Greener, Cleaner, Smarter: Sustainability in the City

Sustainability is a key factor in ensuring the longevity and success of a city. As the forest city, we have an obligation to care for the environment in our city and utilize the green spaces that we have in order to continue developing a world class city. In order to do this, we must consider what practices are most environmentally friendly and what we can change or adapt to best suit the needs of our current and future climate. This can be done through retrofitting business and homes to include more efficient methods of heating and cooling, encouraging active transportation, and developing our parks and green spaces for more Londoners to enjoy.

What the Chamber Recommends:

• Continue offering grants for business retrofits

Grants for energy saving technologies are an important step in encouraging businesses to transition to more environmentally friendly practices. Grants for more efficient lighting, refrigeration, and heat pumps should be used to encourage this transition.

• Expand public transit offerings

As the city continues to focus on density, more people will live closer to their place of work. The city should be encouraging active transportation (walking, biking) for those that are able to and should continue to expand bus and bike lanes in areas where they make sense.

• Utilize the green spaces and natural areas available in London

To continue being branded as the forest city, we must continue London’s tradition of lush green spaces across the city for all to enjoy. This includes the continuing efforts to enhance the spaces along the Thames River as well as enhancements to the adjacent parks with events that encourage the use of those spaces.

What You Can Do

• Speak up. Share your ideas about the infrastructure projects and other elements of downtown that matter most to you. Visit Get Involved London and share your ideas.
• Stay informed. Follow this summer series as we explore the key areas of the plan.
• Connect with us. Reach out to the Chamber with your insights, questions, or challenges—we want to hear from you.

Let’s co-create a downtown where community thrives, creativity flourishes, and everyone feels they belong.