MD3497 Zero Carbon Accelerator extension – delivering decarbonisation at scale

1.1.    The Mayor’s delivery plan for the Reducing Non-Residential Emissions (RNRE) programme was approved in Mayoral Decision (MD) 3397. It sets out how the GLA will:

•    work to drive down emissions from London’s buildings
•    support a flexible, low-carbon energy system
•    enable the financing of the transition to net-zero
•    reduce waste
•    connect Londoners with the Mayor’s net-zero ambition. 

1.2.    The investment required to achieve net-zero by 2030 is in the tens of billions of pounds. The work will require public and private-sector institutions, and Londoners, to play a key role in decarbonising. The RNRE programme’s delivery plan contains five groups of projects, covering the areas set out above. A key project within the group aimed at ‘enabling the financing of the transition’ focuses on driving a pipeline of viable and investible decarbonisation projects. This will be delivered through the Zero Carbon Accelerator (ZCA). By supporting projects that help reduce emissions and tackle climate change, the ZCA will further improve the Londoners’ lives with improved health; greater climate resilience; better housing conditions; lower energy bills; and new green jobs.

1.3.    The ZCA was launched in June 2024. It built on and evolved the support offered by the Mayor’s previous low-carbon accelerators (Retrofit Accelerator – Workplaces; Retrofit Accelerator – Homes; and Local Energy Accelerator). The ZCA was approved by the Mayor (MD3133) and the Executive Director, Good Growth (DD2690). These approvals allocated up to £13.7 million (from the GLA’s Climate Change Reserve) to deliver a new zero-carbon project development facility. Of this £13.7 million, £9 million was allocated for the ZCA.

1.4.    Following a competitive procurement, Mott MacDonald, supported by specialist subcontractors (‘the Alliance’), was appointed to deliver the ZCA under a single-supplier framework agreement (‘the Framework’).

1.5.    The Framework runs for four years, from 11 June 2024 to 10 June 2028. Any call‑off contract awarded must start within this four‑year period. However, call‑offs awarded before the Framework expires may continue beyond the Framework end date. This means their duration can extend past 10 June 2028.

1.6.    The ZCA is currently delivered through a call-off contract from the Framework (‘Call-Off 1’). The value of Call-Off 1 is £9 million (approved in MD3133). The contract was to run from June 2024 to June 2026; however, an extension has been agreed, taking Call-Off 1 through to 30 December 2026. This extension did not require any spend beyond that already approved. The Framework includes the option to not only extend call-off contracts, but also to create additional call-offs with Mott MacDonald.

1.7.    The ZCA helps public-sector organisations in London to overcome the financial, technical and organisational barriers that prevent decarbonisation at the rate and scale necessary to meet net zero. It helps organisations at every step of the project journey – from getting ready and agreeing the goals, to shaping the project plan, through to hiring the right suppliers, and finally overseeing the delivery of capital projects. Projects supported have ranged from supporting procurement and delivery of solar PV and heat pump projects in NHS Trust estates to developing business cases for heat network projects in London boroughs. 

1.8.    The ZCA provides tailored, direct support packages (funded by the GLA) to organisations developing decarbonisation projects. Mott MacDonald leads on development and delivery of support packages; and brings in Alliance members when extra expertise is needed.

1.9.    The ZCA has supported over 50 decarbonisation projects. It is expected to accelerate the delivery of a capital pipeline of around £420 million. It is also expected to save around 653,000 tonnes of CO2 over the lifetime of the interventions, and around 24,000 tonnes annually in 2030. The ZCA has supported local authorities, NHS trusts, housing associations, community organisations, and culture sector organisations. 

1.10.    This MD seeks approval to spend up to £5 million to deliver the ZCA extension – exercising the GLA’s option to award a new call-off contract through the Framework. Approval is sought to procure a new two-year call-off contract to extend the ZCA (‘Call-Off 2’). A new call-off contract is sought because Call-Off 1’s contract value cannot be increased above its maximum value of £9 million. Subject to procurement timescales, Call-Off 2 is expected to start between June and September 2026 and end between June and September 2028. An overlap between Call-Off 1 and Call-Off 2 is proposed because Call-Off 1’s remaining budget is already allocated or earmarked for projects that will be delivered by December 2026. Initiating the Call-Off 2 as soon as possible will avoid any pause in available ZCA support and allow the ZCA to start supporting new projects in line with the renewed and focussed scope of the ZCA.

1.11.    The £5 million spend would be funded from the Climate Change Reserve (which the Mayor has earmarked for climate‑related programmes) and delivered over 24 months. From this budget, it is estimated that: 

•    £1.25 million (25 per cent) will be spent on programme management – this includes outreach and engagement, as well as indirect support to organisations (for example, knowledge-sharing and development)

•    £3.75 million (75 per cent) will be spent on direct support to organisations. 

