|
Leeds City Council is proud to be a headline sponsor of Yorkshire Sustainability Week, a brand-new conference celebrating all-things sustainability and highlighting the green opportunities for businesses in our region. You can find out more about the week-long festival of events online or read more about what’s happening in this month’s newsletter.
BUSINESS: Brand-new festival of events dedicated to sustainability in business launches next week.
Yorkshire Sustainability Week will see events themed around the UN Sustainable Development Goals taking place in Leeds from 3 – 7 July.
Some of the keynote speakers announced for the conference include: Lucy Greenwood, co-founder of ethical clothing brand Lucy & Yak; best-selling author and carbon footprinting expert Mike Berners-Lee; and Areeba Hamid, Co-Executive Director of Greenpeace UK.
The festival aims to highlight the importance of collaboration, knowledge sharing, and recognising that every business must make a difference to protect our planet.
CLEAN AIR: Levels of air pollution in Leeds have not returned to pre-pandemic levels and continue a long-term trend of decline, new data shows.
Changing travel behaviours, a faster than average transition to plug-in vehicles and major highways improvements are all likely to have contributed to the citywide trend.
While the city’s air quality is getting cleaner, it is estimated that 54 of every 1000 deaths that occur in Leeds can still be linked to breathing polluted air. This mortality could be reduced as a result of further air quality improvements.
Leeds City Council approved new targets to improve air quality faster than required by national government in 2021 as part of a wide-ranging strategy and action plan to tackle air pollution from transport, homes, industry, and agriculture.
BUILDINGS: Space technology piloted in Leeds finds ‘leaky’ homes to help cut emissions.
A futuristic new aerial thermal imaging technique—developed by Satellite Vu and deployed for the first time in the UK over Leeds—can help identify the buildings leaking the most heat in a large area with ease.
Data collected from the Leeds pilot will be used to inform the council's work to make homes healthier, greener, and cheaper to live in as part of its Net Zero Homes Plan.
Separately, Leeds City Council has also announced that it is working with a partnership of national business leaders to address some of the practical and financial barriers preventing households from accessing green home upgrades.
NATURE: University of Leeds completes planting of 60,000 trees for new Gair Wood.
The 37-hectare mix of woodland and meadow will create new habitat for local wildlife, help tackle climate change, and act as a ‘living lab’ for related research and teaching.
As the woodland grows the plants will remove carbon from the atmosphere and contribute towards the University’s own target of delivering net zero emissions by 2030.
Gair Wood has been named after long-serving University Secretary, Roger Gair, who planted the first oak tree at the site near Golden Acre Park back in December.
EVENTS: Join more than 2,000 attendees and international experts at Yorkshire Sustainability Week.
Whether you're a seasoned eco-warrior or just starting to explore the world of sustainability, there's something for everyone to enjoy during the inaugural Yorkshire Sustainability Week.
From a two-day conference to roundtables and networking sessions, there is a range of events to inspire and educate and drive positive changes in sustainability.
And across Yorkshire, fringe events for Yorkshire Sustainability Week will be taking place, from People Planet Pint groups in Sheffield through to making a business case for net zero workshops in Leeds.
CYCLE: Get ready for Leeds’ new public e-bike hire service set to launch this autumn.
Leeds City Bikes will be the first fully electric public bike hire service in the UK and will also incorporate tricycles and e-cargo bikes.
The scheme will make cycling easier, convenient, and more accessible for many—giving residents a fun and pollution-free new way to get around.
E-bikes will be available to hire at docking stations in the city centre and along key routes, before eventually expanding to other areas of the city.
EVENTS: Help shape the city’s climate action at Imagine Leeds.
Climate Action Leeds is regularly hosting events at its new city centre hub, 'Imagine Leeds', which is open to anyone interested in getting involved with community climate action.
Attendees at the ‘You Decide’ event on July 3 will help choose successful applicants for the Climate Action Leeds small grants programme, whilst on July 4 the hub will host an Open Meeting for anyone interested in exploring options for delivering community-owned green energy in Leeds.
Both events are also a great opportunity to meet and network with other people interested in local climate action from across the city.
Climate Emergency Advisory Committee
If you would like to raise an issue, comment or opportunity as part of a future meeting of the council's Climate Emergency Advisory Committee, please get in touch to find out more about taking part in the Open Forum.
Contact climate.emergency@leeds.gov.uk and include “Open Forum” in the subject line for more information.
|
