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Green500 gathers pace
A number of the capital's leading hospitality businesses and tourist attractions are cutting their carbon emissions thanks to the London Development Agency's (LDA) Green500 initiative.
Members of the Green500 scheme receive a carbon assessment, are helped to develop an emissions reduction plan and commit to publish their progress annually.
They are offered a 'carbon mentor' who work with businesses to help implement the plan and achieve their target and there will be yearly awards to recognise those that reach their target and for top achievers.
As a result of the initiative, the London Eye - the most visited paid for attraction in the UK - has introduced a brand new LED lighting system which has resulted in a 69 per cent reduction of power from 35,000 kilowatt hours per year to 11,000 kilowatt hours per year.
Meanwhile, the Natural History Museum (NHM) has become the first museum in the UK to receive the ISO 14001 accreditation, which recognises the implementation of an environmental management system.
NHM invested £3m in installing a new energy system that uses Combined Heat and Power (CHP), utilising the heat that is produced as a by-product of power generation.
The Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) has achieved a 20 per cent decrease in its energy carbon footprint compared to 2005/06 levels.
In the hospitality sector,, hotel operators Radisson and Crowne Plaza have embraced the scheme. Radisson reduced its group-wide electricity consumption by 20 per cent during the second quarter of 2009, mainly thanks to a £50,000 investment which saw low energy bulbs being introduced in all guest bedroom corridors.
Crowne Plaza has invested heavily in making its Crown Plaza - The City hotel eco-friendly. It has put in place a stringent recycling regime and has also installed water saving devices, such as flow regulators, in each bedroom.