About Us
The Southwark Climate Collective was created to make sustainability practical, achievable and genuinely useful for local businesses.
To date, around 200 businesses across the borough have taken part - reducing environmental impact while strengthening resilience and long-term competitiveness. Explore the story so far, from business journeys and results to the partnerships, ideas and learning shaping the Southwark Climate Collective’s future.
Who Are We?
The Southwark Climate Collective is a Better Bankside initiative, launched in 2023 with support from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).
The programme has been shaped not only by Better Bankside, but by the consultants, training providers and partners who delivered alongside us — and by the businesses themselves, who helped shape and evolve the programme along the way.
Together, we’ve built a practical, collaborative approach to climate action designed specifically for SMEs.
be inspired
The Southwark Climate Collective is a growing network of businesses taking climate action in different ways. These businesses have helped shape and evolve the programme over the past year.
Click on a star to find out more.
Support provided through consultancy:
Type of support:
What are the results – diving deeper
The biggest change has been confidence. We now understand our data quality, how to improve and what's realistic for a business of our size and type.
It's been brilliant. Without SCC, we wouldn't have got the coverage we have or connected with major partners. The support has given us the confidence and tools to tell our story and keep moving forward.
The support gave us clarity and confidence. We realised we were already making good progress — we just needed guidance to bring it together and communicate it more clearly.
This has been low effort but high impact. It's given us something tangible that shows who we are, what we do, and why it matters.
During a period in which our building increased in occupancy and footfall we needed to pause and reset. The consultancy we received helped us to do this and build a coherent narrative around the good work we were already doing. It also helped us to identify the next steps which would achieve best value for our organisation, our tenants, clients and environment.
The courses attended were genuinely really useful and a helpful first step for us in exploring how to improve.
We now have a better understanding of our current position and can set informed, measurable targets to meaningfully reduce our carbon footprint.
The combination of practical guidance, shared learning and encouragement has helped make climate action feel achievable and relevant to grassroots organisations like ours.
Made to be replicated for other regions / SMEs nationally
Whether you’re a small business wanting to get started, or an organisation looking to run a programme of support for SMEs, we are distilling three years of learning into practical toolkits which will be available later this year.
The Southwark Climate Collective is a much-needed initiative. It has created a supportive space where local organisations can learn, reflect and take meaningful action together.
what's next?
As UKSPF funding ends, Better Bankside is continuing the programme using its own levy income, focusing on the bespoke consultancy and deep-dive workshops that delivered the greatest impact for businesses.
The programme will continue evolving through shared learning, practical support and collaboration across Southwark’s business community.
Explore our toolkits, browse our resources, sign up to our newsletter or get in touch directly at info@southwarkclimatecollective.co.uk
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There is enormous value in growing this movement and engaging more community groups, charities and local businesses.
The more organisations that feel confident to embed sustainable practices, the greater the collective impact across Southwark.
