LONDON | GREEN500 - NEWS and MEDIA

Annual award ceremony summary and brochure now available

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0100

The annual Mayor of London Green Awards event was held at the Globe Theatre, on Tuesday 8th June 2010. 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. More information. Download the brochure

New press release: Mayor awards London's top carbon-busting organisations

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0100

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.

Read the rest of the press release here

New web page about Green500 Mentors

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Want to know more about Green500 Carbon Mentors? Click here

Award winners for Dec 2009 Announced

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000

You can view the latest award winners here

Fujitsu to save 124.2 tonnes of CO2 per year by following Green500...

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Fujitsu expected to save 124.2 tonnes of CO2 and £31,310 per year by following the Green500 Action Plan.

Green500 has added another case study to the web site.

Fujitsu (who recently took part in the production of the Green500 video) has been working closely with their Green500 Carbon Mentor to introduce a number of carbon saving measures as well as engage staff.

Juliet Silvester, Head of Environmental Programmes at Fujitsu says

"Being environmentally aware is good business. And reducing our carbon footprint saves both us and our clients money.....We take our corporate responsibility seriously, and dealing with environmental issues is a large part of that. Working with Green500, in particular with our Carbon Mentor and our Action Plan, has helped to galvanise our efforts. Implementing a carbon strategy has brought significant benefits to the company. With rising energy costs, any move we make to reduce our energy consumption has a positive effect on our profit margins. It also gives us credibility when speaking to our clients about climate change and what they can achieve, because we are able to refer back to our own experiences.””

View Green 500 case studies here

90% of members agree leadership in London motivates individuals and organisations....

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

A survey of Green500 members, the mayor of London’s premier carbon club, has shown that over 60% believe employee engagement is vital in their efforts to reduce both costs and the environmental impact of their businesses. The study reveals how Green500 members are tackling the challenges faced by industry ahead of Cop15 and as the new Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) legislation is introduced.

Metropolitan Housing joins Green500

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Metropolitan Housing Partnership, has today joined London's premier carbon clue by signing up to a pioneering carbon management scheme back by the Mayor of London....

Read press release

Green500 voted Best Carbon Reduction Project at Edie Awards

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Green500 gained recognised at the recent Edie Awards

AEA has been presented with the edie award for carbon reduction for the Green500 programme.

Funded by the London Development Agency (LDA), and managed by AEA, Green500 aims to reduce the capital's CO2 emissions by 1.5 million tonnes over two and a half years. It has enlisted some of London's largest and most prestigious organisations to take part in a programme of activities designed to reduce the carbon footprint of their London operations.

Read the press release

View Edie Awards web site

The Mayor has today issued his draft transport strategy for consultation.

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0100

The Mayor has today issued his draft transport strategy for consultation. This is the final opportunity for business to help shape London’s transport strategy, under this Mayor, to support economic prosperity through to 2031.

A number of the issues raised during London First’s campaigning are reflected in this document. Key proposals include:

Delivery of Crossrail and major Tube upgrades, including potential extensions to both
Continued opposition to Heathrow expansion
Steps to increase the reliability of road journeys with a range of measures including financially incentivising road works*
Drastically increasing cycling ridership (400% increase in ridership 2000 – 2031) and active promotion of walking
Greater focus on supporting freight operations including rationalising movements by introduction of consolidation centres*
Improved passenger information and interchanges
Creating better and more attractive streets
Improving suburban rail services
A package of new river crossings in east London (unfunded)
Unique London First recommendation

The full text can be found at: http://mts.tfl.gov.uk/Read-the-strategy.aspx

Gold to Green: Olympic medallist joins Green500 member ExCeL London in bid to cut carbon.

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Tessa Sanderson, the first British black woman to win an Olympic gold, will join 60 members of staff from ExCeL exhibition and conference as they walk, jog or cycle 10km to work as part of ExCeL’s first Carbon Cutting Day.

On 16th September, ExCeL London will hold it’s first Carbon Cutting Day, as part of a continued commitment to the Green500 – London’s premier carbon club. Sixty ExCeL staff will walk, cycle, or jog from City Hall, to work at the international exhibition and conference centre. The scheme run by the Mayor’s London Development Agency, looks to cut the capital’s carbon dioxide emissions by 60 per cent by 2025.

Javelin star Tessa Sanderson will join the group, who will receive a send off from the Mayor’s office at 09:00 before crossing Tower Bridge to begin the 10Km journey. This is just one part of a whole day of activities including a ‘Mind and Body Olympics,’ highlighting the venue’s commitment to reducing the carbon emissions of both ExCeL as a company and its individual employees.

ExCeL staff will also be working with Britannia Village Primary School to undertake a number of community projects to help improve the schools gardens and build an environmental greenhouse made out of recycled plastic bottles. The Green500 will help the agency develop an all encompassing environmental scheme that involves colleagues and clients and encourages them to work in a sustainable way.

