The Midlands Net Zero Hub has provided support throughout the Co-County Carbon Coordination project which was developed with Fast Followers funding awarded to Councils in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire (D2N2) as part of Innovate UK’s Net Zero Living Programme.

The project was an innovative regional initiative aimed at accelerating the pace, scale, and coordination of net zero efforts across D2N2. Led by a coalition of local authorities, the project tackled non-technical barriers to climate action through strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, and innovative tools.

One key learning was that there was a lot more net zero related activity happening in the region than any individual project team member was aware of. In conducting a gap analysis for the region, with a view to refining the projects aims and targeting resource, it emerged that there were initiatives and activity happening somewhere in the region for any given area of activity.

A high level of interest and activity among community groups emerged as the project progressed, and the team were pleasantly surprised not just by the interest but by the breadth of activity and the depth of understanding on show.

Internally, both opportunities and challenges were encountered by project partners when working across departments such as Planning, Housing, Public Health, and Economic Development. Whilst undoubtedly difficult to achieve, breaking down siloed working improves outcomes.