Westminster City Council launches decarbonisation innovation challenge

Westminster City Council (WCC)  in partnership with Cross River Partnership has launched the Sustainable City Charter Innovation Challenge – designed to support businesses aiming to reduce carbon emissions and nurture a low-carbon economy across Westminster.

The Challenge, launching in the summer will identify local SMEs with innovative low carbon solutions and match them with signatories to its Sustainable City Charter  which encourages non-domestic building decarbonisation, to trial them in real-world commercial settings. The challenge will also be open to innovators outside of Westminster in order to optimise the prospects for the Challenge.

The Council said:

For small and innovative organisations, the Challenge provides a platform to demonstrate impact, learn from ambitious pilots, and pitch their solution to wider audiences. For Charter signatories, it offers the chance to trial new solutions and gather valuable data to inform evidenced-based decisions on reducing carbon emissions.

Westminster Council said with its buildings responsible for 71% of borough-wide emissions, it faces ‘significant challenges to reduce emissions from non-domestic buildings while preserving the City and intense economic activity, and maintaining its status as a global destination.’  It said:

The Sustainable City Charter Innovation Challenge will unlock the potential to connect and strengthen networks, pilot new innovative solutions and collectively achieve its fairer and greener city ambitions. The Challenge will facilitate connections within the Westminster ecosystem of businesses, Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), and institutions to encourage exploration and adoption of low carbon solutions, while aiming to boost the viability of innovative low carbon businesses operating in the borough.

The 125 Charter Signatories represent key sectors, including cultural institutions, financial firms, universities, healthcare organisations and other commercial occupiers and are therefore an ideal match for local innovators to pilot low carbon solutions.

The Challenge is being funded by the Westminster Climate Fund, which supports projects designed to reduce carbon emissions across the City of Westminster.

Westminster City Council Executive Director for Regeneration, Economy and Planning, Debbie Jackson, said:

Westminster’s strength has always been its business community – from global institutions to ambitious local small businesses. The Sustainable City Charter Innovation Challenge brings that strength together to accelerate the transition to net zero. By matching Charter signatories with our local low-carbon innovators, we are creating real-world opportunities to test new technologies, cut emissions from commercial buildings and help scale the next generation of green businesses.”