New research shows the UK’s net zero economy grew 9% in 2023, with over 23,000 businesses contributing to £74 billion in Gross Value Added (GVA) and supporting over 765,700 jobs in the UK.
Following on from ‘Mapping the net zero economy’ in January 2023, a new comprehensive report into the UK’s net zero economy has been published showcasing the scale of the sector today.
The UK’s net zero economy report
Commissioned by the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), with analysis provided by CBI Economics and The Data City, the research highlights the importance of net zero activity in the UK, and for creating new opportunities and attracting foreign direct investment.
As part of the published research, the report also highlights hotspots of net zero activity across the UK, with an interactive map showing strengths across key constituencies.
The scale of the net zero economy
To understand its contribution to the UK economy, CBI Economics made use of our data to help define the net zero economy. Using our Real-Time Industrial Classifications (RTICs), a substitute for more traditional and outdated Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes, the report identified over 23,000 net zero businesses in the UK in December 2023 across 16 sector verticals.
From this real-time sector definition, CBI Economics were able to look at the economic contributions of net zero activity in the UK.
The analysis shows that these businesses contributed £74 billion in Gross Value Added (GVA) in 2022-23, which is equivalent to 3.8% of the UK economy – larger than the economy of Wales (£66 billion). They also supported 765,700 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) jobs, equal to nearly 3% of total UK employment.
Net zero hotspots
As well as a view of the scale of the net zero economy, the report also touches on the economic opportunities up and down the country. Stockport, Aberdeen City, Perth and Kinross and Hinkley and Bosworth, were all identified as net zero hotspots, local authorities with the highest reliance on net zero activity as a proportion of the area’s GVA.
The research also found that 65% of the top 25 net zero hotspots and half of the top 50 net zero hotspots in England and Wales are classified as key electoral battlegrounds heading into the general election.
Download the report
To find out more about the UK’s net zero economy and to discover more about how our data was used, you can download the full report on the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit website.
You can also dig into UK constituencies and see the net zero economy at a local level using the interactive heatmap.
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