Sustainable ambitions:

The business case for sustainability

Looking to tomorrow is the right thing to do, but there are many drivers for sustainable development at London Fire Brigade including:

• global: international sustainability commitments and standards
• government: national policies and regulations
• mayoral and other fire & rescue services policies and strategies
• compliance: adhering to legal and regulatory requirements
• financial benefits: cost savings and economic incentives
• risk management: reducing and managing potential risks

Our Sustainable Development Strategy

The Brigade’s Sustainable Development Strategy (available in the related documents section below) provides a detailed overview of what we hope to achieve in the near future.

It brings together in one place a summary of the sustainability related impacts of the services we provide, the risks and issues in London and our commitments.

These commitments support us to remain a resilient, efficient organisation that anticipates and responds to change, supports the diverse communities we serve, and has minimal impact on the environment.

Our vision for sustainable development

We aim to be the leader in sustainable development within the UK Fire and Rescue Service.

Our 2023 – 25 objectives

Our objectives provide focus for achieving our vision and actions, as detailed in the LFB Sustainable Development Strategy, include:

• support London’s most vulnerable people
• address fire risks in London’s most high-risk buildings
• protect Londoners from the highest risk incidents
• protect and promote the health, safety and wellbeing of our staff
• develop a diverse and inclusive workforce, supported by a diverse and inclusive supply chain, serving diverse communities
• embed carbon zero principles, with particular focus on net zero by 2030, waste management and behavioural change
• ensure that we have the capacity to respond to the challenges posed by climate change
• protect the environment from harm through emergency response and how we deliver our service
• support skills and employment for Londoners through the provision of apprenticeship opportunities
• continually improve the social value obtained from the public money we spend
• support our staff to ensure that sustainability runs through all our activities

What is sustainable development?

Sustainable development is defined by the United Nations as ‘development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’. It balances the three pillars of sustainability: the environment, society and the economy. 

Further information

Reports

Our Sustainable Development Annual Reports provide the facts and figures which demonstrate how much we’ve achieved so far. Our Environmental Policy explains our clean, green priorities. These documents are available in the related documents section below.

Other documents available in our Publications Scheme hub include our Single Environment Plan, which groups together actions across all environmental themes, previously set out in individual plans covering biodiversity, waste and travel. It also identifies the actions we will take to support delivery of the Mayor’s London Environment Strategy. These are also in the related documents section below.

How we’ve performed

You can see how we've performed on our success stories page.