Prosper Autumn 2023 Yumpu_compressed

FROM THE MAYOR’S DESK
Black Country businesses are driving force
behind our region’s push to Net Zero
Andy Street,
Mayor, West Midlands
As the defining issue of our time, we face
tremendously tough decisions on how to
tackle climate change. As the birthplace
of the Industrial Revolution, we have
worked hard to ensure the Black Country
and the wider West Midlands is at the
forefront of the green revolution.
I want to use this column to explain
why, despite those huge challenges, I
believe it’s vital that we double-down on
our climate change ambitions, so we can
benefit from the jobs and investment
that achieving them will bring.
While the Government remains
committed to achieving Net Zero in the
UK by 2050, the Prime Minister’s recent
shift on green issues illustrates the tough
balancing act required to protect citizens
from the financial impact of change.
I understand his decision to ease
targets on heating and insulation, as
technology is arguably not moving fast
enough to hit them. However, my job as
Mayor of the West Midlands is to put the
needs of our region first, and I disagreed
with his decision to delay the ban on
sales of new petrol and diesel cars until
2035.
The West Midlands is home to some of
the UK’s biggest automotive
manufacturers, including Jaguar Land
Rover (JLR). We account for 30% of all
automotive employment in Britain.
My personal view is that, with
automotive being such a critical industry
for the future of our region, it was not the
right call.
However, regardless of the national
decision-making, businesses here in the
Black Country, and across our region, are
leading the way in building the green
economy, creating jobs and driving
innovation. Much of the record inward
investment our region has seen in recent
years was concentrated in the clean
manufacturing sectors. We are seeing
real innovation.
Take Wolverhampton’s Wintech, which
is celebrating its 40th anniversary this
year. This firm has ambitious goals to
support the UK’s Net Zero targets, by
raising awareness of how their innovative
façade engineering creates energy
efficient buildings.
Andy Street
visiting EDF’s
battery energy
storage project
in Sandwell.
Then there is EDF’s exciting battery
energy storage project in Sandwell.
Green energy sources will play a vital role
in helping us to honour our #WM2041
Net Zero commitment, and reliable
battery storage – for when the wind isn’t
blowing or the sun isn’t shining – is
essential if we are to harness the full
potential of renewable energy.
This EDF Renewables project at
Bustleholme will upgrade battery storage
capability in our region and showcase the
benefits to local people and businesses
that a low carbon future can deliver.
Capable of powering a small town, this
facility has now gone live in the Black
Country.
Our region is also pushing ahead with
building the infrastructure that is needed
to enable motorists to switch to electric
vehicles, with the UK’s largest public
charging hub being launched on the
National Exhibition Centre campus.
Capable of charging 180 EVs
simultaneously with 16 ultra-fast 300
kilowatt DC chargers, of which two are
designated accessible bays, the hub is
the biggest private investment in electric
charging in the UK.
The commitments to net zero cross
sectors. Over 100 businesses have now
committed to taking steps to cut their
emissions and help the West Midlands
become net zero by 2041.
Black Country-based manufacturer
AVACE is among the latest cohort to sign
the West Midlands Combined Authority’s
(WMCA) Net Zero Business Pledge,
joining some of the highest profile
employers across the region.
To lead change at this scale, we need
businesses of all sizes – and from all
sectors – to commit to new ways of
working. All the indications are that
businesses in the Black Country are
buying into the benefits of joining the
green revolution.
08 PROSPER AUTUMN 2023