Sustainable Bridges: hub for cleantech in the heart of London

 A few weeks ago, Liz and I met with Emma Adams, an old friend of SE²'s who's incredibly well connected and who always seems to know what's going on!  We met at Sustainable Bridges, a new home for green innovation and cleantech near London Bridge.  It's an inspiring space making great use of the railway arches, providing desk and technology development space to new, small, green entrepreneurs.  We felt it was a funky, innovative hub of a place and we've already got a few plans to bring some of our workshops there - and so also invited Sustainable Bridges'  Venture Manager, Anna Mitchell, to guest blog for us, to give you an insight into their ambitions:

With the proliferation of sustainability-related focus fields – from the circular economy to the connected home – whether these fields specifically focus upon sustainability, or they align on a more tangential basis, the range of activity underway potentially labelled ‘green’ is greater than ever. By all means this is fantastic, as is the subsequent explosion in the range of people and diversity of skill-sets involved. Only, all too often these disparate endeavours are happening remotely from one and other and the potential for cross-pollination is missed. Unlike many other industries prevalent in London, cleantech lacks a real centre point, meaning the full potential for transformational impact is going untapped.

Herein lies the aspiration of Sustainable Bridges, a new co-working space specifically centred on sustainability professionals in the renovated premises of four railways arches, a stone’s throw from London Bridge. Established with the ambition of better nurturing those at the forefront of green innovation, by augmenting the potential for shared learning and ideas exchange, Sustainable Bridges will increase the chances of collaboration and crucially, enhance the performance of the whole ecosystem. Set up as a community interest company, Sustainable Bridges provides low carbon innovators and green pioneers with flexible use of affordable workspace in the heart of London, taking advantage of London Bridges’ well-connected transport links. Offering hot desks from one day per week for the intermittent capital visitor, as well as providing a unique backdrop for meeting space Sustainable Bridges has the added benefit of having onsite hardware workshop facilities to build and test out prototypes. Collectively, the range of services on offer enables a diverse range of users to capitalise on the facilities.

Yet, in addition to the physical space, Sustainable Bridges recognises the value cultivating a community can offer entrepreneurs, especially for providing a range of shared connections, resources and experiences. Fundamental to the success of green entrepreneurs, and the wider industry is the level of integration and sector-wide interconnectedness. Having seen the success of initiatives such as Boston’s Greentown Labs in terms of fostering connections between SMEs, industry and corporate investors, Sustainable Bridges seeks to maximise the potential of the site by using one of the arches as a flexible events space, to host a range of events designed to support both its own specific objectives around championing green entrepreneurs, but also to allow more people to share in the hub’s offerings. Tailored workshops and events are being devised, ranging from informal discussions on key areas of expertise such as funding application advice, to team-based problem solving exercises encouraging skills transfer and knowledge spill over.

Despite only opening to its first members 3 months ago, Sustainable Bridges already hosts 10 resident ventures, including applications in energy storage devices, sustainable fishing mechanisms, domestic heating controls and an electric vehicle car club to name but a few. With the second two arches now approaching completion and able to host meetings and workshops, Sustainable Bridges is set to get a whole lot busier. Ultimately, Sustainable Bridges is about forging a community of pioneers driving disruptive innovation. By creating a focus point for green innovation, where innovators from a diverse range of backgrounds and knowledge areas can bounce ideas off each other over the kitchen table, the chances of knowledge diffusion are vastly improved. Now is the chance to join London’s most aspiring community of green pioneers.

For more information please visit www.sustainablebridges.co.uk or email: contact@sustainablebridges.co.uk.  You can also download their brochure.