Westmorland and Furness Council, in partnership with Cumbria Action for Sustainability, Cumbria Tourism and three partner businesses, has secured £150,000 to support research into rural net zero.

The Rural Net Zero project is one of 14 pathfinder projects awarded funding to continue with plans to tackle the barriers to decarbonise and will focus on food system decarbonisation and circular economy.

The funding has been provided through Innovate UK’s Net Zero Living programme which aims to help places and businesses across the UK to accelerate the delivery of the transition to net zero.

It will build on the work of the Phase 1 Feasibility Study led by the former South Lakeland District Council which received almost £75,000 of funding in April 2023 to identify non-technical barriers to net zero.

The project will allow the partnership to maintain the relationships, interest and momentum of the first phase, enable them to deepen their understanding of non-technical barriers associated with decarbonisation of food systems and business processes, and to progress the options for addressing them.

Councillor Giles Archibald, Cabinet Member for Climate, Biodiversity and Environmental Services, said:

“This funding represents another step in our journey towards a sustainable future, helping us to build on the work and momentum we achieved in the first phase of the Innovate UK study.

“This research will allow us to really get underneath the challenges faced when it comes to decarbonising our food systems and promoting a circular economy system, and identify practical and impactful solutions.

“We share a collective ambition to achieve net zero for Westmorland and Furness by 2037 and by fostering collaboration among our businesses, communities and stakeholders, we can amplify our efforts to reach this target.”

Alongside Cumbria Action for Sustainability and Cumbria Tourism, the council will be working with three partner businesses, Fell Brewery, Holker Estate and Playdale Playgrounds, to identify challenges businesses face in decarbonising and how those barriers can be approached and overcome.

Commenting on what interested Fell Brewery to get involved in the Innovate UK Project, Tim Bloomer, Founder and Sustainability Director, said:

“I was motivated to participate in the project because of our wider belief in the power of collaboration. By sitting around a table with such a varied group of experts, businesses and representatives, you can really start to build a picture of the problems we share and how we can find better solutions if we approach them together.”

Speaking on the challenges businesses face in decarbonising, Martyn Bland, Technical Manager at Playdale Playgrounds, said:

“With limited resource, knowing where to spend the time that will have the biggest impact in decarbonisation is a challenge. Having the correct information to make informed business decisions is important.”

On what inspires their action to reduce carbon emissions, Morgan Robinson, Estate Operations Director for Holker Estate, added:

“At a personal level, I want to protect what we have for the next generation. We have three young children at home and I want them to be able to enjoy the natural world as much as I did and my parents before, so protecting this, and where we can enhancing it, is critical.”

In the coming months, the council will be engaging with businesses and stakeholders through workshop events to explore opportunities for working towards rural net zero together.

For more information about the scheme please visit the council’s website or email: climateaction@westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk.