News Articles Archive - Page 18 of 140 - Cross River Partnership

On 10 March, the City of London Corporation held a breakfast reception and panel discussion to mark International Women’s Day. The theme of the event was gender equality and gender equity.

Deputy Christopher Hayward, Chairman of Policy and Resources at the City of London Corporation, welcomed guests and introduced the panel. Chaired by Alderman Alison Gowman, the panel included Nadia Minors (Progress Together), Annamarie Phelps, CBE (International Working Group on Women & Sport) and Laura Winningham, OBE (City Harvest).

The speakers delved into their professional experiences to offer insight into issues such as inequity in the workplace, additional hurdles faced by women from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, the value of more diverse boards, and more. Their stimulating discussion prompted many questions from the audience, overall making for an inspiring morning.

Are you able to spare an hour or more to help tidying up the environment? Then why not make a pledge to help pick up a bag of litter? 17th March – 2nd April is the Great British Spring Clean, a campaign in its eighth year being run by Keep Britain Tidy.

Why not pledge to become a #LitterHero and perhaps get your friends and family involved and make a group pledge to take action. Litter-picking is a simple action that you can undertake to help contribute to making a visible difference to your local environment.

Watch this short video to see some pledges by other people.

A recent study by Monash University in Australia is the first to track levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) on a global basis. The study concluded that only 0.18% of global land area and 0.001% of the global population are exposed to safe levels of PM2.5 according to recommendations from the World Health Organisation.

Whilst the study recognised levels have reduced in Europe and North America in the last 20 years levels on a global basis have continued to rise, with over 70% of days globally seeing unsafe concentrations of PM2.5.

The study identified Southern and Eastern Asia as particular areas of concern with over 90% of days having unsafe quantities. The paper also notes different seasonal impact in different areas of the globe.

The lead researcher on the project, Professor Guo, hopes the study will help relevant parties better understand “the short-term and long-term health effects of air pollution and develop air pollution mitigation strategies”.

For more information, visit Monash University website.

Are you a small business looking to tackle environmental sustainability and reduce your emissions, but don’t know where to start?

Look no further than Sustainable Steps, a Cross River Partnership tool to help businesses take action, one step at a time.

Sustainable Steps has compiled a number of actions that businesses can take on as pledges, from reducing energy usage, switching to sustainable transport, or reducing waste, there are plenty of options to get started with. Businesses can make multiple pledges and Sustainable Steps will provide prompts at regular intervals to update progress and help businesses keep on track and motivated.

Your small actions can make a big impact on the planet, and we’re here to help you every step of the way!

If you would like to find out more, please email CRP Project Manager Sefinat Otaru sefinatotaru@crossriverpartnership.org.

Keep an eye on Cross River Partnership’s social media channels as this week we will be launching the 10 project learnings of the Brixton Micro Logistics Hub, part of the Impact on Urban Health-funded Clean Air Freight programme!

The importance of micro hubs and zero emission deliveries cannot be underestimated, as e-commerce deliveries continue to make up more and more of the UK’s retail sales.

We will be covering crucial topics such as the importance of prioritising space for micro hubs and sustainable logistics, learnings from our business engagement and how local authorities and BIDs can work on these projects in the future. All of these learnings will come with crucial next steps that ask “What next?”, so that we can continue to support public and private partners with these projects.

If you would like to know more about our learnings, please email CRP Sustainable Transport Manager Ross Philips rossphillips@crossriverpartnership.org

CRP’s collaborative bid to Defra’s Air Quality grant has been successful!

Defra has awarded CRP £1 million of grant funding to be spent over the period 1st July 2023 – 31st December 2024.

We are very grateful to all of our partners for your support, including match funding support, and particularly Westminster City Counci l for playing CRP’s accountable body role.

Smarter Greener Logistics (SGL) aims to minimise the impact of freight on noise, air quality, traffic and pavement space by making improvements across 14 London boroughs and three London Business Improvement Districts (BIDs).

SGL forms part of CRP’s wider activities to encourage sustainable logistics across London. This includes the development of rail freight and walking freight initiatives, helping to improve London’s air quality and supporting CRP’s vision to make London a better place to live, work and visit.

Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said:

“This funding will support a range of inspiring and innovative projects across the country – stepping up our monitoring of harmful pollutants, educating the public and boosting the use of green transport.”

“This builds on our world-leading Environment Act commitments that will enhance our natural environment and safeguard public health for future generations.”

