The Greater South East Net Zero Hub was formed in 2018, along with the four other regional Net Zero Hubs that cover England. Originally known as Energy Hubs, the name of our organisations has evolved to reflect the wider range of activities they now support.
Each Net Zero Hub has a team of experts that provides the public sector with practical support to develop local net zero projects and attract investment.
Each Hub tailors the focus of its activities to best suit the opportunities and challenges of its region. The five Hubs share ideas and best practice, and work in collaboration to improve efficiency and increase impact. For example, there are cross-Hub working groups on many different topics including transport, green finance and local area energy planning.
To find out more about the North East and Yorkshire, North West, Midlands and South West Net Zero Hubs, click the respective regions of the map below.
The five Net Zero Hubs are funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and supported by its Local Net Zero Programme team. The Hubs are part of the capacity and capability support that the Department provides to local authorities to deliver decarbonisation programmes.
The Greater South East regional area covers 11 Local Enterprise Partnerships, which are business-led partnerships between local authorities and the local private-sector business community. These partnerships are overseen by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. They work to identify priorities and undertake activities in their locality, to improve infrastructure, and drive economic growth, job creation and the development of workforce skills.
The Net Zero Hub was set up to work with the Local Enterprise Partnerships and their local authority members in the Greater South East region to accelerate the development of local net zero projects. Scroll down to access an interactive map that shows the location of the eleven Local Enterprise Partnerships within in the Greater South East Net Zero Hub region.
The Local Enterprise Partnerships involved are: Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Business Board, Coast to Capital, Enterprise M3, Greater London Authority, Hertfordshire, New Anglia, Oxfordshire, South East, and South East Midlands.
A downloadable version of our regional map is available HERE.
In 2017 the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy funded all Local Enterprise Partnerships to develop local energy strategies. There are six energy strategies that cover the Greater South East region. These strategies provide evidence to identify which local energy projects will bring most benefit to the region and thus inform the type of projects that the Net Zero Hub should support.
The Greater South East Net Zero Hub has a governing Board composed of representatives from all of the 11 Local Enterprise Partnerships in our region. Members are either employees of a Local Enterprise Partnership or a constituent local authority employee. The Board provides oversight to our programmes of work, informs our strategic direction and is integral to our decision-making process. The Board’s Terms of Reference are HERE. The Board meets approximately every six weeks. Scroll down to the section below to access the latest Greater South East Net Zero Hub Board meeting agendas and minutes.
The Greater South East Net Zero Hub Board also has an advocacy role. It considers issues and opportunities that could impact on local net zero development in the region and the work of the Hub and gives feedback to policy and decision-makers, such as the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Issues arising are reported to the Board by the Hub’s operations team and Board members also identify and share evidence about these issues and opportunities from their local areas.
The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, acts as the Accountable Body for the Net Zero Hub. In this role, the Combined Authority receives and holds responsibility for the grant funding that is provided by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to the Hub for its core operations, and for other programmes that the Hub delivers for the Department. Key decisions for the Hub are taken by the Combined Authority, acting upon the recommendations of the Greater South East Net Zero Hub Board.
The Combined Authority also acts as the the operational host for the organisation and employer of the Greater South East Net Zero Hub operations team. It provides the Hub with the key services it needs to function, such as finance, legal, procurement and communications support.
