Reading is a university town in Berkshire, with easy links to Ascot, London and beyond and it has recently been named as one of the UK’s leading boroughs in reducing its carbon emissions.
Reading’s Focus on Carbon Reduction
Reducing carbon has been a key focus for Reading Borough in recent years after it declared a climate emergency in 2019. The council has also pledged to be net zero by 2030 and has been taking significant steps towards achieving this.
In 2021, Reading Borough Council made it onto a coveted ‘A’ list of local authorities taking environmental action. There were over 1,000 entries globally with only 9.8% making the cut. Reading joined Bournemouth, Bristol, Edinburgh, Leicester, Greater London, Manchester, Nottingham, Southend and Sunderland as the only UK local authorities to be awarded the accolade.
Climate Initiatives in Reading
As a borough, Reading has utilised many climate initiatives to tackle carbon emissions. The council has taken steps to reduce its own carbon footprint by investing in electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure and making moves towards an all-electric refuse collection fleet. The plan to replace more than 200 vehicles with EVs by 2028 is already underway.
Street lighting has also been upgraded and the council is moving towards a concentrated Civic Centre, allowing for the disposal of older, inefficient buildings that cannot be refurbished to meet new standards.
The borough has also partnered with other institutions and businesses in the area to reduce carbon emissions. For example, the University of Reading undertook a £3.8 million program of decarbonisation and matched a £2.2m government grant to install a water source heat pump, reducing the carbon footprint of its campus by 10%.
The Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust ran a scheme to reuse and repurpose old IT equipment, during which 379 items were recycled, saving 128 tonnes of carbon. The trust has also pledged to achieve net zero by 2030, a full decade ahead of the official NHS target.
Meanwhile, Reading Football Club is identifying ways to reduce its carbon footprint through its partnership with the university and their Hoops for the Future initiative.
The Results
As a result of its push to reduce carbon emissions, Reading has made it into the top five UK boroughs for cutting carbon. The authority has reduced its own carbon emissions by 74% in 14 years and reduced its use of fossil fuels by 50%. As such, the borough remains on track to become net zero by 2030, but there is still a lot of work to be done if Reading is to achieve its goal. The council has emphasised how vital even the smallest of actions can make a huge difference to carbon emissions and remains committed to reaching its ambitious target in the next seven years.
