About the Zero Carbon Oxfordshire Partnership
What is the Zero Carbon Oxfordshire Partnership?
The Zero Carbon Oxfordshire Partnership (ZCOP) brings organisations across Oxfordshire together to accelerate climate action. Working across local authorities, businesses, institutions, and not-for-profits, the partnership focuses on turning shared ambition into practical, collective action and helping organisations go further and faster than they could alone.
Across the Partnership, we:
- Bring organisations together to work on shared challenges.
- Align activity across Oxfordshire to create greater collective impact.
- Support practical action, from early ideas through to delivery.
- Share knowledge and insight between partners.
- Identify opportunities for collaboration, funding and influence.
See how the partnership has developed, and how we work today, below.
History of ZCOP
In January 2019, Oxford City Council declared a climate emergency, committing to address climate change at the local level and work towards a zero-carbon future. This declaration set the foundation for collaborative climate action across the city and beyond.
In October 2019, Oxford held a Citizens’ Assembly on Climate Change—the first by a UK city. Fifty residents, randomly selected to reflect the city's diversity, explored how to achieve net-zero carbon emissions through expert presentations and discussions.
Following the Assembly, Oxford City Council committed to bold action, including launching the Zero Carbon Oxford Partnership (ZCOP)—a collaboration of major organisations working towards a net-zero future.
On 4 February 2021, leaders from 21 major businesses and organisations in Oxford signed the Zero Carbon Oxford Charter at the virtual Zero Carbon Oxford Summit. This marked their commitment to achieving net zero by 2040, the Oxford target. The Summit was an opportunity for representatives to showcase their climate plans and action, facilitate conversation about a collective vision, and establish a formal partnership and collaborative approach to tackling the climate crisis.
The Oxfordshire Net Zero Routemap and Action Plan (ONZRMAP) is the guiding document for decarbonisation efforts at a county level. This report, published by the Future Oxfordshire Partnership in 2023, sets a pathway for the county to achieve net zero by 2050, with intermediate emissions reduction milestones at 2025, 2030, and 2040. ONZRMAP is based on the ‘Oxfordshire Leading the Way’ scenario set out in the Pathways to a Zero Carbon Oxfordshire (PaZCO) report published by the University of Oxford in 2021.
Decarbonisation across the county is informed by the actions set out in the ONZRMAP, including vehicle electrification, retrofit, development of a Local Area Energy Plan and nature-based carbon sequestration.
In 2025, following decision from the Steering Group of local authorities, businesses and institutions Partnership became the Zero Carbon Oxfordshire Partnership by expanding to include the entire county. This expansion strengthened cooperation between local authorities, businesses, and other key stakeholders across Oxfordshire, working together towards the goal
How We Deliver Change
ZCOP works by connecting strategy to action.
Setting Direction
A Steering Group of member organisations helps guide the partnership. They set priorities, track progress, and ensure our work stays focused on delivering impact across Oxfordshire.
Turning priorities into action Working Groups bring together partners with shared interests and expertise to develop solutions in key areas such as buildings, transport and energy.
Where focused action is needed, smaller Sprint Groups come together for a defined period to tackle specific challenges and move work forward quickly.
Where we're taking action together
Partners come together through ZCOP to focus on areas where collaboration can unlock real progress.
Past and current areas of work include:
- Domestic buildings
- Non-domestic buildings
- Sustainable travel (commuting, fleet decarbonisation, behaviour change)
- Adaptation
- Energy use
- EV infrastructure delivery
- Authority-based insetting
- Future green skills
- Community Action Plan Zero (CAP-0)
- Local offsetting
Working together as a partnership
ZCOP is a collaborative effort. Partners contribute in different ways, through delivery, expertise, and influence.
Members also provide a financial contribution, alongside time and effort, which supports the coordination of the partnership and enables this work to happen.
Together, these contributions allow ZCOP to function as a shared platform for action across Oxfordshire.
Transparency and Accountability
The Partnership reports on progress and shares updates openly.
Summaries of Steering Group meetings are available below:
Get Involved
Tackling climate change in Oxfordshire requires collective action. Find some of the ways you can interact with the Partnership below.
- Explore our Vision and strategic priorities by clicking here
- Learn more about our work and projects by clicking here
- Or get in touch if you’re interested in working with us on [email protected]