The Oh Yes! Net Zero campaign has published a report detailing its members’ remarkable success stories as it celebrates three years of impact.
Founded in 2022, Oh Yes! Net Zero has 170 active members in Hull and East Yorkshire, which together employ nearly 60,000 people.
The initiative has four Founding Partners – consumer goods maker Reckitt, Hull City Council, place promotion organisation Future Humber and the University of Hull.
The Year Three report details how the campaign has served as a catalyst for green growth and sustainable success. Almost half of the active members now have a carbon reduction plan in place.
In the past 12 months, more than 30 organisations have attended one of Oh Yes! Net Zero’s Carbon Clinic workshops, which provide free, expert guidance to help small businesses make progress in reducing their carbon footprint.
With 98 per cent of all private sector businesses in Hull and East Yorkshire being small and medium-sized enterprises, a key focus of the campaign is on enabling a fair transition to net zero by giving smaller firms an equal opportunity to cut their carbon emissions. Small businesses often lack the time, resources or knowledge to implement net zero projects, which is why the support of Oh Yes! Net Zero is so valuable.
“Oh Yes! Net Zero continues to make a significant and lasting impact across Hull and East Yorkshire, galvanising businesses and other organisations to drive positive environmental change,” said Peter Edwards, Global Head of Policy and Stakeholder Management at Reckitt, a Founding Partner of Oh Yes! Net Zero.
“A key focus in this year’s report is highlighting that sustainability isn’t just good for the planet, it’s good for business. Net zero cannot come at the expense of growth – the two must complement each other to create a prosperous future.
“Thank you to all of our members who have contributed to the report, and to the Oh Yes! Net Zero community for embracing sustainability in everything you do.”
Members featured in the report include global medical technology company Smith+Nephew, Hull Truck Theatre, advertising agency Forward & Thinking and transport solutions provider GTS Logistics UK.
Hull Truck Theatre is one of the members that has finalised a carbon reduction plan after attending one of the Carbon Clinic workshops delivered by local decarbonisation consultancy BACB Renewables.
Hull Truck has chosen to align its 2045 net zero target with Hull City Council’s and has signed up to the Theatre Green Book initiative, a standard agreed by leading voices and bodies across the arts and cultural sectors to deliver environmentally sustainable theatre.
Sarah Barton, Production Manager at Hull Truck Theatre, said: “We are so fortunate at Hull Truck Theatre that we are in a position to inspire change.
“Being based in Hull, we have seen the impact of climate change first-hand with increasing temperatures and severe flooding events. We have just as much responsibility to tackle those impacts as any other organisation in the region.
“We can’t be 100 percent perfect all the time, but what we can do is look at the things within our control, that we can impact, and start there.”
Key projects highlighted in the report include the Climate Changemakers programme, which works with schools and colleges to educate and inspire young people to take climate action. Students from The Boulevard Academy in west Hull recently visited Westminster to meet Hull West and Haltemprice MP and Floods Minister Emma Hardy after winning a sustainability competition led by Oh Yes! Net Zero.
The foreword to the report was written by former BBC Science Editor David Shukman, a long-standing advocate of Oh Yes! Net Zero.
He said: “From large to small and across all sectors, it’s fascinating to see how the benefits are being recognised by so many members of Oh Yes! Net Zero.
“Net Zero isn’t just about carbon, though that’s important. In these uncertain times, it’s also about providing more than that for businesses and other organisations: the inspiration to thrive.
“So, just as the political tides may sometimes be looking less favourable, there are good reasons to think that net zero is more viable than ever. That’s particularly the case at the local level of a city like Hull where interest and support remain strong.”
Oh Yes! Net Zero’s innovative approach has been recognised on an international stage, when it was showcased alongside climate initiatives in cities including Barcelona, Oslo and Buenos Aires at the Smart City Expo World Congress 2024.
Working with C40 Cities, a global network of almost 100 cities, Oh Yes! Net Zero was highlighted as an example of a business-led initiative which is helping a city and region progress towards net zero.
As a city, Hull is making remarkable progress. If Hull maintains its annual greenhouse gas emissions reduction, by the end of 2025, it will have cut its 2005 total by 60 per cent.
To read the Oh Yes! Net Zero Year Three report, visit www.ohyesnetzero.uk/yearly-report
