Protecting our environment
Reducing our environmental impact
Gas holders (gasometers) used to be a common sight on the skylines of the UK’s cities, towns and villages but are no longer needed for operation of a modern gas network. We committed to decontaminate and dismantle all of our remaining 23 gas holders by 2026 and are ahead of schedule, having completed this work by the end of 2024/25.
We also have a programme of cleaning up contamination left beneath our land from bygone eras. During 2024/25, we successfully completed remediation works at two of our sites . At Buckle Lane, Normanton, shallow spent oxide impacted soil was excavated and disposed of to a suitably licensed facility. At Clough Road, Hull, a new cover layer was installed over part of our landholding to mitigate potential risks associated with asbestos fibres identified in shallow soils. We will deliver another 6 projects by 2026.
Creating ‘Homes for Nature’
In 2018 we launched a commitment to help biodiversity on our landholding by creating 250 ‘homes for nature’ by 2026. We are well on the way with this commitment and have achieved 106 by the end of 2024/25 and established a strategy to achieve our target.
Tree Planting to Tackle Air Pollution
We have also continued our strategic tree planting programme in our region to tackle poor urban air quality. In 2024/25, we planted 7,224 trees across 18 sites, bringing our total to 52,721 trees planted since the programme began in 2021. This means we have already surpassed our target for 2026 to plant 40,000 trees.
