved?

Thriving Places is part of the Innovate UK Net Zero Living programme.

Read more
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