Support from the Stands

Click on the links below to find out more about the courses and business support available to help you improve your green and digital skills, digital connectivity and meet your carbon goals.

https://www.coventry.ac.uk/cul/study/ professional-courses/ https://gcda.coop https://itstechnologygroup.com https://www.livingwage.org.uk https://rskgroup.com https://digitalgreenwichconnect.com https://www.gre.ac.uk/sustain https://www.lsec.ac.uk https://www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk https://www.seenterprise.co.uk

One of the main aims of the Summit was to facilitate new connections and to help grow a community that can work together to really make a difference to carbon reduction across the borough. The Chamber and partners have already sprung into action since then to drive action around the four prioritised projects, while not forgetting the other projects discussed.

Activities include:

● Formation of the SELCC Sustainability group that will help to drive action around the four prioritised projects and other sustainability initiatives.

● Curation of an events programme which kicked off just after the Summit when SELCC hosted an online seminar with Coventry University London, exploring how climate change may affect businesses.

● The Chamber has been building an online hub to host all sustainability-related resources to support large and small businesses, available at greenergreenwich.org

● Supporting calls for a River (& Freight) Commissioner for London to accelerate progress on better using the Thames for passenger and freight transport, including through working closely with the Port of London Authority, industry and local authorities.

● The Chamber is supporting the launch of the Royal Greenwich Carbon Neutral Charter, due summer 2024.

● Encouraging businesses to sign up to:

● Green Business Action London: https://greenbusinessaction.com/apply /betterfutures-apply/

● The Good Food in Greenwich Charter: https://www.goodfoodingreenwich.org/charter membership

● London Living Wage: https://www.livingwage.org.uk/accredit

The Chamber will be in touch with you all with a programme of events in the coming weeks, and looks forward to your ongoing support.

The South East London Chamber of Commerce.

Journey to Net Zero – what have RBG been doing?

Almost half of delegates surveyed at the Summit were not aware of RBG’s Carbon Neutral plan, launched in 2019. You can familiarise yourself with it here https://www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/info/200342/ carbon_neutral_plan

Update on progress since Greener Greenwich 2022

● The council has invested in retrofitting 28 buildings within its corporate estate, resulting in an annual saving of 750 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.

● A retrofitting program for over 600 Council owned properties owned by the council, totalling an investment of over £20 million.

● The council has successfully secured approximately £1.9 million in funding through the Public Sector Decarbonising Scheme to retrofit maintained schools, resulting in annual savings of 300 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.

● This year, over 600 additional trees have been planted as part of the council’s environmental initiatives.

● Phase 2 (2022-2026) of the Greenwich Builds programme is currently underway, with the potential delivery of up to 1000 new zero carbon homes.

● £3.1 million in funding has been secured to address key priorities outlined in the council’s Transport Strategy.

● Grant funding has been secured for the development of a borough-wide heat network Detailed Project Design

● The council has successfully implemented fortnightly domestic refuse collection services.

● The Repairs and Investment team has delivered energy efficiency measures to over 1000 households.

● Support for circular economy initiatives has resulted in the mitigation of 37.4 tonnes of CO2 equivalent and saved residents approximately £138,000 in new item purchases.

● The Royal Greenwich Carbon Neutral Charter is scheduled to be launched in the summer.

I would like to thank all speakers, table facilitators, delegates and support staff for making the Summit 2024 such a resounding success. But the hard work starts now as we work together to deliver on the four selected projects and other initiatives to help Greenwich be a leader in sustainability and digital technology and reach its ambitious 2030 target.

Mark Jenkinson, Board Director, SELCC