If you have any queries, don’t hesitate to get in touch with CRP Director susannahwilks@crossriverpartnership.org or CRP Programme Manager fionacoull@crossriverpartnership.org

As part of the Defra-funded Clean Air Logistics for London Programme, CRP are currently working closely with The Fitzrovia Partnership, Camden Council, UPS and Heals to implement a walking freight trial to service the Fitzrovia area.

This exciting trial will be the first walking freight trial to take place on public land and aims to address issues of traffic congestion and air pollution. During the trial goods will be delivered within the local area using a UPS ewalker (pictured) which will be stored locally. An electric vehicle will also be used to transport goods from the local depot to the Fitzrovia area.

The trial builds on previous walking freight work, including CRP’s Walking Freight Feasibility Study and Report Summary produced by Steer. For more information on the trial, please contact CRP Programme Manager Fiona Coull fionacoull@crossriverpartnership.org.

Earlier this month, Communications Project Manager Rachael Aldridge attended the Mayor’s Transatlantic Panel Discussion, on the topic of net zero. This was held at the US Embassy in Nine Elms, with representatives from Belmont California, Bristol, West Yorkshire, Glasgow and Greenville Mississippi.

Ambassador Jane Hartley spoke about how low-income communities are the hardest hit by climate change. A just transition must help those most impacted. Through addressing climate change, we can transition to a better economy for society.

2023 is the Race to Green, and CRP is proud to be delivering climate projects across London. CRP is putting communities at the heart of everything that it does. This means co-designing, co-delivering and co-evaluating all of our projects. Sometimes this is with residents, sometimes with businesses, sometimes visitors, sometimes all three. In this way, we maximise the benefits achieved, together.

To help clear London’s air and improve public health, the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is expanding across all London boroughs from 29 August 2023.

This means that if you drive a non-compliant vehicle in the Ultra-Low Emission Zone, you may face a daily charge of £12.50. Across London, more than 80% of vehicles already meet the current standards for compliance.

This has been shortly followed by a new scrappage scheme, that will support businesses and residents with non-compliant vehicles to scrap their vehicle and receive subsidies of up to £9,500.

There has also been a new report showing the impact of the previous ULEZ expansion in 2021 on London’s air quality, with significant reductions seen in traffic, vehicles, pollutants (such as nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter. 94.4% of car’s now meeting the new requirements, and vehicles across London are becoming increasingly greener.

Check out CRP’s resources on to deal with the ULEZ expansion if your vehicle is compliant here:

February has been an exciting month for CRP’s Defra-funded Clean Air Logistics for London Programme.

Here is a snapshot of some of the trials and innovations that have been keeping the CRP team busy:

CRP has been working with Thames Clippers Logistics to launch a daily light freight river service. Goods will be transported from Dartford International Ferry Terminal to Bankside Pier via Trinity Buoy Wharf, before being delivered by cargo bikes and electric vehicles to their final destinations. Return deliveries will also be incorporated, with the boat picking up any returned goods from the piers as part of the trial too! We’ll be launching the service on Monday 27th March so keep your eyes peeled for more information!

CRP and Westminster City Council have been ironing out the final details to start a micro logistics hub trial from a car park in Pimlico. The hub is currently being decked out and a courier has been selected who will operate from the hub. The go live date is currently pencilled in for 6th of March so more information will be coming your way soon!

Walking deliveries could be in operation in the Fitzrovia area within the next month! CRP have been working closely with The Fitzrovia Partnership, Camden Council, UPS and Heals to implement a walking freight trial to service the Fitzrovia area. We’re currently finalising the method statement, but once this is in place, walking freight could very soon be ‘up and running’.

An engine retrofit and associated air quality monitoring has been commissioned for ‘The Albert’ – a vessel owned by Net Zero Marine Services. This will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, cut fuel costs, and improve operational efficiencies.

If you would like to find out more about any of the above initiatives, please contact CRP Programme Manager Fiona Coull fionacoull@crossriverpartnership.org.

Archives: News Articles

Tackling Gender Equality and Equity on International Women’s Day

Great British Spring Clean – Keep Britain Tidy

New global daily air pollution study findings

Sustainable Steps: Helping Small Businesses Take a Step Towards Sustainability

Brixton Micro Hub: 10 Project Learnings

Smarter Greener Logistics Defra funding bid success

Making strides with the Fitzrovia Walking Freight Trial

Mayor’s Transatlantic Panel Discussion: Just Transition to Net Zero

The Ultra-Low Emission Zone is expanding (again) in August 2023

Clean Air Logistics for London – February Update