Shropshire industry and commerce combined were responsible for 511ktCO2 (0.5MtCO2) in 2019, so it's crucial to decarbonise these sectors in order to address climate change. Clean Growth has been a government strategy since 2017, outlined on the Gov.UK website. Regional initiatives we partner include the Marches LEP Energy Strategy, the Midlands Energy Hub, and BECCI (built environment climate change innovations).

Decarbonising the economy is outlined in the government's Clean Growth Strategy (2017) and more recently the Energy White Paper (2020). Please see our climate dashboard for further stats. 

Given the massive energy price rises (100% wholesale gas, and up to 50% in electric since 2020) it's going to continue to be a tough time for businesses. Whilst we continue to rely on gas imports for our energy mix, it's predicted that this will rise by a further 50% by 2030.

So, for both commercial and environmental reasons it's important to improve efficiency, and easy low-cost measures can dramatically reduce your spend. Next to staffing and maintenance costs, energy is your most controllable overhead, and appropriate measures will also help to reduce maintenance costs.

The commercial sector can be more flexible and dynamic than the public sector in adapting to and exploiting the opportunities that clean growth offers. Around the UK there is innovation:

• Business parks operating entirely on renewables offering a long-term model that's stable and secure
• Renewable transport hubs with growth opportunities for more
• Solar-electric car parks
• Localised generation for rural communities from farms

Decoupling from oil and gas will mean less reliance on volatile foreign energy markets and imports. Transitioning to 100% UK-based home-grown clean low-carbon energy is already achievable, and is quicker and cheaper to install than nuclear, or drilling for gas. Clean growth provides skilled long-term jobs. The retrofit, EV (electric vehicles), renewable energy and storage markets have the capacity to offer over 100,000 jobs UK wide, with 5,000 in the West Midlands alone.

Please see the business efficiency section for guidance for your sector, and the funding and commercial efficiency pages for more information.