The Council has announced the launch of the ‘Net Zero Hub’, a new online product designed to improve climate communications and engagement for residents and supporters.
Published: Wednesday, 13th December 2023
The platform was first revealed by Deputy Leader of the Council, Councillor Katherine Dunne at the Council’s Cabinet meeting yesterday evening, and forms part of Hounslow’s commitment to tackling the climate emergency head-on.
Let’s Talk Hounslow launched earlier in 2023 and is the local authority’s bespoke engagement platform – the Net Zero Hub will sit within the wider platform and serves as a one-stop source for Londoners, businesses, and investors to access net zero pilots and projects, ongoing campaigns, upcoming events, funding, and future collaboration opportunities.
The hub’s creation will complement existing information available on the Hounslow Council Environment webpages, and will offer an enhanced user journey and snapshot of all net zero-related work across the Council.
Councillor Katherine Dunne, Deputy Leader of the Council, and Cabinet Member for Climate, Environment and Transport, said:
Here in Hounslow, we’re committed to leading the way when it comes to bold climate action and that’s why we declared a climate emergency back in 2019. In doing so, the Council committed to achieving net zero carbon by 2030, and to a wider carbon emissions reduction throughout the borough.
Since then, huge steps have been taken forward, with significant investment put into decarbonising our buildings, retrofit, and greening our fleet of vehicles. Hounslow is also responsible for leading the London Council's climate programme on how we can support London double the size of the green economy.
To ensure Hounslow continues to deliver its ambitious climate action in a way that resonates with residents, I’m proud to officially launch Hounslow Council’s all-new Net Zero Hub.
To build on our platform’s initial launch, new content will arrive in the weeks and months to come, and there’ll be fresh and innovative ways for residents to have their say on Hounslow’s climate action.
I’m looking forward to bringing residents and supporters along with us on Hounslow’s Pathway to Net Zero.
The Net Zero Hub will improve the way that residents and businesses interact and understand Hounslow’s climate ambitions, but will also play an important part in attracting new support and investment for key net zero deliverables.
December’s Cabinet meeting saw the Council receive approval for the feasibility work needed to explore how the Council can support the decarbonisation of its neighbourhoods– known as the Net Zero Neighbourhood approach.
Net Zero Neighbourhoods, a place-based approach developed by 3CI, has seen proposals submitted by cities and places across the UK.
The Council declared a climate emergency in 2019 and adopted a Climate Emergency Action Plan in 2020, which committed to reducing its organisational footprint to net zero by 2030.
Key projects undertaken since the adoption of the plan have enhanced renewable electricity generation and delivered extensive retrofit to decarbonise council buildings and schools. Successes include the Council generating nearly 4000kW of renewable energy (by installing Solar PV at 48 sites), and a retrofit of 32 schools and 29 corporate buildings that will save a combined 17.5m kilowatts of electricity each year.
The local authority’s carbon reduction projects go beyond decarbonising council-owned infrastructure, with initiatives introduced to help residents and businesses reduce energy consumption. Flagship campaigns and projects to encourage residents to live more sustainably include No Time to Waste, and Heston in the Loop.
- Visit Hounslow's new climate platform
- If you have any questions, please contact us via email.
