The Sustainability Series

Welcome to the Sustainability Series!

These monthly sessions are open to both residents and staff and will look at different aspects of sustainability. Each month there will be a 30 minute talk by leading organisations on the topic, followed by an open discussion. Scroll down to explore the different topics and watch recordings of the sessions.

Session 15 - Greening your pension

In March, we were joined by Izzy from Make My Money Matter, who spoke to us about how the greening of our pensions can help to significantly reduce our carbon footprint.

Session 14 - Sustainable Period Products

In February, we were joined by Fee from TOTM, a planet-friendly period care company and Ella Daish, an environmental activist and founder of the #EndPeriodPlastic campaign. Fee and Ella spoke to us about plastic menstrual waste, its impact on the environment and the sustainable alternatives on the market.

Sustainable Period Products by Fee

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Session 13 - Vertical Farming in the Urban Environment

In January, we were joined by Oscar, a Business Development Specialist at LettUs Grow, an agri-tech company who design aeroponic irrigation and farm management systems.

Oscar gave us an overview of the differences between 3 vertical farming systems of aeroponics, aquaponics and hydroponics and spoke to us about how such technology in urban environments can offer a sustainable alternative to industrial agriculture that is capable of delivering a range of benefits to both the environment and local communities.

Vertical Farming in the Urban Environment by Oscar

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Session 12 - Insights from COP26

In December, we were joined by Anca from RBKC’s Climate Change department who in November, attended COP26 in Glasgow. She was invited to share her insights and reflections of the event and the key achievements made.

Insights from COP26 by Anca Giurgiu

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Session 10 - Upcycling

Steve, an Upcycling Champion and Lancaster West resident, showed us how we can creatively reuse and transform waste, such as using waste plastic to create Ecobricks.

Session 9 - Sustainable Diets

In this session we were joined by Mark from Hubbub who cooked us up a seasonal Ribollita Soup while speaking to us about the environmental impact of food and our diets!

Session 8 - Air Quality

In August’s session, we were joined by Dr Hisham Abubakar-Waziri, a Clinical Fellow from the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London. He is currently working on a research project called INHALE which is assessing the impact of air pollution on personal health in urban environments, and includes a study working with volunteers from West London.

He spoke to us about the sources and impacts of air pollution, discussing the situation in London where high levels of pollution from traffic poses risks for our health. He also gave some tips on what we can all do to limit our contribution to air pollution and to protect ourselves from it.

Air Quality

Air Quality by Dr Hisham Abubakar-Waziri

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Session 7 - Biodiversity and Gardens

In July we discussed Biodiversity and Gardens with Gary Grant, the Director of Green Infrastructure Consultancy.

Biodiversity relates to the variety of living things within an area, it is crucial for life to be sustained. But unfortunately, it’s currently under extreme threat from climate change and human activity.

Numerous ecosystems are irreparable across the world, but the development of green spaces and gardens offer solid platforms for biodiversity to thrive.

You can watch the session and view the presentation slides below to learn more about the importance of biodiversity and gardens, and how we can apply this knowledge to our lives to create a better planet for all!

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Session 6 - Heat Network

RBKC is one of nearly 60 councils which have signed a pledge to deliver a net zero carbon borough by 2040. One the toughest challenges in achieving this is how to decarbonise heat. A key technology for achieving this ambition in cities are heat networks. But what is a heat network and how do they deliver low and zero carbon heat? Michael King works with RBKC’s Heat Network Team and joins us in presenting our Sustainability Series session on the 29th June to provide all the answers!

Heat Network presentation by Michael King

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Session 5 - Circular Economy

In this Sustainability Series session we were kindly joined by Joshua Newton from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to discuss all things Circular Economy! Joshua initially introduced the fundamental principles of the concept of a ‘Circular Economy’ and then gave examples of the application of a Circular Economy in the real world.

A circular economy is an economic system that is regenerative and able to retain as much value as possible from products, parts, and materials. It seeks to scrap the normal linear functioning economic system of taking resources from the planet, making something of it and then throwing it away.

Adopting a circular economic system benefits everybody, whilst living within the limits of our planet. Please enjoy our session to learn more about a Circular Economy and how to apply this to our individual lives and local communities.

Circular Economy

Circular Economy presentation slides by Joshua Newton

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Circular Economy Breakout Miro Board

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Session 4 - Sustainability Strategy

This month, Lancaster West’s Neighbourhood Team’s Sustainability Project Manager, Hannah Smith, presents on the newly updated Lancaster West Sustainability Strategy. 57% of the Council’s greenhouse gas emissions currently come from its housing stock, meaning that decarbonising homes needs to be one of our top priorities when it comes to tackling the climate crisis. To help make this happen, Lancaster West have set the target of becoming a carbon-neutral estate by 2030 and this sustainability Strategy forms the basis of how we will achieve this.

Sustainability Strategy

Sustainability Strategy slides by Hannah Smith

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Session 3 - Recycling and waste management

In March we discussed recycling and waste management with Gemma Scott from ReLondon. Gemma talked about why recycling is important, the truth behind waste myths, and how we can all make a difference. You can watch the session and view the presentation slides below.

Recycling and waste management

Recycling and waste management presentation by ReLondon

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Session 2 - Retrofitting

In February we discussed retrofitting with David Pierpoint from the Retrofit Academy. You can watch the session below.

Retrofit

Session 1 - Embodied carbon

In January we discussed embodied carbon with the London Energy Transformation Initiative (LETI) and ECD Architects, including a presentation of a case study on Verity Close - Lancaster West's first low-energy home. You can watch the session and view the slides below.