Select Committee on Environmental Audit Written Evidence


Memorandum submitted by the Office of the City Remebrancer, City of London Corporation

INTRODUCTION

  1.  The City of London Corporation has long been aware that a clean environment, quality of life and economic prosperity go hand in hand, from planning and health in the 12th Century to the Clean Air Private Bill in the 1950s. It has therefore been paying close attention to developments in the science, theories and practice surrounding the issue of climate change as a whole. The City has been working to reduce its emissions for sometime now and, through investment in new energy saving equipment, the purchase of electricity from renewable sources, and the utilisation of heat and chilled water supplies, a reduction in carbon emissions of 38% below 1990 levels was recorded in 2005-06.

  2.  The City Corporation recognises however that even if carbon emissions were cut to zero overnight, the effects of climate change are likely to continue to impact upon the population for many years to come. It is imperative therefore that the City of London ensures that it will be able to continue to deliver the services and maintain an infrastructure that underpins the success of the business City. The following paragraphs set out some of the initiatives the City Corporation has undertaken in this area.

INTERNAL PRACTICES

  3.  The City Corporation's Energy Working Party (EWP) was established in 1975 and comprises senior Members of the Court of Common Council. Its main objective is to review the City Corporation's energy performance, its carbon emissions and to make recommendations with respect to capital expenditure and policy development. In 1998 the EWP recommended the purchase of renewable energy across the City of London Corporation. Consequently, the Guildhall, all public and street lighting, Mansion House, the Barbican Centre, The Old Bailey, New Spitalfields Market, Billingsgate Market and the City of London School are now all run on renewable energy contracts, saving in excess of 15,000 tonnes of carbon per year.

  4.  Staff are encouraged to take responsibility for their energy usage in a number of ways. In addition to information, supplied through media such as screen savers, staff bulletins and articles in the staff magazine, regular energy audits are conducted by the energy team and a network of volunteer energy wardens has been established across the organisation. These individuals take responsibility for on-site monitoring of energy consumption as well as engaging with staff about the benefits of energy saving. Alongside this, the cross departmental Sustainability Officers Working Group, assists in the identification of opportunities to enhance energy efficiency and cut carbon emissions. The group was, for example, actively involved in the development of internal recycling facilities.

THE CITY COMMUNITY

Residents

  5.  Increasing temperature fluctuations expected as a result of climate change are anticipated to have a negative impact on air quality within the City. The City has joined a partnership of organisations led by the European Space Agency in order to provide a free air quality alerts service. This allows anyone working or living in the City to sign up to receive free pollution alerts when air pollution may be elevated. The "airTEXT" service also offers health advice so that individuals can take steps to reduce the likelihood of any impacts. Participants in the scheme can choose to receive the alert by text message, voicemail message or an email, either on the evening before or on the morning of days when elevated air pollution levels are predicted.

  6.  The City's climate change adaptation strategy recommended the identification of flooding "hotspots" within the City, in particular identifying where localised flooding is likely during extreme weather events. Due to the topography of the City one of the areas most at risk is towards the east of the City and this is where the analysis is being focused as part of the City's strategic flood risk assessment. The adaptation strategy also recommended the development of a heat health warning system (HHW), the provision of portable air conditioning units, and the establishment of air conditioned refuges in public buildings during heat waves. In partnership with the local NHS trust, the City is taking forward the HHW and aims to identify individuals who are at particular risk during heat waves.

  7.  As part of the corporate performance management system, a sustainability planning tool across is being introduced across the City of London Corporation. To date the Department of Children's and Community Services (DCCS), Open Spaces Department, Environmental Services Department and Department of Planning & Transportation have undertaken training and incorporated sustainability into their business planning and performance management culture. This has allowed these departments to identify joined up ways of delivering new services. For example, carers from DCCS now provide advice on energy efficiency and climate change impacts to their clients.

