Five leading companies accelerating a clean economy in London and beyond through international non-profit, The Climate Group’s global initiatives on renewables (RE100) and electric transport (EV100)
LONDON: As the Mayor of London’s inaugural (1-8 July) gets under way today, five major companies are leading by example, by making ambitious new commitments on clean energy and transport.
The UK’s leading sportswear retailer , and innovative property investor have committed to source 100% renewable electricity by joining – the global corporate leadership initiative toward zero carbon grids, led by in partnership with .
Europe’s longest established car park management company Group and , owner of many of the UK’s biggest and most popular shopping destinations, have joined The Climate Group’s initiative, committing to install EV charging infrastructure through the 2020s to help accelerate the transition to electric transport.
Helen Clarkson, CEO, The Climate Group, said:
“It’s exciting to see businesses leading by example on clean transport and energy in London and beyond – we need to act fast to reduce emissions at the speed needed to limit global warming to 1.5˚C.”
City of London Corporation (RE100)
The City Corporation is the governing body of the Square Mile dedicated to a vibrant and thriving City, supporting a diverse and sustainable London within a globally successful UK.
The organization has been running on 100% renewable electricity since October last year. It is now generating electricity on sites it owns across London, investing in off-site renewable energy and buying renewable energy already available on the market. The City Corporation is also increasing the number of solar panels on its buildings and investing in installations such as wind or solar farms.
Now the City Corporation is joining RE100 to position itself as one of the world’s leading organizations committed to 100% renewable power.
Catherine McGuinness, Policy Chair, the City of London Corporation, said,
“We switched to 100% renewable electricity last October to help deliver on London’s ambition to become a sustainable city. The move makes us cleaner and greener, reducing our grid reliance and running some of our buildings on zero carbon electricity. Joining RE100 during London Climate Action Week is the next step in that journey. We hope we can be a beacon to other organizations to follow suit.”
Derwent London (RE100)
Property investment and development business Derwent London is the largest REIT (real estate investment trust) focused on central London. The Group owns and manages an investment portfolio of 5.4 million sq ft, mainly across the West End and areas bordering the City of London.
Derwent London puts sustainability at the heart of its business strategy and has set a RE100 goal to source 100% renewable electricity by 2020. Already, the company has achieved this for all its managed properties by purchasing renewable energy attribution certificates. It is now exploring options around power purchase agreements.
Paul Williams, CEO, Derwent London Plc, Derwent London, said,
“Being a responsible business is a hallmark of our distinctive approach and business model – it is visible in our culture, approach to risk and in the design, delivery and management of our buildings. We have already met our target to source 100% REGO backed renewable electricity by 2020.”
JD Sports (RE100)
JD is the UK’s leading retailer and distributor of branded sportswear and fashionwear, with more than 900 stores. A key objective of its Carbon Management Programme is to purchase energy from sustainable sources wherever operationally possible. To reach its RE100 goal of using 100% renewable electricity globally by 2025 (including Europe by 2022), JD is exploring various sourcing options, beginning with the UK and Republic of Ireland, and followed by other operations across Europe and elsewhere.
Neil Greenhalgh, Chief Financial Officer, JD Sports Fashion plc, said,
“JD is proud of achieving 100% renewable electricity for our UK and ROI operations. We view RE100 membership as a great way to encourage and share our renewable energy progress, and also to learn from other large companies with similar ambitions on global green energy usage. To mark JD joining RE100, we have committed to target 100% renewable electricity for our European operations by 2022, with all major global entities to be renewable by 2025.”
intu (EV100)
The UK’s leading shopping center owner intu owns 17 prime regional shopping centers across the UK and also has a growing presence in Spain. Last year there were more than 26,000 individual charges across intu’s existing network of EV charging points, saving an estimated 137 tonnes of carbon dioxide compared to driving diesel and petrol cars.
As a member of EV100, intu plans to install more than 80 new charge points at its 14 directly managed UK shopping centers by 2020, while also transitioning its own vehicles to EVs by 2030.
Matthew Roberts, Chief Executive, intu, said,
“35 million people come to an intu center every year, so we want to be able to give more customers the opportunity to charge their cars if they choose to drive to us, at the same time as improving local air quality by promoting all forms of sustainable transport. This is why for us it is so important to join EV100, electrify our fleet, and accelerate the roll out of charge points across all our shopping centers in the UK and Spain.”
APCOA PARKING (EV100)
APCOA PARKING Group is Europe’s leading parking operator. The company manages approximately 1.4 million individual parking spaces at more than 9,000 locations across 13 European countries. These include parking spaces at 1,800 city and shopping center locations, 400 hotels, 150 hospitals and over 60 European airports.
The Group’s EV100 commitment will commence in the UK and Ireland, before rolling out to all other countries. In the UK the company has committed to switching its 300+ mopeds, cars, vans and buses to electric by 2030. APCOA PARKING will also install charging infrastructure over the same timeframe, to encourage EV uptake by its customers and 5,000 employees.
In London, APCOA PARKING already has 22 charge points within the London Commuter Railway, as well as 21 at London Heathrow Airport which are in constant use.
Kim Challis, Regional MD, APCOA PARKING (UK & Ireland) said,
“We believe it is our responsibility to develop our company and the services we provide to our clients in a responsible and sustainable way. The UK will lead the way and share experiences with other APCOA countries, with the aim of mainstreaming electro-mobility across the APCOA PARKING Group’s entire international operations by 2030.
“We have already re-engineered our travel policy to incentivise our staff to migrate to electric vehicles and, in addition, we are working with our clients to install electric charging points across the country. To date we have installed c.50 charging points at our locations across the South of England, with a further 40 planned by end of 2019. Furthermore, we are implementing emissions-based pricing structures, aimed at rewarding customers using electric/hybrid vehicles.”
London landlords and corporate tenants
The new commitments follow a last week by and , in association with RE100 (led by The Climate Group in partnership with CDP), showing that 4 in 5 UK businesses in rented property struggle to engage landlords on the switch to renewable power, and making the case for more collaborative working toward 100% renewable electricity goals.
The Climate Group will explore these issues and more at for London Climate Action Week in on Wednesday (3 July), with Shirley Rodrigues, the Deputy London Mayor for Environment and Energy.
Reflecting on today’s announcements, Helen Clarkson, CEO, The Climate Group, added,
“Ambitious commitments like these signal that existing challenges for corporate tenants and landlords around clean energy can be overcome, and I am certain they will inspire many more companies to demonstrate ambitious climate action.”
