Young Innovators Council (YIC) is the voice of young people at Northern Gas Networks. It’s aim is to provide young people’s perspectives and help ensure young people’s thoughts and opinions are put at the heart of our decision making through meaningful and relevant engagement with our future customers.
We wanted to use this YIC session to allow the YIC to propose new interim target date(s) for NGN’s Planet Commitments, and with the proposed interim target date(s) in mind, for the YIC to put forward new targets for existing commitments and present new target areas where relevant.
It was also important for the council to create priority action plans for four key environmental areas, and to ensure members understand how their input will shape NGN’s wider sustainability strategy.
Target dates
You said that it makes sense to have targets at regular intervals. You suggested 2035, 2040 and 2045.
We have begun to integrate this into our Planet strategy. We’ll be redrafting the short, medium and long term targets taking this in to account, and our 2025 Annual Sustainability Report will publish any changes publicly.
Specific commitment feedback
You said to ensure that emissions are offset if they are over target
Ofgem has refreshed its guidance on offsetting, that we must follow – applying the principle that off setting will be a last resort, and not relied upon. However, we recognise the importance of presenting a clear and transparent picture and committed that if we are over the total Scope 1 and 2 target we will seek to purchase offsets if they are available at a suitable price
Specific commitment feedback
You said that ensuring financial feasibility of any biodiversity projects is key.
We have taken this on board, and will continue to prioritise initiatives that deliver environmental impact without unnecessary cost, such as NO MOW MAY.
Moving forwards we’ll continue to focus on those that strike the right balance between environmental benefit and financial sustainability, especially where we have community involvement.