Insight Papers 2024 - York and North Yorkshire
Insight Papers with York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority
In September 2024, The Sustainability Community worked together with York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority on a series of roundtable discussions bringing together peers in business, academia and local and central govt, to aid YNYCA in updating their route map to net zero, and drive forward green growth in York and North Yorkshire. Below are the Executive Summaries from each of the insight papers bringing together the outcomes of these roundtables.
Foreword from Mayor David Skaith, Mayor of York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority:
As Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, I am proud to share these insight papers, which capture our region’s unstoppable drive to lead the way in tackling the climate crisis and building a better future for everyone.
Building healthy, thriving communities means making sure every household, business, and community can benefit from our journey to becoming carbon negative. This transformation isn’t just a policy priority – it’s a chance to create a more affordable, resilient energy system, support local food production, and unlock thousands of new green jobs that will power our economy for decades to come.
The discussions and collaboration that have shaped these papers feed directly into the refresh of our Routemap to Carbon Negative – a bold commitment to become the first carbon negative region in England by 2040. These are not just ambitious targets; they’re the foundation of a fairer, greener future for everyone who calls our region home.
I’m inspired by the passion and expertise that so many of you bring to this work. From renewable energy innovators and heritage specialists to educators and local businesses, your ideas and experiences are helping us craft a plan that’s grounded in our region’s strengths and realities.
Together, we are proving that York and North Yorkshire can lead the way, not just in cutting carbon, but in building a place where people, nature, and the economy thrive side by side.
Thank you to everyone who attended, shared their time and expertise, and contributed to this journey. Together, we are making a difference – showing that when communities come together, there is no challenge too big to overcome.
Mayor of York and North Yorkshire
The Future of Food and Farming
In September 2024, The Sustainability Community, York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority and Incredible Edible convened a group of sustainability experts from across local government, academia and business to explore strategies to advance York and North Yorkshire’s community food systems, with a vision to explore the rich untapped potential in the food systems in York and North Yorkshire and to support York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority in updating their Routemap to Carbon Negative in 2025.
Discussions focused on enhancing community food systems in York and North Yorkshire by investing in local supply chains, encouraging innovation, and integrating food education into schools. Key initiatives like FixOurFood and Incredible Edible highlighted the importance of sustainable practices and community engagement in the discussion. Strategies discussed included supporting local food hubs, promoting regenerative agriculture, and utilising public land for food production.
By reconnecting farmers to policy discussions and fostering collaboration across sectors, the region can create a resilient, sustainable food system that addresses food insecurity and environmental challenges while promoting health and well-being for all residents.
The Future of Skills
This skills roundtable brought together a diverse group of stakeholders, including educators, industry leaders, policymakers, and local authorities, to explore the critical role of green skills in driving sustainable economic growth in York and North Yorkshire. Participants included representatives from Ahead Partnership, CISL, Efficiency North, and York College, who shared insights on the challenges, opportunities, and actionable strategies for fostering a robust green skills ecosystem.
The session focused on identifying ways to bridge the gap between current skills training and the demands of a green economy. Discussions highlighted the critical industries driving demand for green skills, such as renewable energy, electric vehicle maintenance, and social housing retrofits. It was noted that the region faces immediate and long-term opportunities in these sectors. Still, challenges such as workforce mobility, limited SME participation, and a lack of alignment between education and market needs must be addressed. Case studies of successful initiatives, including “Growing Talent Greener Futures” and York College’s retrofit programmes, underscored the potential impact of targeted and collaborative efforts.
Green skills were recognised as vital for reshaping York and North Yorkshire’s economy, providing a pathway to innovation, job creation, and compliance with environmental goals. Key sectors, including energy, transport, and housing, offer significant opportunities for growth. However, to fully capitalise on these opportunities, the region must address skills shortages, enhance educational pathways, and engage both employers and young talent to build a sustainable workforce.
The Future of Energy
In September 2024, The Sustainability Community, York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority and ENGIE convened a group of sustainability experts from across local govt, academia and business to explore strategies to advance York and North Yorkshire’s renewable energy plan, with a vision to support York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority in updating York and North Yorkshire’s Routemap to Carbon Negative in 2025.
Discussions focused on scaling local renewable community energy projects, addressing the challenges within current local and national policy and regulation, and the role of stakeholder collaboration to achieve the region’s target of Net Zero by 2034 and for the region to be carbon negative by 2040.
The Future of Retrofit
The UK’s retrofitting efforts are crucial to reaching net-zero targets by 2050, yet progress remains slow across the country, including in York and North Yorkshire. The region’s rich architectural heritage, including over 4,500 listed buildings, presents unique challenges. Retrofitting these structures must balance energy efficiency improvements with stringent conservation standards and retaining local character, making regulatory compliance complex and costly.
National policy targets for energy efficiency, such as achieving EPC band C in all homes by 2035, are reinforced by Historic England’s guidelines, which assist with retrofitting in conservation areas. However, several barriers persist. Strict planning regulations, high costs, and a shortage of skilled labour make retrofitting heritage buildings particularly difficult. Additionally, the existing EPC system often misrepresents the energy performance of older structures, deterring investment. The retrofitting process itself also causes an initial “carbon burp”—a short-term emissions increase—which complicates the balance of immediate and long-term benefits. The majority of the emissions resulting in the carbon burp are made up of scope 3 emissions, particularly the embodied carbon in the materials, construction work to complete the retrofit, transport and logistics and waste generation. However planning to account for this carbon burp will allow the stakeholders involved in projects to minimise these initial emissions. Regardless, retrofitting is still a crucially important step.
The newly formed York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, supported by devolution , presents an opportunity to address these challenges. York and North Yorkshire’s Routemap to Carbon Negative, which is being refreshed in 2025, highlights the need to decarbonise the region’s buildings, with buildings currently accounting for 23% of total emissions in York and North Yorkshire. The Combined Authority is currently developing a Retrofit Strategy for the region which will bring together a range of partners and initiatives, with the aim of increasing the pace and scale of retrofit in the region.
