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Published: 28 April 2026

Li, N., Unluer, C. Towards a net zero built environment: decarbonisation of the UK cement industry. npj Mater. Sustain. 3, 10 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44296-025-00052-0. Fig. 6 | Decarbonisation of the UK cement industry. a Technology decarbonisation roadmap.

Decarbonising the cement industry is a global issue that is intensely local.  Cement (and concrete) are responsible for between 7% and 8% of worldwide CO₂ emissions, just 1.5% of emissions in the UK, but around 25% in Staffordshire Moorlands and High Peak. The exceptionally high local figures reflect the concentration of the industry in the district; the relatively low UK figures partly reflect our increasing reliance on imports, some from countries with no decarbonisation plans in place.

The path to emission reduction chosen by the UK government and the industry involves increasing carbon taxes, partially subsidising the industry’s investment in carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS), while protecting it from ‘dirty’ imports via the European Carbon Adjustment Mechanism. 

It is often overlooked that even the government and the cement industry accept that CCUS technology can only be part of the solution and that alternative products and better construction practices play as important a role in the path to Net Zero. That said, many people argue that the cement industry needs to transform itself more fundamentally instead of using expensive CCUS technology to continue ‘business as usual’.

There certainly are potential alternatives to Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and this article provides links to some of them. There is no doubt that CCUS does lessen the pressure on the cement industry to investigate other, low-carbon products. But retooling a whole industry as well as much of the construction trade involves far deeper issues than technological breakthroughs, in particular:

Read more: Are ‘Green’ Alternatives to Traditional Cement Production a...

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Published: 27 April 2026

Over 100 Repair Cafés from across the UK came together in Parliament on 25 March, to meet with MPs and call for the Government to introduce a Right to Repair. Moorlands Repair Café was there again and networked with other groups to share ideas and resources; it was so good to hear how other groups had developed and Mike came back with lots of ideas!

The event attracted 90+ MPs, including Karen Bradley MP, who pledged her support for the work we do in the Moorlands and promised to back the campaign. Dr Allison Gardner MP (Stoke South) has also pledged to support the campaign and went further when she signed the UK Repair & Reuse Declaration at last year’s event - thank you.

This was the third year in a row that Restart had teamed up with Back Market to invite MPs to get hands on and talk about why repair and reuse matter. And it represented real progress.

Representatives from more than 100 of the UK’s community repair groups were invited and there was a school group there with Team Repair who demonstrated how their kits are teaching young people how to repair, in addition to instances of beloved items being repaired.

Many MPs signed up to the Repair and Reuse Declaration - a number that grew during the event from 112 MPs at the start, to a whopping 143 by the end, boosted by the 91 MPs who came to the event. Many of these MPs either signed the declaration or offered to support Restart’s ongoing efforts to secure strong policy to support repair – or both.

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Published: 12 April 2026

HuG, our Moorlands Green Arts Festival, returns to the Foxlowe on Saturday 27 June from 10.00am to 4.00pm and this year we shall be celebrating water – rivers and stream, springs, ponds and lakes.  MCA is a partner in the Nature in Your Neighbourhood project, along with Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, Keele University, OUTSIDE Arts and SMDC. As ever there will be a wide range of stalls showcasing a variety of arts and crafts using different materials, all produced with an environmental ethos. 

We’ll be entertained by local storyteller extraordinaire, Gordon MacLellan aka Creeping Toad, as well as Leek Rock Choir and Leek Morris and festival favourites, the Leek U3A African drummers. New stallholders include Wheatcroft Willow – basket maker Rachel Evans – and the Staffordshire Makers Collective.  Joining us again will be Moral Fibres – preloved textiles and notions – and Projects from Pallets. 

On the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust stall you’ll be able to look into their aquarium and take a peek at pond life while Leek Books will have books of a watery nature for all ages to add to your collection.  Perhaps our plant stall will have marginal plants for your own pond.  Local nature and environmental groups such as Swifts of Leek and Friends of the Earth will also be there.