  8.  The City Corporation's Housing Service is committed to eradicating fuel poverty for those living in housing of which the City is landlord and a number of improvements have been made to housing stock. These include a series of insulation programmes across estates, the installation of more efficient condenser boilers. Energy wardens are also employed on estates to monitor energy use and opportunities for installing solar panels to supplement domestic hot water use are also being investigated.

Businesses

  9.  Awareness is particularly high in the business community in the City. This awareness goes beyond firms' recognition of the business opportunities associated with climate change. Evidence of this can be found in the high degree of awareness and interest amongst members of the City Environmental Forum, which was established by the City of London Corporation in 2005. The Forum comprised of Corporate Social Responsibility and Communications managers from City of London businesses is free of charge, meets quarterly and is open to any business based within the Square Mile.

  10.  The City is the global centre of carbon emissions trading, and many firms within the City are beginning to enter this new market. The degree of interest is not only evident in the willingness with which businesses joined the London Accord (see paragraph 13: International below), but also in the fact that the soon to be launched City Climate Pledge has already attracted a large number of businesses willing to sign up before the programme has been launched. The "lights-off London" campaign was also extremely well received in the City, with many firms taking part.

Planning

  11.  The City's planning officers assist developers wanting to maximise the energy efficiency of new buildings through the planning process. When submitting applications for new developments, developers are asked to demonstrate that energy efficiency has been optimised, and that renewable energy has been properly considered by producing an "energy statement". Developers are also strongly encouraged to achieve a minimum BREEAM[55] rating of "Very Good" and in order to assist in this, a range of research and guidance notes have been produced, including "Green Roofs—a Guidance note for developers" which was produced in collaboration with the British Council for Offices. The City's new Local Development Framework has also incorporated climate change adaptation within its policies and the guidance that is being produced for developers. City planning officers have also undertaken a Strategic Flood Risk Assessment. This study is intended to inform the City's Planning process in ensuring that future development takes account of the risk of flooding particularly in the face of climate change.

WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP

  12.  The City of London Corporation has been involved in establishing and leading on partnerships seeking to assist in the fight against climate change. One recent example of these is the City Climate Pledge, a new initiative established in response to a request from the business community to develop a programme enabling them to demonstrate their commitment to tackling climate change. The pledge, being developed in partnership with The Carbon Trust and Pure-The Clean Planet Trust, takes a similar approach to managing carbon as the three "R"s used for waste management and recycling (reduce-reuse-recycle). Under this pledge, the three "M"s approach asks firms to Measure and report on their carbon footprint, Mitigate their footprint by introducing energy efficiency measure (assisted with advice from the Carbon Trust) and Mandate the offsetting of unavoidable emissions through reputable and auditable carbon offsetting schemes (assisted by Pure).

  13.  Other partnership work can be split broadly into three categories:

Londonwide

    —  In 2001, the City Corporation became the first local administrative body to join the London Climate Change Partnership (LCCP) which, with the assistance of City Corporation funding, published "London's Warming", the first ever analysis of the impacts of climate change on a major urban area. The City continues to play a role on the steering committee and is also an active member of several of its sub-groups, including the Financial Services Sub-Group, the Property Sub-Group and the Three Regions Climate Change Group. This last group was responsible for publishing "Adapting to climate change: a checklist for development".

    —  In 2002, in partnership with Forum for the Future the City Corporation established the London Sustainability Exchange (LSx). LSx is actively involved in motivating behaviour change on issues such as global warming in diverse communities across London.

    —  In 2005 the City of London Corporation became a founding member of the London Climate Change Agency. The LCCA was established to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions from London. It is a commercial company wholly owned, controlled by and housed in the London Development Agency.

    —  The City of London's City Bridge Trust, London's largest charitable grant making body, recently established a new initiative aimed at "greening" the third sector. It entered into partnership with 12 voluntary sector organisations across London to provide them with free eco-audits, aimed at improving their environmental performance, and carbon footprints. The results of this study were recently published in the form of a guide, and have generated a great deal of positive feedback from voluntary organisations from across London and beyond.

