If you see funding opportunities that could potentially help you and your local authority pay for projects to decarbonise, then just go for it.

That was the advice offered by John Seddon, Head of Transport and Innovation at Coventry City Council, when he took to the stage earlier this week at the inaugural Festival Net Zero in Coventry’s Ricoh Arena.

Speaking with future Net Zero Co-Founder Sumit Bose, he explained how to overcome the hurdles associated with cutting emissions and how to make the most of the opportunities on offer, particularly within the realm of transport and mobility.

He highlighted the importance of taking bold and innovative steps in working towards net zero, and emphasised the need to work with partners, local businesses and the wider community in driving sincere and meaningful engagement.

Mr Seddon said: “A lot of it is building good partnerships with the supply networks, the supply chain.

“It’s looking at trying to set those partnerships up, to do those sort of deals, it is also a case of keeping an eye out for those government grants and those opportunities – in my case, the Department for Transport is the natural route but it’s about getting funding from bodies such as Innovate UK and Highways England for various sorts of projects.”

We have produced a thought leadership report with all of our partners to help you navigate your path to net zero – you can download it here.