Financeandprocurementfornetzero

In 2019, the UK became the first country to implement a net-zero emissions target by 2050. This will require significant economic and societal shifts, transforming how we live and work. Led by a team of early career researchers (with mentoring from senior academics), this project will explore the role of public procurement and place-based finance in shaping net-zero delivery at a local scale.

Whether local authority, community or business led, procurement and finance can play a key role in facilitating, upscaling and replicating energy demand reductions and sustainable energy service delivery for net-zero.

We work on the basis that:

• public procurement represents the public demand for net zero energy services and demand reductions;
• place-based finance instruments facilitate their supply; and
• energy is both a cornerstone for meeting net zero targets and an opportunity to create local resources and capabilities to govern their implementation.

Our guiding research question is: How can public procurement and place-based investments support the implementation of net zero targets at a local level?

We will research the role of public procurement and place-based investments through case studies on local authority, business and community leadership of such collaborations. These will help identify factors which determine the scope and scale of energy demand reductions and sustainable energy service delivery. Findings will also provide insights into the opportunities and limitations of local net-zero implementation with regards to local authority resources and capabilities.