In our first webinar of the year, we will be talking about theGreen Lease Toolkit initiative from Better Building Partnership. Green leases are a way for commercial property landlords and tenants to reduce the environmental impact of a property. The BBP toolkit has been developed so that it can be accessed in a variety of ways by different stakeholders, from investors, analysts, lawyers and leasing teams.
We will be joined by Kirsty Draper, Head of Sustainability for UK Agency, JLL and Siobhan Cross, Partner, Pinsent Masons.
The Charter now comprises of 55 of Westminster’s leading businesses and institutions, including Westminster Property Association board member Royal London Asset Management and the Charter's first school, St Marylebone CE School. Signatories now represent over 28 million sq ft of commercial floorspace.
Knowledge sharing workshop slides available below
Last month, Sustainable City Charter signatories attended Harley Street BID’s sustainability workshop, where guests heard from a range of speakers including Davies and Partners Solicitors, Harley Street BID, Westminster City Council and the University of Westminster on how businesses can decarbonise. The slides from all the presentations can be downloaded using the button below.
Explore our insight section from across the Charter network
“We feel it’s important to pitch in with our knowledge and expertise to help reduce carbon emissions across the borough” – John Davies, Chair of the Sustainable City Charter Steering Group
The importance of being able to commit to small but impactful changes - Leboni Saha, Sustainable City Charter Steering Group member and Founder & Creative Director of L Saha .
Cabinet Member for Climate, Ecology and Culture announces priorities
Cllr Ryan Jude, Charter Steering Group member and the youngest ever Cabinet Member in Westminster City Council's history will now oversee Climate, Ecology and Culture. In the forthcoming Fairer Environment campaign - due to be launched next week, the City Council will launch its priorities including:
Meeting the council’s 2030 net zero target
2040 city wide net zero targets
Ensure that climate action is embedded across the council
Watch the video below where Cllr Jude details these priorities and the three key strands to achieving a net zero Westminster.
Results from 2023 show positive reduction in carbon emissions
The latest data from the London Business 1000 survey for 2023 by London Chamber of Commerce and Industry and London Councils has revealed that the actions businesses have taken to reduce carbon emissions have continued to increase.
Large (84%) and medium (87%) businesses are much more likely to have taken action than SMEs (74%). At an industry level, retail firms are now far more likely than most industries to have taken action to reduce their emissions, with nine in ten reporting this to be the case – a substantial rise from seven in ten the previous year (69% 2022, 90% 2023).
Nature and your business: why it matters and how to take action
Join Heart of the City for a free webinar on why nature is important to businesses, and what practical actions your business can make to help protect nature. A presentation will be given by Ellen Shaddock, Sustainability Project Manager AXA XL, who will provide an overview of their new Roots of Resilience sustainability strategy and how AXA XL has integrated nature into their business operations.
UKGBC launch new guidance - Building the case for net zero
Following on from UKGBC’s 2022 report, Delivering Net Zero: Key Considerations for Commercial Retrofits, their latest report,Building the case for net zero: retrofitting office buildingsreframes retrofit as a continual process, rather than a standalone project. The report outlines which retrofit measures are the most energy and cost efficient for the project and explores building upgrade types: building optimisation, light retrofit and deep retrofit.
UKGBC’s has launched its Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) Checklist. Designed to be used by a range of built environment stakeholders, this checklist outlines through more than 30 detailed steps, what to consider during the design, implementation, and maintenance of BNG projects in order to successfully increase biodiversity onsite and exceed the upcoming legislations.
The Charter is a partnership between the business community and Westminster to ensure it becomes a Net Zero City by 2040. Please let us know if you can get involved, including:
Hosting or sharing your insight and knowledge at an event or webinar
Hosting a networking session for signatories to come together and exchange ideas
Work with us to capture your experiences in a blog, video or other content
Sharing your expertise with the Sustainable City Charter Technical working group
Tell us what you want to hear more on
You can reach out to us with your ideas, feedback and how you want to get involvedhere.
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