Collective action from city leaders, business and communities is key to the rapid and coordinated action that is needed to transition a town or city to net zero emissions. Every community faces a different mix of climate issues and authorities need to develop plans that prioritise and sequence solutions in a way that can command long-term local support. For many areas, crafting an effective climate plan is an understandably unfamiliar challenge, one that requires a thoughtful and effective response across transport, housing, energy, ecology in a given location or region. It’s vital that efforts on one priority don’t impede or undermine success in other areas, and of course budgets are always a constraining factor.

We lead stakeholder engagement consultations and design governance structures to ensure broad support to tailored policies and action. With major structural changes needed to move from a carbon-based economy, stakeholder engagement is increasingly important to ensure a considered and just transition.

Wider benefits

Helpfully, the multi-dimensional nature of both climate action and the transition to net zero, provides local authorities and city leaders with an opportunity to simultaneously address a range of wider issues. Longstanding concerns like traffic congestion, air quality and pollution, safer cycle paths, provision of EV charging, are doorstep issues for many in the community and net zero action provides a spur to action on many of these areas for improvement.

Couple walking along the street
In our work on the London Borough of Waltham Forest's Climate Action Plan, our engagement with the local community led to 20 significant actions, across four key principles: energy efficient buildings; a place for people not cars; consuming less, recycling more; and a greener, more resilient borough.