New campaign launched in London to boost green investment in the capital

A major new scheme worth half a million pounds is now underway in an effort to promote sustainable investment into housing, regeneration and green infrastructure across London’s communities.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has backed and partially funded the £500,000 Opportunity London Project, alongside the cross-party group London Councils, which represents the capital’s 32 boroughs and the City of London Corporation.

A funding bid has also started looking for further financial backing, especially from the private sector.

Officially launching later this year, the project will take the form of an annual programme of co-ordinated events and activities targeted at the international investment community.

A group of ‘London Ambassadors’, drawn from supporter organisations as well as the capital’s sporting and cultural sectors, will become the faces of the campaign.

These Ambassadors – ‘representing the diversity of skills and thought that underpin the capital’s communities’ – will aim to take the message to industry events in the UK and overseas led by the government, the Mayor and the Lord Mayor. They will also host incoming delegations.

The goal is to showcase London as one of the very best places in the world to invest – especially with regards to real estate, regeneration and green infrastructure – and ‘attract responsible investors, looking for long-term, sustainable growth’.

Additionally, the campaign will draw attention to the role of the 32 boroughs and the City of London Corporation in driving economic growth, setting out their vision for development and their top sites for investment and renewal.

The campaign is set to be promoted at all three mina party conferences, the London Real Estate Forum taking place next month, the UK Real Estate Investment & Infrastructure Forum (UKREIIF) in May 2023 and MIPIM in Cannes, France, in March 2023.

Those behind the campaign believe it can succeed in bringing in international capital ‘seeking well-governed and commercial returns in a post-Covid and post-carbon world’.

“To maintain London’s place as a leading global city we need to compete for investment in sustainable growth with other leading cities,” Khan said. “Opportunity London is a great platform to do that, and I am delighted to be working with our partners to attract investment which will help us to build a better London for everyone, supporting good growth in our industries, jobs and communities.”

Laura Citron, Chief Executive of London & Partners, said: “London is a leading global destination for business. Our strengths in creativity and innovation have seen the city become a hot bed for socially responsible investment from green finance and clean tech to award winning regeneration projects like Kings Cross. Our city has a myriad of opportunities for investors seeking well-governed and long-term environmental, social and commercial returns and we should not be shy about spreading the word.”

Cllr Georgia Gould, Chair of London Councils, added: “London’s boroughs are leading the way in attracting investment into our communities and making sure our residents benefit from the opportunities good investment can create. Together we’re determined to secure London’s future as a fairer, greener, and more prosperous city.”

And Rob Heasman, Chief Executive of The Earls Court Development Company, which is one of the main private sector partners backing the scheme, along with Berkeley Homes, commented: “The 40-acre Earls Court site, as one of London’s biggest and best-connected development opportunities, is capable of delivering thousands of homes, unlocking huge potential for sustainable growth and being a global destination for investment and innovation. Community is at the heart of our vision to bring the wonder back to Earls Court, and so I can’t think of better ambassadors to bang the drum for London than the people who already contribute to its success.”