1.12.    In addition to the allocated £9 million of ZCA support, MD3133 and DD2690 approved spending up to £3.6 million on grant funding for organisations to develop large and complex decarbonisation projects. This supported 12 such projects. The proposed extension of the ZCA would only deliver support packages; it would not include any grant-funding support.
 

2.1.    A two-year extension to the ZCA, under Call-Off 2, means the GLA could keep providing vital support to organisations to develop and deliver decarbonisation projects.

2.2.    The ZCA extension will contribute to the ‘London is a net-zero carbon city’ London-level outcome set out in the RNRE delivery plan. It will also contribute to a wider set of London-level outcomes:

•    London’s economy has the skills it needs to thrive
•    Londoners have access to good work
•    London is a world-leading global city
•    Londoners are breathing clean air, and London is resilient to extreme weather and the impacts of climate change.

2.3.    The ZCA extension will continue to grow the pipeline of decarbonisation projects; and enable projects to secure finance. Key performance indicators will include:

•    the number of investment-ready decarbonisation projects supported by the ZCA
•    annual greenhouse gas emissions reduced/avoided in tonnes of CO2e/annum
•    capital pipeline of projects (measured in millions of pounds).

2.4.    This new phase of the ZCA will focus on providing support packages to public-sector organisations across three strategic areas (aligned with Mayoral priorities):

•    domestic decarbonisation
•    public-sector access to RE:FIT 5 (the Mayor’s refreshed energy performance and retrofit framework)
•    strategic decarbonisation projects at scale.

All three priorities aim to bring additional investment into London – whether through external grants, loans or funding options that do not increase the financial burden on public‑sector budgets, and that deliver at speed and scale.

Domestic decarbonisation

2.5.    As stated in MD3396 delivery plan – Improving London’s Housing Stock, the Mayor’s key priorities include: 

•    improving the energy efficiency of London’s homes
•    making London’s homes greener, more supportive of people’s health, and more affordable to heat.
The Mayor and London Councils have jointly created Warmer Homes London (WHL). This supports delivery of £231 million of domestic decarbonisation retrofit projects across private and social sector homes.

2.6.    The ZCA is already providing support to social housing providers across London, both within and outside the WHL partnership. This is to increase capacity and/or capability to deliver against ambitious delivery targets associated with capital programmes. The ZCA extension will enable continued support of organisations, across London, to deliver social housing retrofit at scale.

2.7.    The government recently published the Warm Homes Plan. This is a £15 billion plan for upgrading homes across the UK; and reducing energy bills and fuel poverty through insulation, heat pumps and solar panels. The ZCA will support social housing providers across London to access funding opportunities made available through the Warm Homes Plan. This includes buildings retrofit funding devolved to London via the GLA’s Integrated Settlement.

Public-sector access to RE:FIT 5

2.8.    RE:FIT 5 is a procurement framework appointed by the GLA. It aims to help public-sector bodies across the country undertake energy-efficiency works more quickly, by avoiding lengthy procurement processes. In this way, it enables substantial guaranteed energy and carbon savings through retrofit delivery. The previous framework, RE:FIT 4, delivered significant results:

•    1,200 sites retrofitted
•    £269 million invested
•    420,000 tonnes of carbon emissions (tCO2e) saved.

2.9.    Organisations have the option of undertaking Energy Performance Contracts (EPCs) via the RE:FIT 5 framework. This is an agreement where a service provider installs energy-saving measures; and guarantees that those measures will deliver a set of savings to the organisation. Via EPCs under RE:FIT 5, the capital funding can be provided by the service provider, or by a third-party funder, without upfront costs to the organisation. RE:FIT 5 launched in April 2026 and will run until 2030. As with the ZCA Framework, contracts within RE:FIT 5 can extend beyond the end of the framework.

2.10.    The ZCA extension will support public-sector organisations in London to use RE:FIT 5 confidently. It will do so by providing:

•    technical expertise in identifying, developing and prioritising opportunities
•    business case development support
•    tender development and evaluation support
•    contract support.

Strategic decarbonisation projects at scale 

2.11.    The ZCA will prioritise supporting area-based and strategic projects identified through London-wide key initiatives such as Net Zero Neighbourhoods (led by London Councils); Local Area Energy Plans (led by the GLA); the Mayor’s recently published London Infrastructure Framework and future Green Growth Pipeline. The ZCA will contribute to the delivery of these projects, by supporting eligible projects and organisations with their development and route to procurement; and helping them to access finance.

