Climate Action - Open Spaces Studies Consultancy

Tender description

The City of London Corporation adopted its Climate Action Strategy in 2020 for the period 2021 to 2027. Within this is a commitment to reach net zero on its direct (scope 1) and indirect (scope 2) emissions by 2027 and aims to achieve net zero for scope 3 by 2040. This will be achieved by projects focusing on reducing carbon emissions and one project on carbon removals. The “Carbon Removals” project is being undertaken by the City of London Corporation Open Spaces Department and will focus on increasing atmospheric carbon sequestration capacity of natural habitats across its 14 sites by 2027. The Open Spaces Department manages 11,000 acres (approximately 4,500 hectares) of land across the Square Mile, Greater London area and the surrounding counties. Much of these open spaces are designated as Special Areas of Conservation (SAC), National Nature Reserve (NNR) and/or Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and are thus highly protected and have limited capacity to change land management to enhance carbon sequestration. The habitats contained within the sites include a variety of wooded and treed habitats, heathlands, scrub, hedgerows, various grassland types, ponds, lakes, rivers, streams and bogs. However, there are non-designated sites where there is more flexibility to change land management. The Open Spaces Department will be seeking consultancy services this summer that can study the current carbon storage and sequestration of the open spaces and identify the best opportunities to increase the carbon sequestration capacity of the land in the department. It is envisaged this will be through a combination of desktop studies, modelling, collaborating with staff and surveying sites. In order to create a brief for the consultancy, information is sought from industry consultants on how best to design the tender.