We’re hoping for good weather yet again, though perhaps not as hot as last year!  And to ensure a great day out for everyone, we’re looking for volunteers to help on the day with a variety of tasks, from helping stallholders set up to selling raffle tickets.

If you can give us a hand, please get in touch by completing the form below.

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Published: 11 February 2026

The first round of consultation for the Peak Cluster Carbon Capture and Storage project has begun. Follow the link for more details. The project aims to capture the CO₂ produced as a by-product from cement and lime-making at four sites in Derbyshire and Staffordshire and then pipe it for long-term storage in depleted gas fields in the Irish Sea. 

The project has already divided opinion. Some see it as the only way to decarbonise an essential industry in the timetable required to meet UK climate targets. Others argue for a more fundamental reshaping of the way we approach growth, or that there are cleaner alternatives to cement. 

One potentially hard-to-understand issue is whether there is enough storage for the CO₂ and, if so, whether it is safe. 

In an attempt to help inform the discussion on that specific subject we’ve brought together some links to what evidence is already out there. The list does not claim to be comprehensive, nor has it been selected to advance one side or other of the debate. 

Capacity

This recent research paper published in Nature seems pretty definitive and argues that safe storage is very significantly less than previously estimated but that CCS almost certainly will have a pivotal role in reaching climate targets.

Here is a summary by the report’s authors for Carbon Brief.....

Read more: Peak Cluster Carbon Capture and Storage

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Published: 08 February 2026

Over 250 people joined us to take part in our first Wassailing celebration in January. After months of planning, it all came together with residents witnessing the awakening of the trees at the orchards in the West End of Leek, supported by Leek Morris, drummers and our special visitor – the fabulous Curlew courtesy of Outside Arts.

The purpose of the event was to raise awareness of the Community Orchards in Leek and bring back an old tradition that goes back almost a thousand years.

Children ‘toasted’ the trees with bread soaked in apple juice, while shouts of Wassail rang around the orchard. The giant Curlew was a favourite with young and old, adding a definite Moorlands twist to the traditional wassailing – we even managed to include a reference to oatcakes in the songs.

We are keen to get your comments on the event, so if you attended, please do give us your feedback here - Wassail Feedback. We hope to repeat the event next year, elsewhere in the town – if you would be interested in making it happen, look out for details of the planning meeting in the summer.

Leek town council have a video of the event here - https://www.facebook.com/100064678571095/videos/moorlands-wassail/1848098562499806/

See our illustrated report - Download Wassail_2026

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Published: 23 December 2025

It was great to see 32 members join us on 23rd November at the Friends Meeting House - a record attendance and always good to see some new faces. 
After the formalities of the re-election of the committee and noting the handover of Membership Secretary from James to Simon, our group coordinators gave a talk about the varied work they had managed throughout the year. Their reports were circulated prior to the meeting or given as a verbal update on the day.
A few items that were noted:

• Staffordshire Moorlands District Council is planning a public consultation on its updated Climate & Nature Action Plan, and MCA are looking to work with SMDC to co-design how this will be delivered.
• We hope to be able to take a Student Placement in 2026 from Keele University, primarily to work on our marketing approach, both internally to existing members, and externally, to attract more members.
• The Nature group are always looking for more volunteers to get involved with projects.
• The Energy Group would welcome more people to get involved with the thermal camera project - helping develop a lending policy as well as helping interpret the results to people who borrow the camera. Longer term, we would like to develop a directory of local energy efficiency contractors that have been recommended by our members.
• Transport - this is not a very active group, but there is huge potential to work up proposals around the emerging County Transport Plan. If you have an interest, please do get in touch.

There was then an open forum for any member to raise items.

• Youth - how can we work closer with schools and other institutions, including sixth forms and support the promotion of careers in the Green industries?
• How to respond to the rise of climate change deniers - in Staffordshire, nationally and internationally?

The Group photo shows some of our members at the end of the meeting.