2.12.    Through this work, the ZCA will be able to identify a pipeline of projects for investment including private finance, with support particularly focused on projects wanting to access financing offered by the Mayor‘s London Climate Finance Facility (LCFF). Current active funds of the LCFF are the Green Finance Fund and the London Energy Efficiency and Decentralised Generation Fund.

2.13.    The ZCA will also be responsive to other evolving and emerging strategic opportunities to deliver decarbonisation at scale in London (where there is a strategic rationale for the GLA to have a role in accelerating this work). This includes supporting NHS trusts to deliver their GB Energy-funded projects, and helping deliver community energy projects supported as part of the government’s Local Power Plan.

ZCA support scope and focus

2.14.    With the additional £5 million of GLA funding, the ZCA is anticipated to be able to support a further 40 decarbonisation projects (subject to the detail of the applications for support). This is expected to: 

•    accelerate the delivery of a capital pipeline of around £312 million 
•    save around 398,000 tonnes of CO2 over the lifetime of the interventions
•    save around 16,000 tonnes of CO2 annually in 2030.

2.15.    The key groups in London supported by the ZCA are:

•    local authorities
•    GLA Group organisations 
•    the wider public sector (e.g. NHS, education)
•    anchor institutions 
•    social housing providers
•    community groups and cultural institutions.

2.16.    Most of the key anchor institutions are currently eligible for free ZCA support. Consideration is being made as to whether and how the ZCA could support private organisations, where their inclusion is expected to: 

•    deliver carbon savings for London at scale 
•    influence wider attitudes towards decarbonisation in line with the Mayor’s priorities.

2.17.    The ZCA will primarily focus on supporting decarbonisation projects at later stages of the project life cycle, such as procuring contractors and managing installations. These are often the most challenging stages, where additional support can help ensure projects are delivered. However, even though this is the focus, the ZCA will still provide some support for earlier‑stage projects, where organisations are still shaping their plans, provided they have a clear route to delivery. It will also support organisations to secure finance for specific projects.

2.18.    The ZCA support will be targeted. It will only provide support to organisations who can demonstrate that delivery would not be possible without the ZCA; or that the ZCA would significantly accelerate the speed of delivery.

2.19.    In order to be responsive to new and emerging Mayoral priorities, the ZCA may be amended and/or new focus areas added, provided any changes are approved by the Senior Responsible Owner, in consultation with the Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy.

2.20.    The ZCA has a project board, comprising:

•    representatives from the GLA (the ZCA and other GLA programmes)
•    Mott MacDonald (the ZCA delivery partner)
•    London Councils
•    community energy groups
•    social housing providers. 

The project board’s role is to ensure effective governance of the ZCA; and alignment across London‑wide net-zero initiatives. The project board will continue to serve its role during the extension; and inform the scope and focus of the ZCA.
 

3.1.    Under Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, as a public authority, the Mayor of London and the GLA must have ‘due regard’ of the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation; and to advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations, between people who have a protected characteristic and those who do not. This involves:

•    having due regard to the need to remove or minimise any disadvantage suffered by those who share or are connected to a relevant protected characteristic
•    taking steps to meet the different needs of such people
•    encouraging them to participate in public life or in any other activity where their participation is disproportionately low.

This can involve treating people with a protected characteristic more favourably than those without one.

3.2.    The ZCA is aligned with the policies and proposals in the London Environment Strategy, which has been informed by a full integrated impact assessment, including consideration of equalities. The Equality Impact Assessment Report for the London Environment Strategy noted that exposure to poor environmental conditions is much higher among Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Londoners.

3.3.    Climate impacts are felt unequally across London, with poorer, disadvantaged communities often living in conditions that magnify the impact of climate change. Climate impacts can also be felt disproportionately amongst people with protected characteristics, and there is a high level of intersection across impacts. UK Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic residents are four times more likely to live in areas vulnerable to heat risk, compared with White people. A survey of local authorities found that the five groups most vulnerable to climate risks are:

•    low-income households
•    elderly people
•    minority groups
•    young people
•    vulnerable health groups.

3.4.    The ZCA will reduce reliance on fossil fuels; reduce fuel bills; drive investment in cleaner technologies; and provide economic opportunities for London and Londoners. These outcomes will benefit all Londoners, including those with protected characteristics. During the implementation of the ZCA, the Climate and Equalities Toolkit will be used to assess the climate and equality implications; and ensure that any issues identified have appropriate strategies to mitigate negative impacts or amplify positive ones.

