The Islington Sustainable Energy Partnership’s (ISEP) AGM marked the post-Covid re-launch of its public events on 28 October by encouraging businesses to support one another on their mission to become greener.
The networking event, forming part of Islington’s Together Greener festival, brought together 40 local organisations to brainstorm ideas for implementing new sustainable business practices. These included starting a circular economy, reducing energy usage and lowering their carbon footprint.
ISEP is a network of businesses and charities, set up as a council initiative in 2006, which now works as an independent, non-profit network in the local area encouraging sustainable practices in Islington.
The revised programme of events will include a mixture of workshops and tours, as well as the revival of the Sustainability Awards for autumn next year.
Their aim is to assist businesses to reach Islington Council’s Vision 2030 target, which would see the borough hit their net-zero target by 2030.
Gearoid Kennedy, Sustainable Energy Partnerships Manager at ISEP, highlighted the lack of resources and funding available to help local businesses become more sustainable.
He acknowledged “we’re lacking in capital to carry out larger measures”, but maintained that local businesses could combine their knowledge to create small, yet significant sustainability strategies even without extra funding.
Although Kennedy said he was frustrated that government schemes “won’t reach everywhere”, he is hoping that the work of ISEP will be able to help smaller businesses develop bespoke sustainability strategies.
