A group of major Camden employers from the private and public sectors have signed a groundbreaking pledge to help clean up the air in the borough.
In total 20 organisations, ranging from health consumer brands giant Reckitt to high speed railway line developer HS2, have committed to 12 practical measures that will reduce their emissions.
They include replacing all gas boilers and combined heat power systems with electric heating systems by 2030, wherever possible,; switching to 100% renewable electricity by 2030 at the latest, and rescheduling deliveries to outside of peak air pollution hours by 2027.
The initiative has no specific emission reduction targets but will model what levels of pollution might reach if no action was taken.
Camden has some of the worst pollution hotspots in London, particularly Euston Road and High Holborn and its air contains 24% higher levels of pollutants than the UK average.
Particulate air pollution is responsible for 7% of all deaths in the borough. Asthma-related hospital admissions are four times the UK average and respiratory conditions are linked to three of Camden’s top causes of ill health.
Camden council was the first local authority in the UK to commit to meeting the World Health Organization's (WHO) air quality guidelines, and the borough has set a vision to become a place where no one’s health is affected by the air they breathe.
Local residents include Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband while Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is a local MP.
The Camden employer ares: ARUP, AstraZeneca, BCG, Bupa, Caversham GP Practice, Clarion Housing Group, Freuds, GSK, Havas, HS2, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Paramount, UCLH, and Wellcome Trust.
Between them they employee 400,000 people, though not all in Camden.
It is hoped more employers will join the initiative.
The project, known as the Camden Breathe Better Charter also has the support of specialist partners including Asthma & Lung UK and the Clean Air Fund.
The Charter was pioneered by members of the Sustainable Markets Initiative established in 2020 by King Charles when he was the Prince of Wales.
Overall, air pollution contributes up to 43,000 premature deaths in the UK every year and is estimated to cost the NHS and social care systems as much as £20 billion each year.
Anna Wright, health lead at Camden council said: “The commitment of so many of Camden’s major employers and institutions to the Camden Breathing Better Charter, means that our ambition to tackle poor air quality and improve respiratory health among the people who live and work here just took a big step forward.”
Lord Pitkeathley, chief executive of Camden Town Unlimited and Euston Town BIDs, said: “It is great to see so many businesses and public sector leaders are committed to making Camden’s air cleaner. Air pollution is one of Camden’s biggest challenges—bad for health, bad for business, and bad for the economy."
Patty O’Hayer, global head of external affairs at Reckitt, said; “As Camden illustrates, people’s health can be truly shaped by where they live or work. Small steps collectively add up to scalable action that can improve air quality and respiratory wellbeing. In addition to protecting public health, these improvements will reduce pressure on healthcare systems and help them to decarbonise - protecting people and the planet at large.”