ExCeL London Chief Executive, Kevin Murphy said, “We are committed to sustaining a well-managed, profitable business that is ethical and responsible in terms of its impact on the environment, employment policy, social and economic contributions to London and our local community Newham. This first Green Team day is a fantastic way of really engaging our staff and onsite partners in a fun and educational way so that we all understand the company’s core values. Being members of the Mayors Green 500 is one of the ways that we are working with London to cut carbon and encourage other businesses to do the same. Running the event to BS8901 means that we can set a benchmark and try to improve year on year.”

ExCeL, who will be hosting The Carbon Show later this month, and playing a key role in the 2012 ‘Green’ Olympics, will also be officially calculating their official carbon footprint in a final celebration to end the day. Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, who laid a commemorative foundation stone for a new wing at the world class venue and super brand last month, said Boris Johnson said: 'I would like to wish the best of luck to all the ExCeL staff who will be getting on their bikes or putting on their walking shoes to get to work. The companies signed up to the Green500 are doing fantastic work to cut their carbon emissions and ExCeL's Carbon Cutting Day is a great example in action.' ExCeL joins a prestigious list of venues including Wembley Stadium, Chelsea FC, and The London Eye. The Green500 intends to bring together large organisations with a significant presence in London and encourage them to work together to reduce the city’s carbon emissions.

Each organisation that signs up to the Green500 is assigned a dedicated carbon mentor who works alongside the signatory to develop a tailored plan to reduce their carbon footprint and save money. Signatories to date include Marks and Spencer, The Post Office, TfL, HSBC, Boots and more. The prestigious group came together in June for the inaugural annual awards ceremony, hosted by the Mayor, who presented members with a Green500 certification to mark their achievements, as well as a variety of special awards for high achievers.

Ed Miliband opens new green power plant at St Thomas' Hospital

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Ed Miliband, secretary of state for energy and climate change, visited St Thomas' Hospital on Thursday to open a new combined heat and power (CHP) plant.

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust has become one of the first healthcare trusts in London to produce its own electricity and heat – saving the equivalent carbon dioxide of around 17,000 passengers flying to New York and enough energy to power Newcastle for a week.

There are CHP units at both Guy's Hospital and St Thomas' Hospital, which each use a gas engine to drive an alternator that produces enough electricity to meet half of the trust's requirements.

London SE1 - 11 September 2009 Read the article in full here

Business partners in London to cut carbon emissions from commercial buildings

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Over one hundred business representatives met today to discuss how they can help stem climate change by cutting carbon dioxide emissions from commercial properties in London.

The Better Buildings Partnership (BBP) and Green500 event brought together for the first time some of London's most prominent owners and occupiers to develop sustainability solutions to the commercial property market. Commercial property owners have an important role to play in reducing CO2 emissions from their buildings - as the commercial building stock in London is responsible for a third of London’s CO2 emissions. But there are several barriers.

LDA - 9 September 2009 Read the article in full here.

Member Communication - letter from The Mayor of London's Environment Advisor

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Dear Member,

At our annual awards ceremony, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, congratulated members of the Green500 for their excellent work in helping London meet its ambitious carbon reduction targets by saving around 476,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

The Mayor also announced a partnership between his office, the London Development Agency and the Carbon Trust to relaunch the London scheme this autumn. This is a reflection of how successful we feel the current programme has been in helping large organisations to cut carbon emissions and save energy and our desire to significantly expand its reach and scope.

The new scheme, which takes the best of the Green500 and further enhances it with the Carbon Trust’s expertise aims to help at least 1,500 small, medium and large London organisations to save at least one million tonnes of CO2 over the next three years, as well as £100 million in energy costs.
Businesses that join the scheme will be able to access much more advice and support, making it easier to save on energy costs and the costs associated with managing carbon emissions.

The new scheme, with its higher profile and expanded membership, will deliver greater benefits by building strong networks to share carbon reduction best practice amongst London organisations and to foster peer support within individual sectors. We want the new scheme to be most authoritative 'stamp of approval' for recognising the carbon reduction achievements of London's organisations.

We want to encourage current Green500 members to transfer to this scheme and to be reassured that their involvement is a top priority for us. The Carbon Trust would like to contact you over the coming months so they can send you more detailed information and help you seamlessly transfer membership to the new programme. To comply with data protection rules, you need to agree to passing on your details. Please select the appropriate text below and email this back to Green500.

If you have any questions about the new scheme, please do not hesitate to contact the Carbon Trust or call them on 0207 832 4858.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support over the previous years and I hope we can continue to work together in the future.

Yours sincerely,

Isabel Dedring
Mayor of London's environment advisor

1. I give permission for AEA to release my details to the Carbon Trust so that they may send me information about the new London scheme.
2. I do not give permission for my details to be shared with the Carbon Trust.