Bristol, United Kingdom

With an approximate population of 441,300, and urban area of 550,200 km2, Bristol is England’s seventh largest city outside of London and one of the eight core cities in England. The city has ambitious climate targets and in 2010 was rated as the city with the highest quality of life in the UK, according to the Future’s Sustainable Cities Index.

Bristol is the largest centre of culture, employment and education in the region – and a city dedicated to sustainable living. The city is home to over 17,500 businesses and is renowned for its excellence in knowledge-intensive and creative industries. In February 2010 Bristol City Council adopted a Bristol Climate Change and Energy Security Framework which sets out how the city work with partners to reduce CO2 emissions from a 2005 baseline by 25 percent by 2015 and 40 percent by 2020 and how reduce energy use by 30 percent by 2020.

The key elements of Bristol’s plans include, planning policy to require renewable energy in all new developments, investment in public transport improvements, creating a municipal energy services company and a large scale investment programme to improve building energy efficiency and develop renewable energy.

For more information on Bristol's climate change committments, click here.

Sustainability focus: A Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive City

With funding from the UK Department for Energy and Climate Change, the City Council commissioned a Smart City Bristol study that undertook:

• An independent analysis of how smart city technologies can contribute to Bristol’s carbon reduction objectives;
  
  
• Benchmarked Bristol against other world cities; and
  
  
• Offered a set of objective recommendations that will contribute to further emissions reductions and provide citywide economic benefits.
  
  

The Smart City Bristol report, published in March 2011, recommends three key areas as a focus for Bristol’s smart city work: smart grid and meters, smart transport and smart data. These areas could cover innovative energy efficient urban energy, transport, ICT, water and waste solutions.

Smart City Bristol Final Report (with audio track)

Smart City Bristol Benchmark report

Achievements:

• Bristol was shortlisted for the European Green Capital Award 2010/2011
• Bristol is a signatory of the Covenant of Mayors, the Green Digital Charter and the Clinton Climate Initiative
• Bristol was crowned as European City of the Year by the Academy of Urbanism in 2008

"For Bristol to be a successful and prosperous city in the future, it is vital we continue to develop and be recognised as a Green and Digital hub. Businesses play a key part in helping us reach our carbon reduction targets, whilst technology is widely acknowledged as being able to provide some of the most cost-effective solutions for reducing carbon emissions. Both the green and digital industries are also major growth areas for jobs and investment. The council’s newly formed ‘Bristol Futures’ team combines the strengths of our sustainability, economic development and digital teams in order to drive forward smart, sustainable and digitally inclusive growth in the city.”

Cllr Barbara Janke,
Leader, City of Bristol

ICLEI and Bristol: Bristol has been an ICLEI member since 2008. Bristol is a member of ICLEI's Cities for Climate Protection Campaign.

Websites: www.bristol.gov.uk