August 4, 2022 The Best Cities in the UK for Eco-friendly Businesses

The business experts at NerdWallet have looked into the best cities in the UK for businesses wanting to cut down on their carbon footprint.

• London is officially the best city for eco conscious business owners and workers due to a robust congestion charge and a high number of renewable energy sources
• Birmingham comes second due to eco friendly transport links and a congestion charge for public and private vehicles
• Sheffield has the most eco friendly workspaces
• Coventry has the most EV points per 100k people
• Sunderland is the public transport capital
• Bournemouth is the least environmentally friendly city due to poor public transport and renewable energy sources

London is officially the best city for eco conscious companies in the UK, according to a recent study by comparison website, NerdWallet.

The business finance experts looked at a number of variables and crunched the figures to reveal which city is best for business owners and employees who want to make a positive impact on the planet.

• The experts analysed the following variables to define which city is the best for eco conscious workers:
• The percentage of non domestic dwellings with APCs between A and C and those which are carbon neutral
• The KM of cycle routes in city limits per 100k people
• Operating electric buses
• The number of tram/tube stops
• The number of renewable electricity sources approved by the city’s planning authority
• The congestion charge
• The number of EV charging points per 100k people
• A park and ride system in place

London scored highly thanks to its high number of EV charging points, a robust congestion charge, a high number of renewable electricity sources, and a high percentage of offices with EPCs of A-C or registered carbon neutral.

The second city, Birmingham, came in second spot, scoring highly with a high number of tube and tram stops per 100k people, and the second highest number of renewable electricity sources in the works.

Scotland’s most populous city, Glasgow, rounded off the top three.a park and ride system in the city, a good number of cycle routes and renewable energy sources close-by, it’s a solid choice for conscious companies.

The southern city of Bournemouth is officially the worst city for those looking to make a difference at work; the coastal city lost points due to not having a tram or tube system, having zero renewable electricity sources nearby, no active congestion charge, and no park and ride system.

The midlands city of Leicester fared slightly better, boasting more EV charging points than Bournemouth, and having a park and ride system in place.

Although London came in first spot, it did drop points when it comes to the KM of cycle routes and not having as many eco friendly workspaces. The Scottish capital, Edinburgh, and the Yorkshire city of Sheffield, claimed those crowns, respectively.

Rhiannon Philps, business finance expert at NerdWallet, said, “The climate crisis may have taken a back seat during the pandemic, but employees are now demanding their employers do more for the environment. No longer is it enough to install a recycle bin or switch to LED bulbs – they want to know their employer has thought about the whole picture.

Subscribe to Industry Today