Green Case Studies

A Sunderland soft drinks manufacturer has been praised for its 'outstanding efforts' to reduce its carbon footprint and support its local community.

Clearly Drinks has slashed its carbon footprint after investing significantly in new machinery and infrastructure upgrades at its 150,000st ft Southwick facility.

A new multi-million-pound canning line, eco-friendly LED lighting solutions and achieving 'zero waste to landfill' status are just a few of its many efforts which have seen it eliminate over 300 tonnes of CO² from its operation in recent years.

A conscious effort to localise its supply chain has also contributed to this success, with the business now sourcing 95% of its ingredients and supplies from within the UK, as opposed to 60% just four years ago.

Expectations for its suppliers to bring down their emissions have also been set - be it embracing new, eco-friendly materials or modes of transport - to ensure the company is doing all it can to become a more environmentally sustainable business.

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The Highfield Hotel is a family-owned, award-winning hotel located in Sunderland, providing a welcoming and comfortable space for business and leisure guests alike. As a business dedicated to high-quality service and sustainability, The Highfield has long sought to reduce the environmental impact of their activities through renewable energy and efficient plant. In their effort to reduce environmental impact and energy costs, they turned to Sunderland City Council's BREEZ (Business Renewables and Energy Efficiency Sunderland) program for support in upgrading energy systems.

Through the BREEZ program,The Highfield Hotel were able to replace outdated water heaters with state-of-the-art, energy-efficient condensing boilers. This upgrade not only aligned with their sustainability goals but also helped to reduce carbon emissions and operational costs.

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The Sunderland Young Achievers' Awards honour young people for their achievements, including environmental impact through the Young Environmental Champion Award. .

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22 Sunderland schools received a total of £231,000 through the National Education Nature Park grant, to transform grey spaces into green learning environments.

 

Wear Here 4 Summer offered school-aged children a wide variety of sports, arts, cultural and learning activities, nutritious meals, cooking and nutrition education, and opportunities to socialise and make friends through an expanding network of clubs across the city.  

1700 attendees across 5 events. A total of 692 residents engaged in recycling information, energy saving advice, transport options and environmental activity, including upcycled bird feeders and planting.  

 

Young voices continue to shape Sunderland's climate future through the Environmental, Green and Sustainable (EGS) youth group, which has co-designed initiatives, contributed to campaigns, and been involved in volunteering opportunities in Sunderland. 

 

During 2024/25, 67 Sunderland City Council staff took part in Carbon Literacy training. The training is about raising awareness of climate change and providing information on how to reduce emissions. The training is crucial to continue meaningful and effective climate action by equipping and empowering teams to be able to incorporate appropriate low carbon and climate adaptation practices into their service areas.

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Links with Nature is a project which is improving 12 sites within the Coalfield area of Sunderland, creating a network of greenspaces where people and wildlife can thrive.

The two-year project (July 2024 to July 2026) is being delivered by a partnership of Durham Wildlife Trust, Sunderland City Council and Wear Rivers Trust and combines restoring habitats and increasing biodiversity on the sites alongside a varied activity programme of volunteering, green social prescribing, engagement and wellbeing activities to improve health and wellbeing of local residents through actively linking with nature.

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