Britain’s net zero race splits by sector as transport emissions reach almost triple those of industry

The UK’s net zero transition risks becoming increasingly uneven, with some sectors making visible progress while others face a much harder delivery gap caused by ageing buildings, infrastructure constraints, high energy use, capex pressure and operational disruption, SaveMoneyCutCarbon, the UK’s integrated decarbonisation delivery platform, has warned.

The warning comes as new analysis shows a 20 percentage point emissions gap between transport and industry, with domestic transport now accounting for 31% of UK emissions compared with 11% from industry, despite headline emissions falling overall.

SaveMoneyCutCarbon says the divide is already visible on the ground, with real world examples including Forest Holidays, Waldegraves Holiday Park, BI Europe and The Salvation Army, as well as work with leading UK holiday park operators, extended stay hotels, engineering manufacturers, specialist facilities and multi-site nursery groups. Each is closing the decarbonisation gap in a different way, from EV charging and on-site solar to estate wide audits, hotel efficiency planning, water resilience strategies and upgrades in live operational environments.

New provisional government figures show UK territorial greenhouse gas emissions fell by 2% in 2025, but the headline reduction masks sharp differences between sectors. Domestic transport remains the UK’s largest emitting sector, accounting for 31% of emissions, while buildings and product uses account for 22%. Transport is now almost three times as large an emissions source as industry, while buildings alone account for double the share of industrial emissions, underlining how far the decarbonisation challenge now differs across the economy.

SaveMoneyCutCarbon says the next phase of net zero will be defined less by national targets and more by whether individual sectors can overcome the practical barriers blocking delivery. The UK is no longer facing one net zero race, but a widening delivery gap between sectors able to move quickly and those still constrained by live operations, ageing estates and capital pressure.

Where Britain’s decarbonisation gap is opening up

1.    Transport, logistics and travelTransport remains the UK’s largest emitting sector, but the gap is now about infrastructure as much as vehicles. Forest Holidays shows how businesses are beginning to solve this in practice, with 24 EV chargers installed across four UK locations, supporting more than 1800 charging sessions, 143,000 EV miles and 26,885 kg of CO₂ savings over 12 months.

2.    Buildings, property and estatesBuildings are one of the hardest parts of the economy to decarbonise because upgrades often have to work around older sites, live operations and complex estate needs. At Waldegraves Holiday Park, solar is helping cut operational energy demand, while work with other leading UK holiday and residential park operators shows how on-site generation can be designed around complex layouts, visitor experience and the character of sensitive leisure settings.

3.    Hospitality And High-Use SitesHotels and hospitality venues face a practical decarbonisation challenge because energy and water demand is built into almost every part of the operating model. One major hotel group is tackling that pressure through a site wide carbon reduction audit, reviewing energy, water, HVAC, hot water, kitchens and building controls to identify cost and carbon savings without disrupting a live guest environment.

4.    Manufacturing and engineeringManufacturing emissions may be falling on paper, but many engineering and industrial firms are still dealing with ageing assets, water use, heating demand and the need to avoid downtime. BI Europe shows how on-site solar can support energy resilience in manufacturing, while work with engineering manufacturers highlights how targeted water efficiency, maintenance improvements and future rainwater harvesting can help close the gap in live production environments.

5.    Food, agriculture and specialist facilitiesFood, agriculture and specialist operational sites are harder to decarbonise because energy, water, refrigeration, heating and site infrastructure are central to how they run. In one specialist clinical setting, practical utility saving measures and water resilience planning are being used to support future expansion while reducing pressure on constrained site infrastructure.

6.    Education, childcare and public facing estatesEducation and childcare settings may not look like major emitters, but they face real pressure from tight budgets, live safeguarding environments and rising sustainability expectations. Work with major early years providers shows how smaller organisations are taking a phased approach, from solar feasibility and future heating and lighting improvements to water efficiency measures and climate action plan support. The Salvation Army also shows how larger public facing estates are moving towards structured audit and investment planning.

7.    Retail, fashion and consumer goodsRetail and consumer facing sectors face one of the most hidden decarbonisation gaps because emissions often sit in warehousing, logistics, packaging, returns, suppliers and imported goods. WRAP’s latest UK Textiles Pact update found that 17% more textiles were placed on the market in 2024 than in 2019, driving a 10% rise in total carbon emissions and a 7% increase in water use despite improvements at product level. For these sectors, progress depends on reducing emissions across the systems around the product, not just the product itself.

8.    Professional services, technology and dataProfessional services, finance and technology firms can appear lower carbon, but their footprint is increasingly shaped by offices, digital infrastructure, business travel, suppliers and outsourced activity. As AI adoption and data centre demand accelerate, service led companies will need to look beyond reporting and address the physical energy use behind their operations, from building efficiency to cooling demand and digital supply chains.

Mark Sait, CEO of SaveMoneyCutCarbon, said: ‘The net zero transition is not moving at the same speed in every sector, and pretending otherwise does businesses a disservice. Some parts of the economy have clearer routes to progress, while others are dealing with older buildings, tighter margins, grid constraints, operational disruption and capital pressure. Businesses need less rhetoric and more delivery, with practical upgrades that cut waste, unlock finance and pay back in the real world.’

The organisation argues that the next phase of net zero policy and business support must focus on implementation, particularly for sectors where emissions reduction is tied to infrastructure, property, equipment and day to day operations. Without that support, the UK risks creating a two speed transition, with better capitalised and lower complexity sectors moving ahead while harder to decarbonise sectors fall further behind.