Snapshot
- ReLondon’s High Streets Beyond Waste programme empowered over 100 high street businesses with training, advice and financial resources to drive innovation and business growth through zero waste principles.
- This support has highlighted the strong appetite in cafes, retailers, pubs and hairdressers across London to adopt new ways of working.
- Zero waste initiatives have yielded meaningful commercial and place-making benefits, with one-third of the 38 funded projects recouping the cost of their grant within 12-months thanks to cost savings and new revenue, and 36 new partnerships formed with local peers, communities and artists – offering a blueprint for London’s 600+ high streets to transition to a vibrant, circular economy.
What was the opportunity?
High streets are vital economic hubs, home to 41% of London’s businesses, and offering essential services with 90% of Londoners living within 10 minutes of a high street[1]. However, the successive disruptions of the last 5-years –Brexit, COVID, the cost-of-living crisis and war in Europe – have made it increasingly challenging for high street businesses to operate.
At ReLondon, we believe that adopting zero waste practices like reuse, repair, sharing and rental is key to building the resilience of small, brick-and-mortar businesses – all while reducing their environmental footprint.
New Simpler recycling regulations, which could increase disposal costs for the smallest of businesses[2], further incentivises businesses to minimise the waste they create.
Unlocking zero waste practices across London’s 600+ high streets creates benefits at the business level, and also improves access to affordable, sustainable choices for communities.
Londoners increasingly want to consume in sustainable ways, with 20-28% of residents already buying second-hand or refurbished items[3]. It can also help address living costs, saving people money on household goods[4] or through repair[5].
Through our experience of delivering business support since 2017, we know that small, high-street businesses are open to tackling unnecessary waste in their business but – given their financial position – need help to de-risk the implementation of new approaches.
What was the response?
In 2023, ReLondon launched our High Streets Beyond Waste programme with funding from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). This was complemented with supplementary funding from Southwark Council’s Pioneer Fund to reinforce delivery activities within the borough.
The programme delivered financial support and upskilling to over 100 food & drink, retail and high-street businesses across 22 boroughs. ReLondon delivered training workshops to equip beneficiaries with the knowledge and confidence to explore zero-waste ideas that benefit their business, with each participant receiving a tailored action plan highlighting quick-wins and potential partners.
Businesses were also invited to apply for small grants of £2,500-£10,000 to trial reuse, rental, and repair initiatives. Ultimately, 38 businesses were selected to receive grants and were guided over 4-6 months by the ReLondon team to troubleshoot the implementation of projects.
Supporting diverse business leadership is key to fostering an inclusive and resilient economy:
Grantees implemented a range of zero waste initiatives, ranging from tackling food waste, keeping clothes in use, replacing single-use packaging with reusable alternatives and creating greener markets.
What were the outcomes?
The 38 grantees saw impressive results after only 4-6 months of implementing their projects.
Businesses tackled 7.8 tonnes of food, fabric, packaging and other material during the programme. Most of the volume was avoided entirely due to staff designing out waste from their products and services and becoming more efficient with what they purchased. A smaller proportion of material was redirected away from energy-from-waste towards value-add repurposing or recycling.
Rethinking how materials are used in business makes commercial sense. 94% of grantees reported that the new activities had already or will help their business grow. Many businesses found savings through small adjustments to their operations, but it was those tackling core materials (e.g. food in restaurants, single-use cups in pubs) who saw the greatest savings – at an average 5% of annual turnover.
Similarly, businesses that launched new zero waste products and services were able to generate revenues at 8-9% of annual turnover. In addition to financial benefits, businesses reported other positive outcomes such as strengthened customer relations or time saved by staff.
The zero waste initiatives supported workforce development, with 205 employees (approx. 40% of the total workforce) gaining or honing skills in areas like repair, digital inventory management, and sustainable procurement. These developmental opportunities align with London’s ambition to future-proof jobs and create pathways to green employment.
The grants also helped create new roles; many are part time or temporary for now, but have laid the groundwork for future employment as the businesses embed activities into their operations.
