London businesses save 187 Olympic sized swimming pools of waste

The results of the 2008 Mayor of London's Green Procurement Code awards reveal that businesses in the capital are continuing to put sustainability at the top of their agenda. Graham Randles of London Remade last night revealed the combined purchases of London based organisations signed up to the Green Procurement Code diverted 72,490 tonnes of waste from landfill. This is the equivalent of 187 Olympic sized swimming pools and represents a saving of 22,643 tonnes of CO2.

Members of the newly relaunched Mayor of London's Green Procurement Code purchased from over 500 suppliers, showing that there is real market demand for green products and services. The total amount spent on sustainable procurement over the last year was in excess of £306 million.

In the most comprehensive review of its kind, 126 signatories to the Green Procurement Code submitted detailed information on their green procurement
activities over the last year. The results allow us to gain a clearer picture of the current status of green procurement across the capital and show that management and behaviour change is as important as greener product sourcing.

Purchases included 5,074 remanufactured printer cartridges, 23,840 bags of fairtrade tea, 21 energy efficient streetlamps and 892,366 reams of recycled paper. The purchase of recycled paper alone resulted in the equivalent savings of 36,958 trees, 5,000m3 of landfill space and 65,214,107m3 of water.

Outstanding effort from individual organisations signed up to the Mayor of London's Green Procurement Code was also recognised. Awards were presented to Mapeley Estates Ltd, London Fire Brigade, the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and Transport for London. Certificates were also presented to 32 other organisations in recognition of their achievements.

Chief Executive of London Remade, Daniel Silverstone, said: “The increasing stress we're putting on resources and environmental systems can't go on forever. This is why the Mayor of London's Green Procurement Code is so important. The benefits of sustainable procurement extend beyond the environment; they include cost savings, tax breaks, increased staff motivation and enhanced reputation and brand value.”

Graham Randles, programme manager of the Mayor of London's Green Procurement Code, said: “We can see from the environmental savings recorded by signatories to the Green Procurement Code that London's businesses are continuing to sit up and take notice of environmental issues and are ready and willing to act to reduce their own impact on the earth's resources.”