Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to decarbonise shops on high streets.

The Government encourages all UK businesses with 500 employees or fewer to visit the UK Business Climate Hub and sign up to the globally recognised small business climate commitment. Businesses, including retail, gain access to a range of resources to help them achieve net zero emissions by 2050 at the latest.

Part of the commitment is disclosing progress on a yearly basis. To help businesses to report annually, they are now encouraged to use CDP’s new Climate Disclosure Framework.

In addition, the Government is also working closely with representatives across these sectors who have industry-wide net zero strategies. These include the British Retail Consortium who have published their Climate Action Roadmap and the industry-led Retail Sector Council who have produced an SME Green Guide.