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
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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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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PERSPECTIVES
Accelerating local net zero investment
Local net zero could open up a £500 billion investment opportunity - and it’s vital if we want to meet the UK’s 2050 climate targets while creating healthier, more prosperous futures. Read the key findings from a PwC report, commissioned by UKRI, about the private capital required for local net zero projects and how to unlock it.
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Related Opportunities
Innovation Exchange challenge: Modular Hydrogel Reactors for Sustainable Horticulture: A Peat Alternative
Opens: 08/04/2024 Closes: 10/05/2024
The Net Zero Catalyst Fund seeks a solution provider to design, manufacture, and deploy a pilot-scale hydrogel reactor system.
More Information
Space-based solutions to ICT and electronics sustainability challenges
Opens: 27/03/2024 Closes: 08/05/2024
The European Space Agency is offering up to €200k per project for feasibility studies to improve recycling and reduce environmental impact of e-waste.
More Information
International Green Corridors Fund: UK – IE Feasibility Studies
Opens: 15/04/2024 Closes: 30/05/2024
UK registered organisations and Irish organisations can apply for a share of €1m for joint R&D projects focused on UK and IE Green Shipping Corridor routes.
More Information
Our Experts
Related Events and Recordings
Tue
9
Jan
2024
Thu
7
Dec
2023
Financing, planning and delivering local net zero projects: new support for local authorities
09.30 - 11.00 | Online
Watch now
Thu
26
Oct
2023
Thu
23
Nov
2023
Related News
27/02/2024
Driving innovation forward: Unveiling the West of England Local Action Plan
Innovate UK and the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority formalise their Innovation collaboration with a new co-created West of England Local Action Plan.
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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.