Responding to the global climate emergency at a local level is a challenge faced by all local authorities.
The challenge
Responding to the global climate emergency at a local level is a challenge faced by all local authorities. When Lewisham launched its Climate Emergency Action Plan in 2020, research informing our approach identified how wider emissions, such as those from aviation or agriculture and farming are significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions globally, but unlike sources within the borough boundary such as housing or local transport these emissions are more difficult to measure locally.
London Councils work with Leeds University on consumption emissions in London provided an insight into quantifying these emissions, indicating that food and drink represents around 11 per cent of the borough’s wider footprint based on all goods and services consumed. As an inner-city borough in South East London there is no large scale agriculture or farming locally. Our approach to responding to these issues was to seek to show leadership through the council’s own approach to food and catering. Our Action Plan included a new policy of only vegan food served at events on corporate sites and further improvements to the schools’ catering service including increasing the number of vegan options.
What Lewisham has delivered?
At corporate events such as committee meetings the council only provides non-dairy options for tea and coffee. In 2022, Lewisham was London Borough of Culture with climate emergency a central theme of events across the year. The launch, at local venue the Rivoli Ballroom, was a high-profile opportunity to demonstrate our climate values by offering vegan-only food and drink, sparking discussion with community partners and residents, an approach that has been carried on throughout the year. The council has led by example while delivering the London Borough of Culture programme. A key marker of the impact of the vegan catering approach, has been our partners’ willingness to extend vegan catering to their sites and events.
Lewisham’s schools’ catering contract was re-tendered in 2021 with an updated specification that included an additional meat free day.
Looking ahead
The council will continue to create opportunities for local conversations around food and carbon emissions while lobbying Government and big business for more radical change. Our plans for the future include offering affordable vegan cookery classes to parents and children and a Food Justice Action Plan is being developed that will include sustainability as the means to longer-term resilience to rising food prices.