    —  The City has sought to engage local authorities in events such as the Clean Automotive Transport (CAT) seminar and research programmes such as the London Sustainable Construction Initiative and Green Roofs Advice Note. The latter has proved extremely influential and has been adopted as planning guidance by the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.

National

    —  In 2005, in partnership with UK Trade and Investment, the City Corporation founded London Climate Change Services, the industry body which represents the interests of climate change professionals. In addition to giving the industry a coherent voice when engaging with the Government, LCCS also assists in the promotion of UK expertise in international markets.

    —  In 2006 the City joined the All Party Parliamentary Group on Climate Change, and has contributed information and speakers to meetings of this group.

    —  The City is also an active member of the Construction Industries Council Sustainability Committee, the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, the London Environmental Coordinators Forum and Forum for the Future's Local Authority Partnership.

International

    —  In 2002 in partnership with Forum for the Future and Defra, the City established the London Principles Project, a research project focusing on sustainable finance. Following extensive consultation with stakeholders, this project became part of the UK Government submission to the Johannesburg Earth Summit, where the City of London signed a memorandum of understanding with the United Nations Environment Project to promote finance and insurance for sustainable development. The project is on-going, and in partnership with the DTI and Gresham College the City recently published "Clean Finance", a report examining how eco-innovation and low carbon technology was funded in the UK.

    —  In 2006, the City of London, along with BP, Forum for the Future, Gresham College and Z/Yen Consulting, launched The London Accord, a unique collaborative research project intended to share thinking on climate change mitigation and to provide analysis of approaches to direct investment to the best opportunities for investment. A number of leading City organisations have supplied their research teams without charge with the aim of providing a shared consensus to present greater clarity and better measurement of the link between investment, financial and "carbon" returns and also a better understanding of the role of public policy in this area. The report was published in December and is intended to be a reference guide for investors as they consider climate change, and incorporates both the wider agenda (energy security and environmental sustainability) as well as specific investment research.

SUSTAINABLE CITY AWARDS

  14.  The Sustainable City Awards were established in 2001 by the City of London Corporation with the aim of recognising and rewarding best practice in sustainable business in the UK across eight categories. The awards are delivered in partnership with 17 business and voluntary sector organisations. Since their inception, the awards have become the leading sustainable development awards scheme in the UK and act to raise the profile of winning organisations, encouraging participants to show improvement year on year. Last year the Climate Change Category attracted entries from 27 organisations including the public sector and household names such as BSkyB.

  15.  The Awards have also attracted entries from local authorities, such as the London Borough of Bromley, who in 2007 were runners-up in the traffic and transport category, and the London Borough of Enfield who were overall winners of the competition in 2005 for their work on sustainable construction. The City also runs initiatives such as the Clean City Awards Scheme which seeks to enhance the ability of businesses within the Square Mile to manage waste effectively. Both award schemes provide participants with the opportunity to network and share best practice, further supporting their efforts.

ADAPTATION

  16.  The City's Climate Change Adaptation Strategy "Rising to the Challenge", published last year, examines how the City's services and infrastructure will need to adapt in order to predict impacts of climate change compiled to assist the City in preparing for the likely impacts of climate change. The Strategy was commissioned by the City of London and drawn together by leading consultants, Acclimatise, in consultation with a wide range of partners. Workshops were held with officers from across the City of London Corporation, as well as City stakeholders, including Thames Water, the Environment Agency, the Association of British Insurers (ABI), Transport for London, the Government Office for London and London Metropolitan University. In addition, City businesses including RBS, KPMG, Charles Russell Associates and Clifford Chance attended as well as the neighbouring boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Westminster, Hackney and Islington. The Greater London Authority were also represented. A large workshop was held in July 2006 to identify the major climate risks, this was followed by a number of smaller meetings in August, to identify and appraise adaptation actions to address those risks.

