Canary Wharf Group collaborates with Surfers Against Sewage to become world’s first plastic free commercial centre

Canary Wharf Group has announced that they have committed to becoming a Plastic Free Community, making them the first commercial centre to take part in the Surfers Against Sewage led initiative.

The new initiative is the next step in their 12-month #BreakingThePlasticHabit campaign and has been informed by its World Environment Day activities in June.

As part of the project, the Group has committed to achieving targets across five areas, governance, local business support, community engagement, community events and the formation of a steering group to take the work forward.

Stretching across 16.5million sq. ft of London real estate, Canary Wharf says it intends to prove that urban communities play an important role in eliminating avoidable, single-use plastic and reducing the harm plastics do to our rivers and oceans.

Pledges include helping local businesses and retailers to remove at least three items of single-use plastic, eliminating them completely or replacing them with sustainable alternatives and hosting community events that create opportunities for people to engage with the issue.

Hugo Tagholm, Chief Executive, Surfers Against Sewage, says: "The potential to inspire solutions-focused collaboration, innovation and partnership is enormous. We'd like to see other global financial centres take similar action on single-use plastics in the interest of healthy and happy communities everywhere.”