Business Emissions | Utility Bidder

Business Emissions - Utility Bidder

Climate change and global warming are happening at an alarming rate, and finding ways we can all be more eco-friendly is crucial.

Whilst it’s important from a financial point of view to get the best business gas prices through business energy comparison websites, it’s also vital to find ways that you can be more sustainable, whether that’s by switching to recyclable packaging or encouraging employees to work from home.

Many businesses have started to make those changes. However, some industries are still lagging.

That’s why we wanted to find out which areas of the UK are producing the most greenhouse gases. We looked at the greenhouse gases produced by industries in local authorities in the UK, as well as the most polluting industries.

Industries in Neath Port Talbot produce over 6,000ktCO2e of greenhouse gases, more than any area of the UK.

Many companies across all industries are aiming to become greener by reducing their carbon footprint. However, in some areas of the UK, these companies are a little slower to enforce change. We’ve looked at greenhouse gas emissions from industries all over the UK to find out which local authority produces the most.

Neath Port Talbot

Wales

Neath Port Talbot was the local authority with the most greenhouse gas emissions with 6,356 ktCO2e. Neath Port Talbot, located in southwest Wales, is a key producer of steel and tinplate. The majority of the local authority’s greenhouse gas emissions come from large industrial installations. This total of over 6,100kt is more than the total for any other industry in the UK.

Total greenhouse gas emissions (ktCO2e):

6,355.9

North Lincolnshire

Yorkshire & the Humber

Second place goes to North Lincolnshire with just over 5,790 ktCO2e of greenhouse gas emissions. Like Neath Port Talbot, large industrial installations account for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions produced by North Lincolnshire. The manufacturing industry is the largest in North Lincolnshire, accounting for almost 24% of all jobs in the area.

Total greenhouse gas emissions (ktCO2e):

5,790.3

High Peak

East Midlands

Derbyshire’s High Peak completes our top three with 2,416.4 ktCO2e of greenhouse gas emissions. Once again, it’s large industrial installations which cause the majority of High Peak’s greenhouse gas emissions. In every other category, fourth-placed Cheshire West and Chester produce more greenhouse gas emissions.

Total greenhouse gas emissions (ktCO2e):

2,416.4

Greenhouse gas emissions (kt CO2e) Industry electricity Industry gas Large industrial installations Industry 'other' Industry total

	Local authority	Region

View all

Epsom and Ewell is the greenest local authority in the UK, with industries located here producing just 5kt of greenhouse gas emissions.

We’ve also looked at the local authorities whose businesses are producing the fewest kilotonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.

Epsom and Ewell

South East

Epsom and Ewell takes the top spot with just over 5ktCO2e of greenhouse gas emissions. Behind Industry ‘Other’ category, which accounts for the majority of the total, industry electricity is the most polluting, producing 1.2 ktCO2e of emissions. In the early 17th century, Epsom became a spa after the discovery of Epsom salts, which are still used for self-care to this day. However, salt mining can be damaging to the environment, as it can contaminate soil and water, and cause a loss of biodiversity.

Total greenhouse gas emissions (ktCO2e):

5.1

East Renfrewshire

Scotland

Second place goes to Scotland’s East Renfrewshire with 5.5 ktCO2e of greenhouse gas emissions. East Renfrewshire produced less greenhouse gas emissions through electricity. However, industries in the Scottish local authority produced four times as much gas.

Total greenhouse gas emissions (ktCO2e):

5.5

Orkney Islands

Scotland

Another Scottish area makes this list, with the Orkney Islands completing our top three with 8 ktCO2e of greenhouse gas emissions. Orkney is an archipelago made of around 70 islands, with a population of over 20,000 people. It’s famed for its natural beauty and historic landmarks and heritage sites. There are around 1,500 businesses here, and 90% of them employ fewer than 10 people.

Total greenhouse gas emissions (ktCO2e):

8.0

Greenhouse gas emissions (kt CO2e) Industry electricity Industry gas Large industrial installations Industry 'other' Industry total

	Local authority	Region

View all

Electricity and gas suppliers produced over 80,000kt of greenhouse gases, more than any other industry in the UK.

Some industries emit more greenhouse gases than others. That’s why we wanted to find out the most polluting industries in the UK.

Electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply

Total greenhouse gas emissions (ktCO2e):

80,770.4

Companies in the electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply take the top spot, producing almost 81,000 ktCO2e of greenhouse gas emissions. The electricity and gas supply industry is incredibly important to our day-to-day lives. We have a huge reliance on electricity, whether it’s to light our homes or even charge our cars. Despite its importance, the greenhouse gas emissions produced by this industry are the lowest they’ve been in the last 30 years.

Manufacturing

Total greenhouse gas emissions (ktCO2e):

80,438.6

The manufacturing industry takes second place, producing 80,400 ktCO2e of greenhouse gas emissions. The manufacturing industry covers a variety of different trades, materials, and products. Of these, the most polluting within these industries is the manufacture of refined petroleum products, and the basic iron and steel. Together, these industries made up a quarter of the manufacturing industry's total.

Transport and storage

Total greenhouse gas emissions (ktCO2e):

54,263.8

The transport and storage industry completes our top three, producing over 54,000 ktCO2e of greenhouse gas emissions. Despite its entry into our top three, the transport and storage industry has actually decreased massively in just one year. In 2019, almost 86,000 ktCO2e was produced, and in just one year, the total decreased by more than 30,000 ktCO2e, or 37%.

Agriculture, forestry and fishing

Total greenhouse gas emissions (ktCO2e):

46,843.2

Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities

Total greenhouse gas emissions (ktCO2e):

24,857.2

Mining and quarrying

Total greenhouse gas emissions (ktCO2e):

18,620.3

Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles

Total greenhouse gas emissions (ktCO2e):

13,800.9

Construction

Total greenhouse gas emissions (ktCO2e):

11,614.6

Human health and social work activities

Total greenhouse gas emissions (ktCO2e):

4,882.2

10.

Public administration and defence; compulsory social security

Total greenhouse gas emissions (ktCO2e):

3,965.3

Methodology

We used data from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy to find the greenhouse gas emissions per local authority for 2020 (latest data available). From this data, we took the industry totals for each local authority.

‘ktCO2e’ is the kilotones of carbon dioxide equivalent.

We then used the Office for National Statistics to find the greenhouse gases by industry.

Isles of Scilly was removed due to its small population size.

We also removed consumer expenditure from the industry data as these figures were not by industry.

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