  17.  The resulting document is intended to be a comprehensive and highly accessible piece of work which clearly outlines the major risks from climate change to the City along with recommendations on remedial action. The strategy aims to "climate-proof" the City of London, by undertaking a number of actions: initiating research and monitoring to help develop appropriate policy and actions on climate adaptation; climate proofing policies, practices, assets and infrastructure; working in partnership with utilities and service providers, other public sector bodies, residents and businesses in achieving this. The main climate risks the City faces are raised under the following headings; flood risks, water resources, heat risks and pollution and ground conditions. Each section outlines the highest priority risks and corresponding adaptation measures to manage the risks, cross cutting issues and opportunities are also described. The appendices outline specific climate risks, showing which City Corporation departments are most likely to be impacted by that risk and giving an indication of the severity and likelihood of the threat. A key feature of the strategy is the checklist for "climate-proofing" the City of London Corporation policies and projects.

  18.  Many local authorities now have climate change strategies but these tend to focus on mitigation rather than adaptation. The City's Adaptation Strategy is the first of its type to be produced by a UK local government body and, it is hoped, will be of use to those authorities who have not yet identified adaptation as an issue that needs to be addressed now. Though it is specific to the City of London, the issues raised within the City's Climate Change Adaptation Strategy are common to most boroughs and the "Climate Proofing" checklist is transferable across the board. Efforts are therefore being made to share the document with as many people as possible. It is being sent out to all Chief Executives of local authorities in England and Wales and presentations have been given to, or are planned for, a number of special interest groups. In addition the then Lord Mayor discussed the strategy with Russian counterparts during his visit to the city of Moscow last year and copies were taken by Defra to the Intergovernmental Climate Change Conference at The Hague.

  19.  The City Corporation has also convened an internal working party which is currently drawing up a series of action plans, projects and programmes to address the points of action contained within the strategy. Initial investigations indicate that much is already being addressed as a matter of good management practice but the strategy has also made a massive contribution to the City's Local Development Framework and expedited the delivery of our flood risk assessment. The issues and actions identified within the strategy have prompted the City to work more closely with service delivery organisations, such as those in the voluntary sector that we might not have previously approached on this issue. In depth conversations have also been initiated with bodies such as Ofwat and ofgem to examine the resilience of energy and water supplies to the Square Mile and adaptation is on the agenda for the City Environmental Forum, a forum facilitated by the Corporation for facilities and environmental managers throughout the Business City.

PROCUREMENT

  20.  In addition to the purchase of renewable energy highlighted at paragraph 3 above, climate change has been integrated into the City's corporate purchasing policy in a number of ways not least in mandating the use of environmentally beneficial products, services and technologies. In addition, a Local Purchasing Directive is in place to maximise contract opportunities for suppliers based in Camden, Islington, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Newham, Southwark, Lambeth & City of London.

  21.  The Lord Mayor's official travel has been offset for the last six years and for the last four years the City has voluntarily offset the CO2 produced by the Lord Mayor's Show, using a combination of forestry and energy efficient projects in the UK and developing nations. Since 2004, the City Corporation has made considerable use of expertise in this emerging sector, including The CarbonNeutral Company, an organisation based in the charitable sector, and CO2e.com, a subsidiary of global financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald which operates in the European Emissions Trading Market. With the help of other commercial organisations, the City of London Corporation has additionally offset the official travel of staff and Members since November 2001, by the purchase of low energy light bulbs for use by communities in Mauritius. Offsets have saved 221 tonnes of CO2 emissions associated with essential City vehicle use since November 2001. Further, through the CarbonNeutral Company, the City Corporation has invested in a variety of forestry and development projects. In 2006 the City purchased its carbon offsets through CO2e.com and invested in a project which manufactures high efficiency wood burning stoves for use by South African communities. Through such measures, carbon offsetting has been demonstrated as having a positive environmental impact and an ability to bring wider social and economic benefits.

January 2008






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Prepared 28 July 2008