EIR - Collaboration on climate action [Aug 2023]

Your request

1. How many councils have you formally collaborated with on climate action initiatives in the past 12 months? 
2. Do you have a formal process for sharing information and best practices with other councils? If yes, please provide a link to the documentation outlining this process.
3. Do you have a dedicated team or individual responsible for monitoring climate action  initiatives undertaken by other councils? 
4. Do you subscribe to any databases, newsletters, or other resources that provide updates on other councils' climate actions? If yes, please list them.
5. How many public consultations or surveys related to climate action have you conducted in the past 12 months?
6. What percentage of businesses in your jurisdiction have been formally engaged in your climate action plans? 
7. Do you have a scoring or ranking system for prioritising climate actions? If yes, please provide a link to the documentation outlining this system. If no, how do you currently prioritise potential actions?
8. What are the most significant barriers you face in implementing climate action initiatives? 
9. Do you have a formal process for discovering, evaluating and adopting climate solutions from private sector suppliers? If yes, please provide a link to the documentation outlining this process.
10. How many people in the council have roles that focus on environmental issues? Please provide job titles and an indication of whether they are part or full time roles. If these could be listed in order of seniority it would also be helpful.
11. What percentage of your annual budget is specifically allocated for climate action initiatives? 
12. Do you have a sustainable procurement policy? If yes, please provide a link to the policy document.
13. Do you have any case studies highlighting successful climate action initiatives? If yes, please provide links.

Our response

The GLA is not a local authority but a strategic authority. If your target clientele is local 
authorities, you would need to contact the individual local Borough Councils.

However we provide below some general information from our strategic authority perspective:

As a strategic authority, the GLA works with London Councils (the collective of Local 
Government in London) and all London Boroughs (32 London Boroughs and the 
Corporation of London) as well as other UK cities with Mayors (the M10) and also with 
other Global megacities through C40 Cities Network and the Climate Neutral Cities Alliance 
(CNCA).

The GLA has a number of formal and informal networks with London Boroughs and the 
M10 to share information and best practice. There is no official documentation outlining 
these networks.

Individuals working on climate engage with London Boroughs and other parts of the UK as 
appropriate to their area of expertise or programme of work, rather than having one person 
dedicated to reviewing what others are doing.

We are not aware of any resources that focus specifically on providing updates on UK 
councils’ climate actions, although organisations such as London Councils and the Local 
Government Association who represent local government do collate various types of 
information on the achievements of their local authorities. In addition, many newsletters 
will often provide information on this in addition to providing other information. We receive 
a lot of bespoke and tailored insights on other global cities through the C40 and CNCA 
networks.

We have not launched any public consultations on climate action in the last 12 months, 
although we have responded to a number of government consultations and Functional 
Bodies such as Transport for London may issue consultations on issues which may be
relevant for climate mitigation and adaptation. However, the Mayor has commissioned an 
independent climate resilience review, which is underway at the moment and had an open call for evidence, which closed on 2 September 2023.

We engage a number of businesses through our climate programmes, such as the Business Climate Challenge and our work with Anchor Institutions in London, but it is not possible to estimate the percentage of businesses that we have engaged with. The Business Climate Challenge has supported around 225 business over the last two years.

The Mayor’s London Environment Strategy outlines the approach to climate action in 
London and a significant amount of analysis has been undertaken to understand what 
climate actions are required as part of his ‘Pathways to Net Zero Carbon by 2030’ 
workstream.

In terms of barriers to implementing climate actions in London, funding of course remains a 
major barrier, as does the lack of regulatory powers of the Mayor in relation to tackling 
emissions from existing buildings.

Any procurement from suppliers follows a strict procurement process.

This process is summarised in this Mayor’s Question response.

The GLA’s environment unit has 81 staff. Their grades are spread as follows (with the 
higher grades being more senior):
G15: 1
G14: 1
G13: 2
G12: 4
G11: 9
G10: 35
G9: 5
G8: 17
G7: 3
G6: 3
G5: 1

This information is not available yet but as we produce our climate budget for 2024-25, 
more information will be available on the proportion of the budget that focuses on climate 
measures. This will be finalised by the end of March 2024.

Please see the link to our sustainable procurement policy.

The Mayor’s planning policies for referable new build developments in London is a good 
case study for effective climate action in London.

Through his planning powers the Mayor requires all new major developments to be 
net zero. The Mayor’s planning policies are delivering onsite emissions reductions 
that are almost 50 per cent greater than required by national building regulations equating 
to a saving of over 38,000 tCO2.

As part of the Mayor’s Affordable Housing Programme developers are required to meet net zero carbon and air quality neutral targets.

Further details from the 2021 results include: 

• 100 proposed developments, with over 23,000 dwellings, will use heat pumps for their heating system. This is compared to 57 developments with over 10,000 dwellings in 2020. 
• 87 per cent of developments proposed a cumulative area of around 59,000 m² of solar PV (approximately 13 Wembley football pitches), leading to approximately £16m in new investment. 
• Over 36,000 dwellings are expected to connect to a communal heat network or area-wide district heating network. 31 communal heat networks are proposed to be supplied by heat pumps, now far ahead of those being supplied by gas-fired CHP (9). 
• 31 developments reported whole lifecycle carbon (WLC) emissions, as required by the London Plan. London is the first city in the UK to require WLC assessments for all building development types referable to the Mayor. 
• The London Plan requires all major developments to achieve net zero carbon. Where there is a shortfall between on-site reductions and zero carbon, applicants make a cash-in-lieu contribution into the relevant Local Planning Authority’s (LPA) carbon offset fund (based on a £/tonne of CO2 price). 
• Since 2016, the Mayor’s carbon offsetting policy has realised £145m across London to support activities that tackle the climate emergency. Of the £145m, over a third (£55m) has been collected or secured for collection since the 2020 survey. 
• Offsetting projects include energy efficiency in buildings, district heating and installation of renewable energy generation. 

If you have any further questions relating to this matter, please contact us, quoting 
reference MGLA300823-5391.