Sustainability
The future of sustainable development
Canada Water will be the UK’s most truly sustainable large scale regeneration project, with ‘sustainability-first’ thinking integrated into everything we do and every decision we make.
This will be a thriving, net zero, all-electric place, fully and positively integrated into the wider Canada Water area for generations to come. And a place that will set new standards for what’s possible in urban living and working.
Bolder innovations
Earth-friendly concrete. Fully electric. Heat-sharing between offices and homes. And hundreds of other innovations.
By staying at the forefront of what’s possible with new materials, approaches and technologies, we’re able to re-think industry assumptions, and bring together the right solutions in the right place at the right time – from underlying design principles to day-to-day processes.
Deeper connections
By bringing together the best designers, contractors and suppliers, and the widest range of experts and partners from across the wider Canada Water community, we’re better able to understand what’s possible, forge more effective partnerships, and support and challenge each other to make sure the development is sustainable and successful for everyone.
We're creating long-lasting, positive social impact by engaging meaningfully with our local community, building new social infrastructure, creating new opportunities for local people, working collaboratively with community partners, and inviting responsible businesses to Canada Water.
Higher standards
We work only to the highest standards, targets and benchmarks – from British Land’s own commitments to be Net Zero by 2030, to industry standards including BREEAM, HQM and NABERS. And we use these certifications not just as one-off targets, but as measures to ensure the ongoing performance of offices and homes in the future.
We have a low-carbon design philosophy which reduces superfluous elements and utilises low-carbon materials, and by taking a whole-life carbon approach, we’re reducing emissions in construction and during the operational lifetime of our buildings and places.
We’re honest about our performance, with any residual carbon being offset by certified schemes.
The route to net-zero carbon
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Outstanding by design
Targeting BREEAM Outstanding for all offices, Excellent for retail and minimum Home Quality Mark 3* for residential.
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Energy efficient
The entire development is all-electric, with 100% renewable electricity, heat sharing between offices and homes, and NABERS UK energy modelling to achieve the highest efficiency and performance.
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Ultra-low emissions
40% of steel in the Dock Shed superstructure is X-Carb low carbon steel. And Canada Water is also the first UK project to use cement free, Earth Friendly Concrete in permanent pilings – a 45% carbon saving.
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Targeting zero waste to landfill
96% of development waste has been diverted from landfill since 2019. That's more than 250,000 tonnes, and we're working towards 100%.
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Biodiversity
12 acres of new open space, including a 3.5-acre park, new town square, revitalised Canada Dock, and green corridors linking everything together.
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Water saving
Rainwater from rooftops will replenish Canada Dock and revitalise local wetlands, enhancing the local ecology. Rain gardens provide natural drainage.
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Sustainable travel
10,000 bike spaces, 3.8km of pathways and cycle ways, 1,000 electric car charging points and 2 new bus routes.
Creating a long-lasting, positive social impact
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Local people
More than 2,100 diverse local people benefited from our community programme in Southwark last year.
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Education
1,600+ local children benefited from our education partnerships in Southwark last year, including Global Generation workshops to shape public spaces and Young Readers Programme, improving life chances.
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Employment
Over 240 people have benefited from our employment and training partnerships in the last two years alone, including at our affordable workspace and start-up incubator space Thrive in partnership with charity Tree Shepherd.
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Skills
1,300+ local students have gained insights into career opportunities in the built environment in the last two years alone, through our long-standing partnership with Construction Youth Trust.
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Affordable space
We've provided 15,000+ sq ft of affordable space for charities and community groups, including the T&T2 hub where local charity Time & Talents hosts a warm hub and free events for people of all ages.
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Affordable homes
Around 3,000 homes for all life stages, including affordable housing for people on lower incomes - with a minimum of 25% of all housing at social rent and 10% intermediate affordable.
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Expert volunteering
1,200+ hours of volunteering by us and our contractors and consultants at Canada Water last year, benefiting local community groups and charities.