3.5.    An Equalities and Health Impact Assessment was carried out as part of the delivery of the current ZCA. The Impact Assessment found that the ZCA is expected to deliver long‑term benefits for Londoners (such as improved health, greater climate resilience, better housing conditions, lower energy bills, and new green jobs). However, it found that the ZCA may may also create short‑term adverse impacts, including:

•    temporary disruption during construction and installation affecting vulnerable groups
•    economic strain for low‑income households, due to upfront costs of decarbonisation and energy-efficiency measures
•    a risk of excluding people with different communication needs when sharing complex information related to project delivery.

The key primary strategic recommendations include:

•    considering the voices of vulnerable communities throughout the ZCA delivery, by integrating equality data into the project selection and development process
•    delivering guidance on understanding and mitigating the equalities and social impacts of projects
•    providing tailored support to organisations, to minimise adverse impacts on end users; and maximise societal outcomes. 

The findings and recommendations from the assessment will be used to inform the design and delivery of the extension of the ZCA.
 
 

4.1.    The key risks are outlined in the table below:

Links to Mayoral strategies and priorities

4.2.    The ZCA contributes to the objectives of other programmes in addition to the RNRE programme as set out below:

4.3.    The ZCA will contribute towards the following policies and objectives of the London Environment Strategy:

•    Objective 6.1 – reduce emissions of London’s homes and workplaces while protecting the most vulnerable by tackling fuel poverty
•    Proposal 6.1.1a – contribute to helping Londoners improve the energy-efficiency of their homes, where appropriate, by providing technical assistance, support and funding
•    Proposal 6.1.1b – pilot innovative methods to implement the stronger energy-efficiency retrofitting needed
•    Policy 6.1.3 – improve the energy efficiency of London’s workplaces and support the transition to low carbon heating and power
•     Proposal 6.1.3.a – provide direct technical support and assistance to help reduce CO2 emissions and energy within the public sector, including leading by example in the GLA Group estate
•    Policy 6.2.1 – deliver more decentralised energy in London
•    Proposal 6.2.1.a – help implement large-scale decentralised and low-carbon energy projects, including stimulating demand from the GLA Group
•    Proposal 6.2.1.b – increase the amount of solar generation in London, including through community energy projects and on GLA Group buildings
•    Policy 6.2.2 – planning for London’s new smart-energy infrastructure
•    Proposal 6.2.2.a – encourage the identification and planning of decentralised energy in priority areas.

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

4.4.    All records, particularly those relating to recipients of the ZCA support, will be held in line with the GLA’s requirements under GDPR.

Impact assessments and consultations

4.5.    The current ZCA has undertaken an evaluation, which included interviews with stakeholders. Feedback from these evaluations, and regular engagement with ZCA users, will help to inform its continued delivery.

Conflicts of interest

4.6.    None of the officers involved in the drafting or clearance of this decision form have any conflicts of interest.

5.1.    Approval is sought to spend up to £5 million, over two years, to extend the ZCA to mid-2028. This will be funded from the Climate Change Reserve (which the Mayor has earmarked for climate‑related programmes); this will enable support to be delivered over 24 months. This is a new reserve request and is not part of the approved 2026-27 budget.

5.2.    The exact profile of the expenditure between financial years is still to be confirmed.

5.3.    All appropriate budget adjustments will be made.
 

6.1.    The foregoing sections of this report indicate that the decisions sought concern the exercise of the GLA’s general powers, falling within the GLA’s statutory powers to do such things considered to further, or that are facilitative of, or conducive or incidental to, the promotion of the improvement of the environment in Greater London. In formulating the proposals in respect of which a decision is sought, officers must comply with the GLA’s related statutory duties to:

•    pay due regard to the principle that there should be equality of opportunity for all people
•    consider how the proposals will promote the improvement of health of persons, health inequalities between persons and to contribute towards the achievement of sustainable development in the UK
•    consult with appropriate bodies.

6.2.    In taking any decisions sought, the Mayor must have due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty – namely, the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010; and to advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations, between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic (race, disability, sex, age, sexual orientation, religion, gender reassignment) and persons who do not (section 149 of the Equality Act 2010). To this end, the Mayor should have particular regard to section 3 (above) of this report.

6.3.    Any function exercisable by the Mayor on behalf of the GLA may also be exercised by a GLA officer, albeit subject to any conditions that the Mayor sees fit to impose. To this end, the Mayor may make the requested delegation to the Assistant Director, Environment, if he wishes.

6.4.    If the Mayor makes the decisions sought officers must ensure that: 

•    the proposed ZCA call-off 2 contract with Mott MacDonald is awarded in accordance with the provisions of the Framework
•    the call-off 2 contract is put in place and executed by the GLA and Mott MacDonald before the services commence. 
 

7.1.    The work is expected to be delivered according to the following timetable: