Mayor awards London's top carbon-busting organisations

 

Flagship energy efficiency programmes save London 570,000 tonnes of carbon and chopping £70 million off their energy bills.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has heralded the capital's top organisations for saving around 570,000 tonnes of carbon and over £70 million off their energy bills.

At the annual Mayor of London Green Awards event (8 June 2010), held at the Globe Theatre, the Mayor presented accolades to London's top carbon cutting companies. The winners were all members of the schemes run by the London Development Agency to help organisations become more energy efficient to support the Mayor's carbon reduction targets.

The Green500 programme is unique in the UK as it rewards organisations for genuine carbon reductions.  The scheme is set to be expanded later in 2010 to include smaller businesses and organisations and will be delivered by the Carbon Trust.  Over the next three years, the expanded scheme will aim to help at least 1,500 London organisations to save up to 1,000,000 tonnes of CO2 and save £100,000,000 in energy costs over the lifetime of the projects.
The Green500 winners included:

  • ExCel London, which has reduced its carbon emissions by over 20 per cent since joining the Green500 scheme, saving nearly £300,000- largely through clever building management and new LED lighting;
  • National Magazines Company, which has a recycling rate of 64.9 per cent, staff-run beehives on a green roof and food waste composting;
  • Radisson Edwardian, where all staff are motivated through competitions to find inventive ways to cut energy, achieving a 13 per cent cut in electricity. They have installed a CHP plant unit at their Heathrow site which will save £70,000 a year in energy costs.  Low energy lights bulbs are in guest bedroom corridors and movement sensors are in low-use public and staff areas;
  • Islington Borough Council, who have installed loft, pipe and cavity insulation at 20 schools and 14 operational buildings over the last year saving £65,600 off energy bills.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said:

"These awards recognise that London's organisations are brimming with the ingenuity and creativity to take on the environmental challenges we face. Not only have these companies collectively made massive strides in becoming more energy efficient and cutting carbon, they are also showing that there are significant financial benefits in doing so."

The carbon reductions have been achieved through three schemes - the Green500, the Better Buildings Partnership and the Mayor's Green Procurement Code.

Peter Bishop, London Development Agency, Group Director for Design, Development and Environment, said:

"These awards recognise the tangible carbon savings we have achieved in London.  The award winners are already showing that they can effectively cut carbon dioxide emissions."

Tom Delay, chief executive of the Carbon Trust said:

"As our capital, London has a vital role to play in building the UK's low carbon future. We will be working with businesses and organisations of all sizes from right across the city. We'll equip them to meet London's carbon challenge and show how using energy efficiently can reduce their costs, boost productivity and cut their carbon footprints."

The Better Buildings Partnership includes leading commercial property owners working together with occupiers to develop energy efficiency programmes for London's existing building stock. The Better Buildings Partnership winners included:

  • Hermes Real Estate for the least carbon intensive London property portfolio.
  • British Land who with their occupiers reduced carbon by 2,500 tonnes over the last year saving £500,000.
  • Legal and General Property (LGP) for work at 99 Gresham Street, a multi-occupied London office where it has installed waste separation facilities and a cardboard bailer, overhauled the chiller system and replaced lights. This has reduced electricity consumption by 21%, saving 450 tonnes of carbon, increased recycling rates by 22% and reduced occupiers' costs by more than £70,000.

The Mayor's Green Procurement Code is a support service for London based organisations committed to reducing their environmental impact through responsible purchasing. Last year, members of the Mayor of London's Green Procurement Code spent over £436 million on sustainable procurement. Winners included Ove Arup, whose procurement of video conference facilities helped cut the company's travel miles by 12% in one year and the installation of a system to power down computers overnight saved over £50,000 on their energy bills in its first year.