Climate Action Strategy yearly action plans
The City of London Corporation’s Climate Action Strategy was adopted in October 2020. April 2021 was the beginning of the first year of delivery in support of the strategy. We are now in our third year of delivering the Strategy, please read the PDF for the full timeline of delivery. Copies of previous yearly action plans are at the bottom of this page.
We have committed to achieving net zero in our Scopes 1 and 2 emissions by 2027. This includes everything we own and operate as an organisation.
This year:
- We will roll out capital interventions across our corporate, investment and residential buildings, focusing on improving our energy use and heat decarbonisation. This will include upgrades to building controls, lighting, ventilation, heating, cooling, humidification, pumping, insulation, heat pumps and solar PV across a range of sites.
- We will publish and trial new Technology and Design Standards for future capital projects, to deliver operationally cost-efficient buildings with high life-cycle sustainability performance.
- We will complete individual decarbonisation plans for our main sites, including Housing Estates and carry out studies investigating Smart grid opportunities to support network resilience and grid decarbonisation.
- We will conclude site optimisation studies and support the improved efficiency of heating and cooling of our buildings connected to the Citigen Heating and Cooling Network. We will roll out the use of Artificial Intelligence in our building control systems to support the optimisation of heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.
We have committed to achieving net zero in our value chain by 2040. This includes everything we buy and invest in.
This year:
- We will engage with our fund managers to ensure the businesses we invest in reduce their carbon emissions. We will also publish a second Report on our Climate-related Financial Disclosures.
- We will engage and set targets in partnership with our top 25 most carbon-intensive suppliers (outside construction) and we will incorporate a carbon reporting tool that will deliver better visibility of our supply chain emissions. We will also a produce low procurement guidance.
We have committed to achieving net zero in the Square Mile by 2040. This includes activity within the City boundary and caused by the City but which occur outside, such as travel for business, commuting and leisure.
This year:
- We will develop a Sustainability Supplementary Planning Document to ensure energy efficiency, carbon reduction and climate resilience for all major developments in the Square Mile. We will also launch a Historic Buildings Challenge to understand best-in-class approaches on retrofitting hard-to-treat historic buildings.
- We will focus on the City’s clean energy transition by launching a Local Area Energy Plan and seek to establish a club of organisations in the City to join a renewable energy Multi-Offtake Power Purchase Agreement.
- We will reduce vehicle mileage in the City by increasing pedestrian priority, creating more space for walking, cycling and greening. Our grantee, the Heart of the City, will deliver a free, climate course to support SMEs in the City to develop net zero plans.
We have committed to achieving climate resilience in our buildings, public spaces and infrastructure. This means preparing for the impacts of climate change and extreme weather.
This year:
- We will continue to build an understanding of climate risks and opportunities in the City Corporation and the Square Mile. We will do this by delivering climate resilience up-skilling sessions for our officers and delivering resilience action plans for our markets and service departments.
- Across the City, we will continue to trial new measures such as urban greening and Sustainable Drainage Systems (SUDS) to improve resilience to climate change.
- We have developed a digital twin of the Square Mile providing an impactful visualisation of climate impacts climate impact change. The modelling illustrates the effects of extreme heat and water stress (flooding) on assets in the City over the next sixty years. For assets with a heightened risk of impact from climate change hazards, a suite of intervention measures will be developed. The modelling and interventions will be consolidated in an Asset Resilience Portal and a Buildings Resilience Action Plan produced to support implementation of the measures.
We have committed to achieving net zero in our Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2027. This means reducing emissions in everything we own and operate as an organisation.
In the first year
- We will focus on understanding energy use across our corporate, investment and residential buildings. Holding better data means that we can record improvements to energy performance and build on our approach.
- We will develop new standards for the design of future capital projects, to increase energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and increase climate resilience.
- We will develop areas of meadow and wood pasture within our Open Spaces, replacing arable farmland, to help remove carbon from the atmosphere. This will have the added benefit of increasing biodiversity and climate change resilience.
We have committed to achieving net zero in our value chain by 2040. This means everything we buy and invest in.
In the first year
- We will have fund and portfolio-level net zero targets for financial investments, and specific targets set in partnership with our suppliers for goods and services.
We have committed to achieving net zero and climate resilience in the City by 2040. This means reducing the emissions produced by activity within the City boundary and caused by the City, but occur outside, such as travel for business, commuting and leisure.
In the first year
- We will produce a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) to ensure energy efficiency, carbon reduction and climate resilience for all major developments and refurbishments in the Square Mile. An SPD provides detailed guidance on a policy in the Local Plan.
- We will select key locations for pedestrian priority and widening pavements across the City. These schemes will reduce vehicle mileage and create more space for walking and cycling. They will have the added benefit of increasing safety and creating more space for greening.
- We will develop a new Climate Action Fund through which investors can combine resources to help tackle hard-to-treat emissions.
- We will deliver free, tailored support for SMEs in the Square Mile through our grantee the Heart of the City. The Climate Action Course supports businesses in taking positive action in four steps, resulting in a plan to reach net zero.
We have committed to achieving climate resilience in our buildings, public spaces and infrastructure. This means preparing for the impacts of climate change and extreme weather.
In the first year
- We will test measures such as urban greening and Sustainable Drainage Systems (SUDS) in our public realm work programme.
- We will continue to build an understanding of climate risks and opportunities in our decision-making as an organisation.
We have committed to achieving net zero in our Scopes 1 and 2 emissions by 2027. This includes everything we own and operate as an organisation.
In the second year:
- We will deepen our understanding of energy use across our corporate, investment and residential buildings. Using this knowledge, we will be able to speed up our energy reduction measures to make the biggest impact on carbon emissions.
- Most importantly, our new standards for the design of future capital projects, to increase energy efficiency and climate resilience, will be in place. This will ensure that we build and refurbish in a smart and energy-efficient way.
- We will also continue to manage our Open Spaces in a way that promotes the sequestration of carbon.
We have committed to achieving net zero in our value chain by 2040. This includes everything we buy and invest in.
In the second year:
- We will deepen the engagement with our fund managers and key suppliers on carbon emissions and net zero. We will work closely with them to challenge their thinking and encourage the transition to net zero across our value chain.
We have committed to achieving net zero in the Square Mile by 2040. This includes activity within the City boundary and caused by the City but which occur outside, such as travel for business, commuting and leisure.
In the second year:
- We will produce an evidence-based local area energy plan for the Square Mile to identify priority interventions to increase renewable energy generation and decarbonisation opportunities.
- We will publish a Supplementary Planning Document to ensure energy efficiency, carbon reduction and climate resilience for all major developments in the Square Mile.
- We will also reduce vehicle mileage in the Square Mile by selecting locations for pedestrian priority. These schemes will increase safety and create more space for walking, cycling and greening.
- We will run a Historic Retrofit Challenge to incentivise energy efficiency retrofit while providing valuable recognition for hard-to-treat historic buildings.
- We will assess the feasibility of a Climate Action Fund through which investors can combine resources to help tackle hard-to-treat emissions.
- Our grantee, the Heart of the City, will continue to deliver a free, tailored programme to support Square Mile SMEs to develop plans to reach net zero.
We have committed to achieving climate resilience in our buildings, public spaces and infrastructure. This means preparing for the impacts of climate change and extreme weather.
In the second year:
- In our public realm work programme, we will also trial new measures such as urban greening and Sustainable Drainage Systems (SUDS) to improve resilience to climate change.
- We will design a digital twin city of the Square Mile to run a climate change impact modelling exercise and identify priority risk sites.