SACO - The Worldwide Serviced Apartment Network - Is Canary Wharf literally "greener" than it might have appeared?

As a dense, urban office development, Canary Wharf might not naturally be thought of as one of London's greener places. And we mean that both figuratively (business zones weren't conceived as eco-communes) and literally (Londoners might picture Hyde Park as being somewhat closer to nature).

But, in the few square miles surrounding our two serviced apartments in Canary Wharf, there are a number of initiatives underway to substantially change that perception on both fronts…

A view of Canary Wharf

Practically greener

Canary Wharf Group runs a number of schemes for recycling glass, paper products and even fluorescent light bulbs.

In 2004 CWG recycled 45% of its waste, greatly exceeding the government target for recycling which was set at only 17%. The group currently recycles approximately 67 tonnes of glass and 250 tonnes of paper and cardboard per month.

Boosting the recycling scheme further, plastic cup recycling has been introduced with Save-a-Cup and the group is now planning to launch an aluminium can recycling scheme. Canary Wharf Management Ltd also offers regular, individual BRIC (Building Recycling Initiative Committee) meetings to its tenants.

Literally greener

Canary Wharf's energy-efficient building designs are not only considered "green" because they're ranked among the highest for environmental performance. If you took to the skies above Docklands, you'd also see patches of green on an increasing number of the development's rooftops.

That's right: over the last five years, Canary Wharf has taken the lead on introducing the sedum roof system, which is still in its infancy in this country. Following a debut at the "Green Canary Days" annual exhibitions, a sedum brown roof has been successfully installed on the sixth floor roof of 1 Westferry Circus. Eight buildings at Canary Wharf now have green or brown roofs; the wildlife that inhabits these new areas is now being monitored in association with Livingroofs.org.

Choose London serviced apartments in greener location

If you need short- or long-stay accommodation in or around Canary Wharf, you can rest in the knowledge that the buildings are becoming a lot more energy efficient than it may have at first appeared.