Hope 100: Getting low carbon initiatives into public life

This piece is part of our Hope 100 series, telling the stories of the people and organisations creating hope for 2020 and beyond

#94 London Borough of Waltham Forest

Some 13.7 miles of segregated cycle lanes, 700 trees planted and cycle training for 15,000 residents; the Enjoy Waltham Forest project has created a ‘mini-Holland’ during the past five years, bagging it the 2019 Ashden Award for clean air in towns and cities. Various events are planned to encourage more people to get on their bikes. “What’s happening here is a model for the rest of the UK’s urban areas,” said Paul Gasson from Waltham Forest Cycling Campaign.

#95 Riding Sunbeams

Already a significantly more sustainable method of transport than driving or flying, train travel in the UK is set to become even greener, thanks to social enterprise Riding Sunbeams. The organisation is connecting solar panels directly into electrified rail routes to power trains. Its first project saw a section of Network Rail’s Wessex route connected to a solar farm in Hampshire. The ultimate vision is to power the UK’s rail network from community solar farms.

#96 Climate Care

A sustainability consultancy that helps governments and large organisations reduce their emissions, from delivering offset programmes to achieving carbon neutrality, or advising on how to improve the environmental impact of products. To date, it claims to have cut 35m tonnes of CO2 and is working towards a target of 50m tonnes by 2025.

Image: Waltham Forest Council