London’s ‘super sewer’ the Thames Tideway has become one of the first major infrastructure projects to report on how it will withstand the impacts of climate change.
In accordance with the recommendations of the Taskforce on Climate Related Financial Disclosure – an initiative aimed at helping companies communicate key climate-related information – the report explains how the capacity of the tunnel has been designed to withstand changes in climate and population scenarios until at least 2080.
It also covers how Tideway – the company delivering the project – has sought to reduce its construction phase carbon footprint through design decisions, materials specification and using the river to transport materials.
Alongside this, the project has published its third Sustainable Finance Report showing progress in delivering the project’s legacy commitments and explains how their delivery is contributing to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs).
Ines Faden, Tideway’s treasurer, said: “We are continuing to report on how £1.7 billion of sustainable finance is funding the delivery of the project and our legacy commitments. This includes reporting on the UNSDGs at target level but this year we also reviewed our negative impact on some of the goals and our mitigation efforts.”
Samantha Freelove, Tideway’s legacy manager, added: “At Tideway, we continue to deliver our legacy commitments and to plan for the future impacts of climate change. These reports are the culmination of work across the project and reflect everything we are doing to support the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.”
Preparatory work on the £4.1bn project to upgrade London’s sewer system to cope with its growing population began in 2015.
The 25km Thames Tideway Tunnel runs mostly under the tidal section of the River Thames and will intercept, store and transfer sewage waste and rainwater away from the river.
Construction is currently underway at 24 sites in London and the project is anticipated to complete in 2025
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