Air Quality – Engagement
Prepared for:
Stakeholders in The Northbank BID
In partnership with:
Westminster City Council
Date:
January 2014
Contents
o Introduction
o Situation
o Air quality and health
o Air quality in context
o Solutions
o The goal & The challenge
o Borough actions
o Supporting Organisations
Introduction
o Situation
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Poor air quality in The Northbank BID is complex but broadly the
result of emissions from:
o Transport (cars, taxis and buses)
o Buildings (gas from boilers)
o Supply chain (LGVs and rigid HGVs)
There is a great deal of work already being done by the council, the
GLA, TfL and DEFRA but not all targets are being met
We need the help of the business community
Air quality and the business – current perceptions:
o No perception of the problem
o Know it’s a problem but not the extent
o Agree it’s an issue but what can I do?
o Am fully aware of the extent of the problem
Introduction
o Air quality and health
o
Poor air quality has a significant impact on health
o
What should we focus on to get the message across?
o
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Up to 10,000 deaths every year in London are attributable to poor air quality
More people die in London every year as a result of poor air quality than
nationally from road traffic accidents
The effects of poor air quality are worse than passive smoking
The lung capacity of children in areas of poor air quality is reduced by at
least 5%
The economic cost of the health impact of poor air quality in the UK is
around £15 billion
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Introduction
o Air quality in context
Introduction
o NO2 Concentrations
Solutions
o The goal
o
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To make and promote The Northbank as a healthy place
to live, work and do business
Resulting in improved employee and resident wellbeing
Corporate Responsibility and reputation management
o The challenge
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If you don’t know that it’s a problem you won’t look for
solutions to improve the situation
Any action we take has an almost immediate effect
Solutions:
o Communications – profile raising
o The Built Environment – increasing building efficiency and
reducing gas consumption
o Transportation – promoting walking and cycling
o Supply Chain – reducing the number of vehicles delivering
to your premises and the emission profile of the fleet
Solutions
o Borough actions
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The first local authority to declare an Air Quality Management
Area in 1999 and the first to produce an Air Quality Strategy
and Plan in 2001
Pioneered the initial concept of a Low Emission Zone
Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) required for large
developments
Air Quality Assessments (AQA) required for developments
which are deemed to be significant in terms of air quality
The Westminster Code of Construction Practice (CoCP) for
major sites, requires developers to control and monitor dust
emissions
Infrastructure and incentivisation for electric and low emission
vehicles
Promotion of AirText - air pollution mobile text alert system, in
association with GLA and other London boroughs