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Large emitters: industries and sectors

Some industry and sectors generate more carbon emissions. Supporting these industries to decarbonise can drive our transition to net zero. 

Across the region, there are examples of sectors, businesses and organisations transforming their operations to achieve better business and environmental outcomes. 

There are programmes to enable decarbonisation schemes to mitigate the environmental impact of development as part of local planning processes, and strategies from public sector landowners that encourage sustainable practices and development.

Working with the largest emitters in key industries can enable organisations to identify opportunities to cut their carbon footprints, to decarbonise supply chains and create new opportunities for innovation. 

What the evidence tells us

Our evidence base shows there has been a 79% fall in CO2 emissions from industry in the North East LEP since 2005. Follow the link below to read our full evidence base.

Explore the evidence

Partner think piece

Professor Colin Herron, MD of Zero Carbon Futures, explains how decarbonising manufacturing and changing our behaviour is key to achieving net zero.

Read the think piece

Our assets

The North East has a range of assets that can assist in identifying and developing opportunities for decarbonisation. These include assets across both the public and private sector, and link to the North East’s strong research capabilities and business base.

National demonstrator initiatives

Initiatives in decarbonisation including across health, domestics heat and ports.

Research and technology organisations

Including several Catapults Centres and national demonstrator programmes such as Driving the Electrical Revolution.

Innovative opportunities

Opportunities in future energy and heat demand, including using zero carbon sources such as solar, geo-thermal, biomass and wind.

Strong sector bodies

Working to co-ordinate decarbonisation strategies and foster innovation.

Strategic interventions

The existing enterprise zones and other sites present an opportunity to create a lower carbon infrastructure.

Challenges

  • Decarbonising heat usage within public buildings, including hospitals, local authority buildings and schools, many of which are typically large energy users and where there are significant shortfalls in maintenance investment. 
  • Complexity in decarbonising procurement, logistics and supply chains, including monitoring international emissions. 
  • Influencing procurement spend to leverage positive local investment, which can deliver additional social benefits. 
  • Transparent carbon footprint data for supplies in key sectors such as pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and consumables, in order to inform a shift to lower carbon clinical care pathways, or transport and construction in manufacturing.
  • Developing the expertise and capacity to help inform, guide and deliver leaders in sectors and businesses to identify and take opportunities to unlock transformative change with the pace required.

Opportunities

  • Building on examples of partnership working in key sectors to identify opportunities for joint approaches to decarbonisation in supply chains, logistics and procurement.
  • Working with land owners and managers in planning roles and in the delivery of low carbon strategic investment in areas like energy and transport planning. Upscaling efforts of the most progressive NHS Trusts to improve performance of all in the region Driving forward cross-sector innovation partnerships and programmes of open innovation, which can support large emitters to decarbonise across their activities.
  • Working across sectors, such as the port network to deliver collaboration and scale in joint approaches to secure future opportunities and investment, for example in marine emissions.
  • Through the Regional Transport plan, progressively shape the regional transport infrastructure to promote modal shift and new forms of transport.
  • Involving key industries in future Energy and Transport Master planning exercises.

What we are doing already

Despite progress, ongoing challenges in some of our largest sectors including energy, manufacturing, transport and the public sector remain. There is significant investment and innovation happening in these areas to take forward opportunities in green industries of the future, reduce emissions in logistics and supply chains and decarbonise large emitters such as the NHS. Find out about some of these below.