The government body tasked with cleaning up the UK’s decommissioned nuclear power plant sites has announced it has reduced scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by a third over the last five years.

The progress has been revealed in its latest report on the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority group’s sustainability goal performance.

This shows it has decommissioned more than a fifth of the sites to date and diverted more than 95% of conventional and non-radiological waste last year, as it aims for zero landfill use by 2035.

It has also invested £50m of funding over four years for projects to enable permanent and sustainable change to communities near sites.

In addition, 665 apprentices have been recruited over the last two years and it has more than 470 graduates in its programmes.

The group also includes the Energus training centre in West Cumbria. The NDA’s progress report has revealed that it is now generating half of its energy use from 650 solar panels, saving 30 tonnes of emissions a year.

This latest progress report follows the NDA’s publication of a five-year sustainability strategy in 2022. This aims to ensure the body is aligned with sustainability goals developed by the United Nations.

David Peattie, NDA group CEO, said: “I take great pride in leading a group which has sustainability at its core, and I’m delighted that we’re sharing some of the progress we’ve made.

“Our mission is unique in considering the impact of decommissioning on our communities, the local economy, job creation, environmental protection and skills investment.

“We can be proud of our achievements so far, but this is a long-term mission, and we have much more to do. Together, we’re making a difference.”

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