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5 March 2012 | Angeline Albert

London’s Castle Climbing Centre and the Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust have won awards for their sustainable procurement efforts.

The Sustainable City Awards, established in 2001 by the City of London Corporation (CLC), recognised the two organisations at its awards ceremony on Friday at Mansion House, the Lord Mayor’s official residence.

The Castle Climbing Centre, an indoor climbing site housed in a former Victorian pumping station near Finsbury Park in North London, clinched the sustainable procurement category. The organisation was praised for growing its own food to lower the centre’s costs. It has also been working on reducing its carbon emissions by limiting its reliance on food deliveries. 

One acre of unused ground at the back of the centre has been transformed into a market garden, which provides organic produce for the organisation and the local community. Some 22 mini allotments have also been created to enable local residents and volunteers to grow their own food.

The centre also won the sustainable buildings category for making the Grade II listed property as energy efficient as possible. In the past three years, its training room and offices have been refurbished using ecological building methods.

Meanwhile, the Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust was ‘highly commended’ in the procurement category. The trust won the leadership in sustainabilityaward for sourcing seasonal, locally grown produce, which has resulted in lower food wastage and higher patient satisfaction.

Simon Mills, head of sustainable development at the CLC, said:“With the spread of winners of this year’s awards including an art project, small businesses, big businesses and a hospital, it is the clear the UK is now far savvier about sustainability.

“The current hostile economic climate is stimulating sustainability among UK businesses and organisations as they are driven to innovate and stand out from their competitors and maximise their efficiency in order to survive.”