Showing Carbon the Red Card: A Recap of the Day

Since the Royal Borough of Greenwich declared a climate emergency in 2019 and a commitment to the ambitious target of achieving net zero emissions by 2030, the local business community has been working hard to make Greenwich even greener.

On March 21st, 2024, more than 160 representatives of RBG’s businesses came together for the second Greener Greenwich Summit which was hosted at The Valley, home of Charlton Athletic Football Club (CAFC). Working with the support of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, the event was organised and run by the South East Chamber of Commerce.

Themes of the day

The Summit’s agenda was centred around four main themes that were consolidated from 78 ideas that emerged from “Knowledge Café” roundtable discussions at the first Greener Greenwich Summit held at the University of Greenwich in October 2022. These themes were: Empowering Wider Change, Buildings, Transport, and Green & Digital.

In a series of quickfire presentations, local business leaders and the SELCC’s strategic partners showcased current projects and initiatives that are contributing to a significant reduction in carbon emissions across the borough. Speakers shared their innovative ideas across renewable energy use, waste management, recycling and reuse, sustainable transport, developing green skills, and the use of technology and IT systems to make a difference.

Making the right choice

One of the key objectives of the day was to collectively identify a key project from each of the four areas that will be further developed and led by SELCC as part of an ongoing programme of activities and events in the coming year.

The chosen projects were:

Embedding Wider Change - All Greenwich Businesses to Develop a Carbon Footprint Action Plan

Buildings - Scale Up Energy Efficiency Measures in Domestic and Non-Domestic Buildings

Transport - All Organisations to Develop a Green Travel Plan

Green and Digital - Employers to Pledge their Support to Local Colleges and Universities to Deliver the Right Green and Digital Skills in the Borough

How you can use this report

This report provides you with the Summit content, including links to the presentations and more detail on the projects chosen for further development. It also includes information on upcoming events, and signposting to resources, guidance and support to help both small and large businesses achieve their carbon reduction and wider sustainability goals.