Going ‘beyond waste’ strengthens local places, creating interconnections between businesses and with their local communities. 26 new partnerships were formed by businesses involving suppliers, local businesses, community gardens, and even local artists.
11 grantees benefited from London’s growing circular ecosystem, working with innovators from ReLondon’s circular business community that include clothing repairs with SOJO, take back and resale with Tern Eco and Continue, redistribution of leftovers by Too Good To Go, and reusable cups from Circular&Co.
81% of the grantees believed their initiatives improved customer awareness of environmental issues and, with grantees estimated to reach 27,400 customers per month, they are together enabling the uptake of greener behaviours by Londoners across the capital.
Spotlights
What was learned?
High street businesses are ready to go ‘beyond waste’
Small businesses are agile and accustomed to adapting their business to survive —our High Streets Beyond Waste programme has shown that this willingness to innovate also extends to zero waste practices. Whether motivated by sustainability or cost savings, a variety of businesses across 22 of London’s 33 boroughs showed strong interest in rethinking how they use materials.
Tackling physical materials—rather than energy or transport—was a particularly compelling entry point into sustainability for high-street businesses, as decisions relating to materials are typically more within their operational control and is directly linked to how they create customer value.
Many grantees explained they had previously experimented with or thought about waste reduction or product innovation, but had lacked the confidence to take the next step without our support.
Small grants unlock action, but knowledge and confidence matter too.
Training and advice can go a long way in supporting businesses to make smaller, easier changes: 78% of the workshop attendees felt more equipped to be sustainable, and over half saw direct benefits to their products, services, or processes.
Grants continue to be effective for changes that are deemed riskier by business owners – such as purchasing equipment or shifting customer behaviour. In these instances, a relatively small amount (as little as £2,500) helped businesses overcome financial barriers and commit to action.
Other financial tools, such as short-term loans or business rates discounts, may also be effective in catalysing action – especially for projects where the return on investment is more predictable and improves cash flow position.
Early findings suggest that at least 1/3rd of funded projects could recoup their grant value within a year based on costs saved or revenue generated to date.
Businesses also expressed interest in other, in-kind support to incentivise initiatives – such as the use of newsletters or advertising space to publicise their activities with residents and further de-risk investment by sustaining or driving footfall.
Seeing examples of other businesses financially benefitting from zero waste initiatives can further build confidence to invest in similar practices.
High street businesses are key to London’s just transition to a circular economy
These businesses may be small, but their collective impact is far from it. Our 38 grantees are projected to move 66 tonnes of material up the waste hierarchy each year, cutting emissions linked to production, transport, and disposal. Their combined reach – 27,400 customers a month and over 600,000 social media followers – extends their influence far beyond their own operations. And because they can implement change quickly, high street businesses are an ideal testing ground for circular economy start-ups with industry-facing solutions.
The 100+ businesses that took part in this programme have already begun to create the blueprint for a circular high street and are paving the way for London’s 600+ high streets to follow.
What’s next?
This programme has demonstrated the appetite, business case and innovation potential of high street businesses to make better use of ‘stuff’ and create more resilient places in the process.
Building on this momentum, there is a clear opportunity to scale circular economy support for high streets across London, including in boroughs not yet reached —unlocking commercial benefits, job creation, and carbon savings citywide. Aligning with the Mayor’s ambition to make London a leader in sustainable business, future initiatives could further embed circularity into economic recovery and regeneration efforts.
If you would like to explore running a similar programme for the high street businesses in your borough, contact our business transformation team at business@relondon.gov.uk.
ReLondon’s business transformation programme and the pan-London High Streets Beyond Waste programme is funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
The Southwark High Streets Beyond Waste programme was made possible with funding from Southwark Councils Southwark Pioneers Fund.
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[1] Greater London Authority, High streets for all
[2] ReLondon (2024), Article – Commercial food waste recycling
[3] London Councils (2023), Londoners’ views on climate change in 2023
[4] ReLondon (2022), Waste note, want not: rethinking waste to help low-income households access necessities
[5] ReLondon (2024), Londoners need a repair revolution
