The City of London Corporation's Planning and Transportation Committee has given the green light to new sustainability guidance for the built environment, set to be adopted in the coming weeks.

The newly approved Planning for Sustainability Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) outlines how developers should incorporate the City Corporation’s sustainability policies into planning applications, focusing on the design and construction of buildings. The guidance provides tailored, City-specific advice to help developers achieve best-practice outcomes for their projects while contributing to the broader sustainability goals of the Square Mile and Greater London.

The SPD was developed through extensive public consultation, input from industry experts, and insights from previous high-standard sustainable building proposals. It represents a significant step toward achieving the Square Mile's target of net zero carbon emissions by 2040, enhancing climate resilience, and driving sustainable growth across the financial district.


Five key sustainability themes are covered in the SPD, applicable to all development proposals within the City. These include:

• Retrofit and reuse - Promotes the reuse of existing buildings and supports the City's 'Retrofit First' approach.

• Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Energy Use – Includes measures to reduce whole life-cycle carbon and operational energy emissions.

• Circular Economy – Encourages a shift from a linear to circular waste model in a building's construction and operation to minimise waste through a building’s life cycle.

• Climate resilience – Sets out how developments should address flood risk management, water management, building and urban overheating, pest and disease control, and infrastructure resilience.

• Urban greening and Biodiversity – how to protect, conserve and enhance biodiversity, habitats, and green infrastructure in the Square Mile.

Key areas of change, in response to the consultations include, guidance about the City Corporation's 'Retrofit First' approach and on the application of the NABERS UK* target (a 5-star target for new office developments, and 4-star target for retrofitted office developments), as well as introducing embodied carbon benchmarking, aligning to the Greater London Authority embodied carbon benchmarks.

In the event that applications do not achieve the upfront embodied carbon benchmarks at planning stage, developments will be expected to go above and beyond in their delivery of wider environmental sustainability benefits, for the Square Mile. This could include, for instance, creating or extending local energy networks, supporting sustainable transport modes through significant public realm upgrades, implementing City climate resilience infrastructure, such as 'cool routes', or providing skills and training opportunities in sustainable construction.