Bristol, UK, has pledged to become carbon neutral and climate resilient by  2030. To do this, Arup’s climate change specialists were appointed to develop the Bristol One City Climate Strategy. It’s a challenging goal: Bristol includes emissions from scopes 1, 2 and 3 in their target (i.e. not only emissions created within the city, but also the wider consumption-based carbon footprints of residents and businesses), requiring a complicated analysis and strategy.

Arup’s strategy sets out five key principles – that outcomes would be fair, transformative, evidence-based, collaborative and able to evolve in line with emerging technologies, changing community behaviours and new scientific findings. Supported by the University of Leeds, we developed a robust evidence base using case studies of current emissions-reduction efforts projected forward.

Engagement was key to ensure that the strategy reflected the vision and ambitions of Bristol. Development of both the strategy and evidence base was was steered by a range of stakeholders in the city’s Environment Board as well as advice and challenge from the Bristol Advisory Committee on Climate Change (BACCC). Thanks to this engagement, the community has embraced the strategy, with organisations declaring climate emergency acting as anchors to begin delivery plans throughout the city.

A respectful and collegiate atmosphere between the Bristol City Council and Arup teams ensured that everyone played their parts quickly and with a positive attitude, contributing to the fast pace of delivery of the strategy.

Alex Ivory

Climate Change Team Manager, Bristol City Council

10 delivery themes for Bristol One City Climate Strategy
10 delivery themes for Bristol One City Climate Strategy
The strategy has 10 delivery themes highlighting where action is needed to achieve the vision for Bristol in 2030.

Climate and sustainability services

The Bristol One City Climate Strategy sets out five key principles – that outcomes would be fair, transformative, evidence-based, collaborative and able to evolve in line with emerging technologies, changing community behaviours and new scientific findings. With a clear position on the need for transformative action, the strategy sets the framework for stakeholders across the city to take action, building on Bristol’s successes and challenges to date. 

All people who live, work and play in the city will be involved in the delivery of climate action. Each of the activities in the Bristol One City Climate Strategy, including engagement, data collection and evidence base development, were tailored to ensure that the final strategy supports and enables a fair transition for the city that is accessible and possible for all. 

The strategy was based on evidence reports and collective knowledge of the city. Supported by the University of Leeds, we produced emissions studies and a baseline emissions gap analysis. We developed case studies of businesses’ current emissions reduction efforts and prepared a preliminary climate resilience assessment for the city using existing data and information on climate vulnerability and climate hazards. Our team examined projected changes in these vulnerabilities and hazards based on the best climate science, the sensitivity of local systems to hazards, and the ability of systems, organisations or people to adjust to events, respond to consequences or take advantage of opportunities. We also worked with other stakeholders to interpret their evidence base – in particular, the work of the Centre for Sustainable Energy in their assessment actions to deliver net zero for scope 1 and 2 emissions. 

A view across Bristol
The Bristol One City Climate Strategy sets out objectives for the city to become carbon neutral and climate resilient by 2030.