The London Sustainable Development Commission's London Leaders programme newsletter

Welcome to the September issue of London Leading. Over the summer the London Leaders programme has been opening its doors in the hunt for the second round of Leaders. It has been exciting to see the amazing wealth of activity in London and such a high number of passionate and committed individuals across all sectors, working to promote sustainable development in their organisations and deliver real improvements to quality of life in their communities. The formal announcement of the new London Leaders will be at our Annual Event in December - more information to come in the next issue!

Hope you enjoy this update and remember you can always get in touch with the programme via our website: www.londonsdc.org.

London Leaders Business Breakfast,

2nd September 2008

As part of the recruitment drive for the next contingent of London Leaders, City Hall hosted the first London Leaders business breakfast. Business leaders, entrepreneurs, current London Leaders and Sustainable Development Commissioners attended the event.

The aim of the Breakfast was to highlight the important role that London business leaders can play in promoting sustainability and best practice through their own work.

The event's Chair, Peter Head, Director at ARUP, spoke of how the London Leaders programme can reflect the ethos of the London Sustainable Development Commission, by providing a network where business people can meet to exchange experiences and ideas. The support of the Commission and the GLA, according to Peter, can make the programme a dynamic point of contact for Leaders.

BioRegional's Sue Riddlestone shared with the group some of the inspirational history of her own business. Motivated by an urge to make a real difference to society, BioRegional's success shows the huge difference one person's conviction can make in the business world.

Solitaire Townsend represented our current crop of Leaders at the event, and suggested three ways in which business leaders could embrace leadership in the field of sustainable development: holding our nerve in times of economic uncertainty; being creative to adapt to demands; and communicating to inspire others. Soli also reminded the business leaders that just by doing business in London, they were associating themselves with a powerful sustainability reputation - something, which can be easily built on.

Input from London Leaders Joe Oliver, Mark Johnson and Philippe Castaing provided further motivation to attendees, who took the chance to ask questions and network over coffee.

The call for the new round London Leaders has now closed, but if you would still like to get involved, contact the programme team to discuss other opportunities for involvement.