Net Zero Partnerships is an initiative developed by City Science to help local authorities accelerate their progress towards Net Zero.
Net Zero Partnerships are realised through a simple seven-stage process and have been designed based on our extensive experience developing Local Area Energy Plans, Net Zero Action Plans and transport decarbonisation strategies for local authorities across the UK. Based on this experience, the process has been designed to get you to a point where you have a clear understanding of:
- How your Net Zero progress compares to relevant peers and best practice
- What areas will need to be prioritised to deliver against your Net Zero goals
- How to take forward the key next steps to accelerating Net Zero action.
The Net Zero Partnership Process
Net Zero Partnerships are delivered through a simple seven-stage process that provides a clear evaluation of where you are, co-develops a tailored action plan, and supports specification, funding and delivery to accelerate tangible outcomes. As a systematic approach, the process can be repeated at regular intervals to review progress made and to make sure you’re continuing to advance towards your Net Zero targets.
Process Stages
- Net Zero Progress Assessment: The process starts with a free Net Zero Progress Assessment. The assessment approach builds on our industry-leading Carbon Maturity Model, originally developed for COP27 in Glasgow. This is effectively a lightweight audit that helps you take stock of your current activities in comparison to a local authority peer group and best practice from around the UK and internationally. This allows us to assess your progress across 5 Levels, 8 thematic areas and wider factors such as governance and funding. Additional quality audits have also been added in the latest version to help provide a deeper understanding of solutions or programmes where these are already in place.
- Costed Recommendations: The process then draws on our databank of cost estimates from Local Area Energy Plans and Net Zero Action Plans to provide a series of costed recommendations for the next steps. The feedback we get from local authorities is that while cost information can often be eye-opening, it is also critical to help make informed decisions, prioritise actions internally and underpin the business cases needed to secure internal buy-in.
- Shaping the Priority Activities: At this stage we present the findings to you, addressing any questions and providing the opportunity to add context from our experience with other local authorities or specific sectoral projects. This is a collaborative process that allows you to identify the key priorities for your organisation and consider the key stages and dependencies necessary to progress to delivery.
- Tailored Plan: The consultation at stage 3 is structured to help us shape the recommendations into an action plan tailored for you, which will set out short-term no-regret “quick wins” and medium- / longer-term activities. This stage also provides a menu of support we can provide through any of the downstream stages.
- Specification and Commercial Delivery: Once the high-level components of the plan are agreed, we can work with your internal teams or other external partners to support all aspects of project definition, detailed specification, and delivery and partnership arrangements, to move your plan into action. Our precise role will depend on the tailored plan and your organisation’s internal or external capacity.
- Funding: Our team of experts can work with you to secure funding, either from existing government sources and grants or from the private sector. Our Net Zero Partnerships offer includes a number of pre-packaged solutions where funding is included, but we also acknowledge that bespoke solutions may be more appropriate for your organisation. Our team can assist in linking the right financial solutions to your designed programme of work.
- Delivery and Monitoring: With funding and delivery partners in place we can work with you to ensure appropriate monitoring and reporting is established to evidence the impact and success of the relevant measures.
With a free initial Net Zero Progress Assessment, the process has been designed to deliver immediate value and insight whilst helping to shape the immediate priorities that will make the biggest impact for your organisation. If you are interested in taking the next step, please contact us at nzp@cityscience.com.
Why City Science?
City Science was founded in 2015 to support Local Authorities to decarbonise their regions and we have been working with UK Local Authorities across a full range of decarbonisation challenges for nearly a decade. Our team of over 40 experts has been specifically selected to address decarbonisation challenges and create deliverable, impactful solutions. Our Net Zero Partnership offer brings together our expertise across the 7 key capabilities outlined below – from building initial evidence bases, insights and robust strategies, through to influencing stakeholders, securing funding and managing delivery programmes. Fully aligned to our mission of helping you decarbonise, our team has the knowledge, experience and flexibility to provide the solution that is right for you.
