January 7, 2008—The Mayor of London recently launched a groundbreaking program designed to help large business organizations cut climate change emissions by three million tons by 2010, thereby saving £300 million in energy bills. The two plans launched December 11 deliver on the commitments made in the Mayor’s Climate Change Action Plan, and represent the most comprehensive range of climate change services for businesses of any city in the world, claims London.
The Green500 will offer practical support and recognition awards to large businesses and public sector organizations in order to become more carbon efficient. Companies that sign up will receive a carbon assessment, will be helped to develop an emissions reduction plan in line with the mayor’s target to cut London’s emissions by 60 percent by 2025, and, critically, will commit to publish their progress annually. Companies will be offered a “carbon mentor” who will work with businesses to help implement the plan and achieve their target. There will be yearly awards to recognize those that reach their target and for top achievers.
The Better Buildings Partnership is a collaboration between London’s leading commercial landlords to improve the carbon efficiency of existing commercial property in the capital. Members of the program will commit to setting and achieving benchmark carbon levels for their property portfolios and finding solutions to remove barriers currently preventing the widespread take-up of sustainable building improvements–such as the fact that current rental values rarely take into account the energy efficiency of a building.
The Mayor also announced that the following high-profile companies will be the founding members of the green organizations program:
- The Green500: Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Ikea, Chelsea Football Club, EDF Energy, The John Lewis Partnership, Eversheds, Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Hospital, Transport for London, and Sky.
- The Better Buildings Partnership: Land Securities, The British Land Company, Hammerson, Hermes Real Estate, Transport for London, Grosvenor.
Business organizations and public sector employers currently produce around a third of London’s emissions, but if all of the actions in the green organization’s program were introduced, employers could reportedly save up to 20 percent on their energy bills as well as achieving significant reductions in carbon emissions.
The mayor’s Climate Change Action Plan—a comprehensive set of initiatives to reduce London’s annual 44 million tons of carbon emissions by 60 percent by 2025—also includes programs for the capital’s homes, transportation, and energy supply system.
