Climate change is already affecting London’s businesses and its communities. The challenge now is responding at the scale and pace required.
In South Bank and Waterloo, we believe that place-based, partnership-led action is the most effective way to do this. Climate risks cut across organisational boundaries, so our response must do too.
South Bank Employers’ Group leads Sustains Us, a partnership that brings together Lambeth Council. Southwark Council, with our two local Business Improvement Districts and our resident-led Neighbourhood Forum. Together, we share an ambition to build a fairer and greener neighbourhood for everyone.
This collaborative approach builds on South Bank Employers’ Group’s founding purpose 35 years ago — convening organisations across the neighbourhood around a simple principle: that the most complex challenges facing places are best addressed collectively, through partnership rather than by any one organisation acting alone.
The Sustains Us model brings together residents, businesses, landowners, local authorities and statutory bodies. It creates a structure that can attract investment from a wider range of sources, while providing the capacity to turn ideas into action. Too often, ambitious conversations stall when they reach the dreaded question: ‘Who’s going to take this forward?’ Sustains Us was established to provide that answer.
We recently shared our approach with the London Assembly Environment Committee because we believe a mosaic of place-based action can deliver the scale of transformation that London needs.
The value of partnership becomes particularly clear when we consider climate adaptation.
The River Thames is central to South Bank and Waterloo’s identity. It attracts visitors and underpins economic activity across the neighbourhood. Research shows that more than 90 percent of visitors to the South Bank spend time along the riverfront. Yet we also know that climate change means our flood defences will need to be raised significantly over the coming decades to manage future flood risk.
Responding to that challenge is far from straightforward. The riverside is shaped by a complex mix of stakeholders.
Through Sustains Us, we recently brought together businesses, residents, landowners and public sector partners to ‘Reimagine the River’. The conversation moved beyond flood walls and engineering solutions. Participants described the Thames as a connector, a place of sanctuary, a meeting point, a welcoming gateway to London.
Genuine, deep engagement is essential to ensure adaptation is not simply about protecting places from environmental risk but is also about understanding what makes those places valuable in the first place.
We are now using these conversations to shape emerging riverside strategies and build a shared vision for delivering flood resilience while enhancing the riverfront experience.
The same principle applies to urban greening. We are developing a neighbourhood-wide investment strategy that treats green infrastructure as a connected system rather than a series of isolated projects. In a dense urban environment, interventions must work together to reduce heat, manage surface water and support nature recovery where it is needed most.
South Bank Employers’ Group’s Strategic Plan recognises that climate action is inseparable from an inclusive economy and long-term investment in place. Building resilience to climate change is not simply an environmental challenge; it is an opportunity to create a neighbourhood that supports good jobs, attracts investment, improves public spaces and delivers benefits for local communities.
We believe that place-based partnerships are a potent and inclusive way to deliver climate action, providing a framework for achieving the ambition and building the trust required for a just transition to a climate-resilient London.
To hear more about South Bank and Waterloo Sustains Us, visit: www.sbwsustainsus.org. Photo credit: Mickey Lee.