Big Savings, Real Impact: Lambeth’s Innovation Challenge Cuts Costs and Carbon
Last week Lambeth Council and Sustainable Ventures showcased the success of the Lambeth Innovation Challenge – a programme pairing climate tech innovators with Council services to deliver real-world solutions to climate resilience and operational challenges.
The event took place at Sustainable Ventures in Waterloo, with over 70 attendees from government, partners, Sustainable Ventures’ innovator network and funders. Attendees heard from Mete Coban, Deputy Mayor of London for Environment and Energy, and council and innovator representatives about the tangible efficiencies these partnerships are already delivering.
Delivered as part of Lambeth’s Green Economy Growth Strategy, the programme demonstrates how innovation can cut emissions, reduce costs, and improve public services.
Targeting High-Impact Challenges
The Challenge focused on three priority areas where Lambeth faces significant financial and environmental pressures:
- Housing – tackling damp and mould linked to a multi-million annual cost, and in response to the new Awaab’s Law, which is rightly placing stronger duties on landlords to tackle damp and mould in homes
- Leisure – reducing the £1.8m annual energy cost across the leisure estate
- Waste – improving recycling participation and meeting new national ‘Simpler Recycling’ requirements
Over five months, the programme, delivered in a partnership between Lambeth Council and Sustainable Ventures and funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, narrowed 400+ small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to four deployable solutions, piloted through three live partnerships embedded in Council operations.
Innovations in Action
The three pilots across housing, leisure and waste are delivering immediate savings of over £50,000 and over 34 tonnes of CO₂e reduced annually through reduced energy use, improved operational efficiency, and avoided costs, while validating the technologies in real-world settings.
- Airex and Window Insulation Ltd partnered with the Housing Repairs and Voids teams to pilot smart retrofit systems, improving ventilation and insulation in nine homes to prevent damp and mould. Moving from reactive repairs to preventative “smart retrofit” solutions reduces costly disrepair claims. Avoiding just two claims (typically £20k–£40k) could cover the cost of a 30-home rollout, while also improving living conditions and lowering energy bills for residents.
- Cosy Sense and Window Insulation Ltd partnered with the Leisure team to pilot AI energy optimisation and thermal coatings reducing energy use in three leisure centres. At scale, these interventions are projected to deliver £300,000+ annual savings, helping address rising energy costs without requiring significant upfront capital through “pay-on-performance” models.
- Limetrack partnered with the Waste service to pilot four Smart waste bins using Internet of Things (IoT) data to optimise collections and cut contamination on a social housing estate. Once breakeven is reached in the pilot phase, borough-wide rollout is projected to generate £150,000+ annual savings, driven by reduced disposal costs and more efficient operations.
At full rollout, these combined interventions could generate £325,000+ annual savings and 2,153+ tonnes CO₂e reduction annually, reducing the Council’s direct carbon footprint by over 50%, while creating a strong, evidence-based case for further investment in climate innovation.
A Model for Scalable Innovation
The Lambeth Innovation Challenge shows how councils can embed innovation into frontline services, delivering carbon reduction, cost savings, and economic growth.
- “Local authorities today are operating under very challenging financial constraints. But the reality is that the climate transition is not just an environmental imperative - it is also an economic one. If we can reduce the energy our buildings use, improve the efficiency of our infrastructure, and reduce waste in our systems, we can cut emissions while protecting public finances and improving services for residents.”
Cllr Rezina Chowdhury, Cabinet Member for Clean Air and Sustainable Lambeth - "The Lambeth Innovation Challenge proves that collaborative innovation can de-risk climate solutions for our local communities. By facilitating these direct connections, we are bridging the gap between ambitious public sector goals and the market-ready tech needed to meet them.
Lambeth’s role as a first-of-a-kind pilot partner has provided an exceptional launchpad, drastically accelerating speed to market for these startups. This programme is a powerful example of how public-private collaboration can catalyse green growth across the UK.”
Chris Morris, Sustainable Ventures Co-Founder and Group Managing Director
Driving Green Growth in Lambeth
This programme supports Lambeth’s Growth Plan mission to stimulate investment and innovation in our growth sectors, including our growing green economy.
The borough’s Low Carbon and Environmental Goods and Services sector has grown 24% (2020–2024), contributing £368m GVA in 2024. NOMIS BRES data shows that the green and retrofit economy sectors have seen strong employment growth, at an average of 2.93% per year over the 10-year period.
Since launching the Green Economy Growth Strategy, Lambeth has:
- Delivered 70,000+ sq ft of affordable workspace – including 40,000 sqft of vacant space brought back into use, housing over 145 climate-tech businesses at Sustainable Ventures in County Hall.
- Supported 100+ businesses – Enabled by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, between 2023 and 2025 our green economy-focused programmes and grants created 13 new jobs and safeguarding a further 36.
- Helped hundreds of residents into green jobs and training – our Net Zero Contractors Challenge provided over 100 hours of support for 77 young NEET Lambeth residents, introducing them to the sustainable construction sector.
- Attracted £40m+ investment with our partners – Sustainable Ventures invested £14 million across 58 companies, with 50% invested in companies based in Lambeth. The 58 portfolio companies have raised over £250 million of external follow-on funding.
Get Involved
Lambeth Council welcomes the opportunity to facilitate future rounds of innovation challenges with our strategic partners and employers. If you’re interested in exploring how your organisation can benefit from these efficiencies and savings, please get in touch at invest@lambeth.gov.uk.
We are also keen to hear from funders and investors who want to support our mission to accelerate net-zero innovation while driving inclusive green growth across the borough.