Reading makes ‘A’ grade for its climate action for fourth consecutive year

Reading is one of only 112 towns and cities in the world to have made the ‘A’ grade in a respected global environmental league.

The town features on the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) ‘A’ list for the fourth consecutive year and joins only 19 other UK towns and cities to have made the grade this year.

Reading joins the likes of Barcelona in Spain, Buenos Aires in Argentina and Sydney Australia in the ‘A’ league and UK local authorities include Edinburgh, Greater London and Manchester.

Only 15% of towns and cities that submitted environmental information to CDP in 2024 achieved an 'A' grade.

CDP is a global non-profit organisation which holds the world’s most comprehensive data on how companies, cities, states and regions measure, understand and address their environmental impacts. It is widely recognised as the gold standard of environmental reporting.

To appear on the ‘A’ List, a local authority must publicly disclose a town-wide emissions inventory, have published a climate action plan and provide evidence of climate actions taken and their impact.

CDP says the towns and cities listed are demonstrating their leadership on environmental transparency and action, providing critical data to drive public and private-sector decision-making by communities, policymakers and the market.  

Councillor John Ennis, Lead Councillor for Climate Strategy and Transport, said:

“It is an outstanding achievement for Reading to be in the CDP ’A’ list for the fourth year running.

“For Reading to be up there with the big cities of the world is a testament to the town’s long-standing commitment to reducing carbon emissions and taking climate action.

“Reading’s carbon emissions have fallen by 54% in 20 years and the Council has cut its own emissions by 73% since 2008/9, but there is still much to do.

“The council will continue to work with partners and with Reading residents to make a significant positive difference to our environment.”

Key measures the Council has taken to reduce emissions in the last year include: replacing gas boilers with air source heat pumps at the Civic Centre and with ground source heat pumps at the Hexagon Theatre; replacing gas boilers in the Bennet Road depot with air source heat pumps; replacing diesel bin lorries with an electric fleet; securing £127,000 funding for further decarbonisation of Council buildings, including the Town Hall, and taking part in the Green Events Code of Practice trial to make festivals in Reading more eco-friendly and sustainable.

Climate achievements of partners in the borough in 2024 include:

• University of Reading: Named Sustainable University of the Year by The Times and No1 in the People & Planet University League Table.
• Reading Economy and Destination Agency (REDA): Reading Central and Abbey Quarter Business Improvement Districts (BID) recycled 336 tonnes of cardboard, an increase of 38% on the previous year, and six tonnes of waste from electrical and electronic equipment last year.
• Reading West Station: Great Western Railway, Network Rail and the Council worked together to deliver £5m of major improvements to Reading West Station including a new station building with information counter and customer toilets and new ticket gates.
• School Streets: Two new School Streets were set up in Reading in July 2024 in Great Knollys Street, central Reading, and Exbourne Road, Whitley.

The Reading Climate Festival is taking place between 7-21 June and includes the launch of the consultation on the draft Reading Climate Emergency Plan 2025-30 at a special event at the Civic Centre on Tuesday 10 June.

Visit: https://readingcan.org.uk/festival25/ to find out more and view the full programme and register for events.