Don’t be a wildebeest!

By Mark Jenkinson, Director, Crystal Associates and Vice President, SELCC.

You may have seen one of the many documentaries featuring the Great Wildebeest Migration. Every year around 1.5 million wildebeest, zebras and antelope cross the south of the Serengeti, an event which is even visible from space.

Or you may have been fortunate enough to see it first hand as had one of the speakers at a London Climate Action Week summit. On seeing a herd of wildebeest try to cross the crocodile infested Mara River resulting in a gruesome death for many, his 13-year-old daughter had asked why the animals didn’t just use the much safer point his family had witnessed earlier in the trip. The guide responded that we don’t really know. “It’s just that they’ve always done it that way!”

Regular readers of this column will know the SE London Chamber is committed to supporting members to adapt and do things differently and better, especially when it comes to sustainability. And as I conclude this column on another potentially record-breaking day – the hottest day in June and warmest start to Wimbledon – here’s a summary of what we at the Chamber have been up to since the last issue.

Sustainability Tour of Avery Hill

In May, around 20 Chamber members were treated to a tour of the University of Greenwich’s Avery Hill campus. After hearing about the university’s work and energy efficiency programmes to reach Net Zero by 2033, we were guided around the campus to see the recently installed air source heat pumps as well as their inspiring Edible Garden.

The heat pumps have led to a 55% reduction in gas consumption and carbon emissions. And to debunk an often-cited myth, the heat pumps were noticeably quiet, despite their size, necessary to keep 1,000 students plus staff comfortable while learning and living on site!

The Avery Hill Edible Garden - made up of raised beds, a poly-tunnel, a forest garden, a pond, and an orchard - was started in 2012 and has continued to grow ever since. It is run by staff, students and community members and is always open to anyone who wants to get involved and volunteer.

Bexley’s 2050 Vision

After the tour of the Avery Hill campus, I then hot footed it to Bexley for the Bexley Partnership 2050 Meeting organised by Bexley Council.

The Partnership’s shared vision is for Bexley to have a future of growth, aspiration and ambition and help residents and businesses to be ready for the future and to benefit from it.

It may be of no surprise to you that I joined the group focused on Goal 4 of the vision to be a green innovator and leader.

Building on the fact that Bexley is one of the greenest boroughs in London, with over 100 parks and 1100 hectares of Green Belt Land, the Partnership’s ambitious plans are for Bexley to be at the cutting edge of carbon capture, green technologies, and green skills. Bringing investment into Bexley, benefiting local residents and businesses, and creating a greener future. Five specific achievements outlined in Goal 4 are:

• Scope a green innovation hub to attract green investment, infrastructure, and jobs

• Pursue retrofit and decarbonisation

• Promote reskilling and upskilling opportunities in the green economy

• Push for closer links with higher education and research institutions as the sector grows in Bexley

• Build a strong alliance between employers and schools/colleges

The next meeting is in November, and I’ll keep you abreast of progress in the next issue.

I’ll also let you know about our sustainability tour of CORY’s waste to energy facility in Belvedere scheduled for 7th August. Places are limited but contact me (mark@selondonchamber.org) if you would like to join this or any future sustainability tours.

Anchored in Greenwich partnership

In a similar vein, the Anchored in Greenwich (AiG) partnership was established to bring together key organisations in the Royal Borough of Greenwich to maximise the benefits they bring to the economy.

Held during London Climate Action Week, the latest AiG meeting focused on community wealth building and four anchor pledges. I had the honour of chairing the group focused on the sustainability related pledge, namely: Work together to decarbonise the local economy of Greenwich to mitigate against and adapt to climate change and work together to explore the financial levers to support these activities and objectives.

We were asked to identify one project, and we agreed to explore how to decarbonise all homes in Greenwich. Given there are over 100,000 homes in the borough of differing tenures this is no mean feat. Nevertheless, there is support out there including home energy advice from the South East London Community Energy (SELCE). What’s not to like about saving on your energy bills!

Again, in future issues, I will report on progress of this project along with the four initiatives identified at the Greener Greenwich Summit in 2024, including the decarbonisation and energy saving in all of Greenwich’s other buildings!

London Climate Action Week

From 21-29 June 2025 over 45,000 people attended over 700 events as part of London Climate Action Week (LCAW). Now in its 7th year, it is the largest city-wide climate festival in Europe, providing a brand and platform under which hundreds of organisations, communities and individuals host their events, creating a large and vibrant programme of climate-focused activities.

I attended and spoke at various events. As well as hearing about migrating wildebeest, I participated in discussions about funding sustainability projects, how to run sustainable events, and the key role SMEs as well as large corporates play here in the UK and around the world.

I’m already looking forward to next year’s LCAW 2026 but also ensuring that sustainability is at the forefront of everyone’s mind every day and every week.

What’s next?

As already mentioned, we have many events and activities planned for the next quarter including the sustainability tour of CORY. In the autumn, we will also look to schedule a webinar on solar power and hold a workshop around the circular economy which should be of interest to many of you, whether its for your business or for your home.

What LCAW and other activities over the last quarter have demonstrated to me, despite some back tracking on net zero and ESG targets from certain quarters, there is still a strong focus by many organisations on achieving net zero, improving energy efficiency and thus saving money, delivering social value to all those in the community, adopting circular economy principles and reducing the impact on nature.

So, in one respect, don’t be a wildebeest and keep doing things the same way, especially if it has a negative impact on you and your surroundings. Although the impact may not be as dramatic as being eaten by a crocodile, around 570 people in the UK were expected to die just as a result of the latest heatwave.

Nevertheless, I’m possibly being a little unfair to the gnus of southern Africa. To paraphrase a quote from the people of the Serengeti which see the benefit of collaboration and working with the rest of the herd:

“The wildebeest reminds us that life’s journey is never a solo one. We travel farther when we journey together.”