Success for Highland Council’s Climate and Energy Team
Highland Council’s Climate and Energy Team has received national recognition at the APSE Energy Awards 2026, highlighting its leadership in delivering climate ready infrastructure and long-term energy investment across the region.
The awards held on 24 February 2026 in Birmingham, as part of the APSE Big Energy Summit 2026, showcase the critical role local authorities play in driving the UK’s energy transition. Highland Council was shortlisted in four award categories - Accessing and Managing Finance, Collaborative Working, Decarbonising Transport, and Supporting Innovation - and was named winner of the Supporting Innovation Award, sponsored by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).
In announcing the award, APSE recognised the Council’s “pioneering, place-based model for public sector decarbonisation and energy investment combining large-scale renewable generation, energy efficiency, and grid innovation” particular recognition was given to the emerging Clean Highland Fund which brings together public, private and community investment to deliver long-term value that is retained within the region.
The national recognition comes as members of the Highland Council have now formally approved the strategic direction set out in the March report ‘Climate Change, Energy and Community Resilience’. The report establishes a clear shift from fragmented, project-led activity to a coordinated programme-led approach, bringing together climate adaptation, energy transition, infrastructure investment and community resilience into a single, place-based delivery model.
The approved recommendations commit the Council to:
- Developing coordinated investment pipelines across energy, infrastructure, housing and resilience
- Strengthening engagement with government, regulators and investors
- Embedding climate and energy considerations across all Council services
- Advancing a long-term, sustainable delivery model for net zero and resilience
Neil Osborne, Highland Council’s Climate Change & Energy Manager, said: “Being recognised across all four categories demonstrates the strength of our overall strategic direction. Whether it is finance, collaboration, transport or innovation, the common thread is our move towards a coordinated, place-based approach to delivery.
“With Council now formally endorsing our strategic framework, we are moving at pace from ambition to implementation. This is about creating a long-term, investable pipeline that brings together infrastructure, energy and community resilience in a way that works for the Highlands.
“By taking a programme-led approach, we are not only accelerating progress towards net zero, but ensuring that the economic and social value of the energy transition is captured and retained locally.”
A key theme from the summit was the growing importance of portfolio-based approaches to delivering net zero at scale - enabling councils to unlock investment, reduce delivery risk and transition from individual projects to long-term infrastructure programmes.