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
55 Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment
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