London Climate Action Week: What Does Climate Action Look Like in South Kensington?

Every year, London Climate Action Week brings together people, communities and organisations from across the capital to share ideas, spark conversations and explore solutions for a more sustainable future. It’s an inspiring moment in the calendar, but for us at South Ken ZEN+, it’s also an opportunity to reflect on the progress being made across South Kensington throughout the year. 

That spirit of collaboration is reflected in our 22 member organisations, who share a vision of an exemplary zero-emissions, nature-positive neighbourhood and work together to go further, faster. 

Across the Quarter, this collective effort translates into many forms of climate action — from reducing energy use in historic buildings to rethinking food, exhibitions, events and public spaces. Together, these projects show how both big and small changes can make a meaningful impact. 

Recent examples include: 

• Royal College of Music — At its historic Blomfield Building, the RCM has introduced voltage optimisation, improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions without affecting day-to-day operations. 
• Imperial College London — Imperial continues to make lower-carbon choices easier for its community. Since reshaping its catering offer in 2022, the university has prioritised plant-based options and, in 2024, removed beef from all menus ahead of schedule, helping to reduce catering-related emissions by 15% in just two years. 
• the Design Museum — The Museum has developed a sustainability baseline for its exhibitions and shares practical guidance on sustainable exhibition design. It has also achieved Carbon Literacy Silver status, helping build climate knowledge and action across its workforce. 
• Science Museum — The Museum is reducing travel emissions through a sustainable travel policy that prioritises public transport, embeds emissions tracking into booking systems, and supports low-carbon commuting through flexible working and cycle-to-work schemes.
• Natural History Museum – NHM is leading climate and biodiversity action through pioneering research, such as the Nature Discovery Garden, which creates habitats for wildlife in the heart of London, and Fixing Our Broken Planet, a gallery exploring solutions to environmental challenges.
• South Ken Culture Quarter — Our recycled planters along Exhibition Road are enhancing urban biodiversity through pollinator-friendly planting, creating a greener and more nature-positive streetscape for residents, visitors and nature alike.  We also recently planted an important new plane tree on Exhibition Road.

Alongside these individual initiatives, collaboration remains at the heart of what we do. Through our network, members regularly share expertise, lessons- learned and practical solutions, helping each other make faster progress. For example, our regular Carbon Literacy training has empowered individual staff across multiple organisations, while practical resources like our recently published South Ken ZEN+ Greenwashing Guide support better-informed sustainability decisions. This shared commitment to climate action and collaboration was recognised in 2026 when South Ken ZEN+ was Highly Commended in the Partnership of the Year category at the Museums + Heritage Awards.

These projects offer just a glimpse of what’s happening across South Kensington. As we reflect during London Climate Action Week, we're proud of the progress our members are making together and excited about what comes next!.

To learn more about South Ken ZEN+ and the work of our members, explore our case studies and sign up to our newsletter. 

Examples of climate action across South Kensington: recycled planters on Exhibition Road and Plantworks, Imperial's first fully plant-based outlet.