Southwark Climate Collective: Impact
200 businesses supported with training, events and consultancy from 2024-2026
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.
mapping success
click on a star to learn more about how we've helped a broad range of SMEs
Support provided through consultancy:
Type of support:
what are the results?
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.
I found the in-person session very informative and well structured — the trainer was extremely knowledgeable.
The combination of practical guidance, shared learning and encouragement has helped make climate action feel achievable and relevant to grassroots organisations like ours.
moving from awareness to action with confidence
why organisations joined the programme
Businesses were motivated by resilience and long-term business sustainability, not just reputation.
what support businesses were looking for
Participants were seeking practical actionable support, not just information.
confidence to act
85% of organisations felt confident taking climate action after the programme
The programme significantly increased organisations' readiness to take practical climate action.
what changed inside organisations
The programme moved organisations beyond learning into operational change.
It has helped make climate action feel achievable.
We now have a better understanding of our current position and can set informed, measurable targets to meaningfully reduce our carbon footprint.
We are now giving regular sustainability and environmental updates to the whole company.
The funding and support enabled us to properly understand and quantify our carbon emissions, which previously felt like a significant and somewhat daunting task.
why organisations joined the programme
what support businesses were looking for
confidence to act
before
after
what changed inside organisations
participants reported:
what we've learnt
Scroll to explore what we learnt from phase 2
SMEs motivated but lack confidence
Small investments (£5k + 20 hours) unlock measurable impact
Practical, bespoke support works best
SMEs face a regulatory gap, a policy gap and a knowledge gap
Many sustainability leads are juggling this work alongside full-time roles, so they need clarity, practical tools, and reassurance
Large organisations are getting clearer guidance and reporting frameworks - but SMEs are still left to figure things out alone
common challenges smes face
data
Carbon information is scattered, incomplete, or hard to interpret.
communication
Many SMEs are doing good work but struggle to share it effectively ("greenhushing")
focus
SMEs sometimes get caught up in visible, low-impact actions rather than the areas where they can make the biggest environmental, social, or business impact.
resources
Time, staff capacity, and complex operations can limit what's achievable.
our approach provides a blueprint for other regions / SMEs nationally
Many SMEs are already further along than they realise — with systems, reporting, and operational improvements in place. When SMEs connect sustainability to social, community, and business impact, engagement and motivation increase significantly.
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 proved most effective.
SCC has shown that proportionate, hands-on support moves SMEs from intention to action - building confidence, capability and shared accountability across the business community. The model is now replicable and scalable for other BIDs, local authorities and regions seeking to drive SME behaviour change and measurable environmental improvement.
Sustainability can directly support business growth, efficiency and competitiveness
Local actors (BIDs, councils, business networks) are already filling the gap, but cannot scale alone
Government could enable faster progress through simple incentives, e.g., sustainability-linked business rates relief
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.
next steps
We have toolkits, can give advice and support you in the process. Explore our Resources page, the Better Bankside website or reach out to us directly at info@betterbankside.co.uk
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