The Green Finance Fund
The Green Finance Fund is now closed for Expressions of Interest.
Information on when the Green Finance Fund will be open to Expressions of Interest will be published here when available.
If you have any questions in the meantime, please get in touch at [email protected].
The Mayor’s Green Finance Fund was launched at London Climate Action Week 2023 and will lend up to £500m to projects that help London meet its net zero ambitions. The aim is to accelerate decarbonisation by lowering the cost of borrowing for eligible organisations.
General information and eligibility
The Fund offers loans with flexible terms at interest rates agreed on a project-by-project basis, at or below Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) prevailing rates. For organisations with access to PWLB, the GFF offers loans with flexible terms at interest rates of at least 20 basis points below PWLB prevailing certainty rates.
Eligible organisations are:
- GLA Group
- Local Authorities
- Social Housing Providers
- NHS bodies
- Universities
- Colleges
- Museums accredited through the Arts Council Museum Accreditation Scheme
Organisations must be based within one of London's 32 boroughs or the City of London.
Eligible projects must deliver benefits in at least one of the following three categories:
- Energy efficiency
- Clean transportation
- Renewable energy
Projects must also meet a set of gateway criteria related to carbon savings and climate impacts, which are described in the detailed guidance document.
The minimum loan size is £1m, which could consist of aggregated expenditure for smaller projects. It is expected that loans will be below £75m, however this can be discussed on a project-by-project basis.
The loan term can be up to 25 years.
How to apply
The application process is in two parts:
- An expression of interest (EOI)
- More detailed discussions on your project, culminating, where appropriate, in a full application process.
The Green Finance Fund will be made available through regular EOI windows depending on demand and availability of finance. EOIs will be reviewed on a rolling basis during these windows, so organisations are encouraged to submit as early as possible. Details of how to submit an EOI will be published when the GFF is open for EOIs.
Please read the fund guidance ahead of submitting an EOI. If you are keen to explore finance for multiple projects, please ensure you submit a separate EOI for each project.
Please note that submission of an EOI does not guarantee project finance. Once the project has been confirmed as eligible for finance, you will be invited to discuss your project in more detail (if required), to consider technical support from the Mayor's project development programme, or to submit a more detailed, full application.
Application timeline
Complete the Expression of Interest (EoI) online
Complete a the EOI form to begin the process. The EOI form will be available here when the GFF is open for EOIs. The earlier you submit this during the EOI window the better. This should take no more than 15-20 minutes.
Your EOI is assessed
We'll assess against our gateway criteria. For more information see the FAQs or read/download the full guidance.
Next steps
If your project meets our eligibility criteria and are finance-ready, we will be in touch to discuss next steps. This will include your project being reviewed by the Green Finance Fund Steering Committee.
If your project meets our eligibility criteria and is not yet finance ready, we will get in touch to discuss your project in more detail and look at timelines. We will also identify if we can assist you further through the Mayor's Low Carbon Accelerators, which offer technical support to get projects finance-ready.
Project endorsement
The Green Finance Steering Committee will review your EOI to ensure your project aligns with the Mayor's strategic objectives. Once endorsed, we will have an indicative discussion on the terms of an agreement, in preparation for you to submit full, detailed application forms.
Submit a full application
Once you and the Green Finance Team are confident there is potential for an agreement you will be asked to complete a full application, which is similar to application processes you may be familiar with through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) and Mayor's Energy Efficiency Fund (MEEF).
Application assessed and approved
We will assess your full application, conduct due diligence, ask for further information if required and submit your application for approval to the Green Finance Fund Credit Committee. This process is iterative and the team is here to support you.
Credit Committee approval
We will confirm the outcome of your application and approval of terms.
Supporting information
If your question is not answered by the FAQ linked, please get in touch with the team at [email protected].
Examples of how green finance is helping to decarbonise London
Retrofitting and installing LED lighting across 272 London Underground stations
Of the 272 London Underground stations across London, the oldest dates back 160 years. These stations have been adapted many times to suit the needs of an ever-growing city and converting the lighting to LED is the next step in this journey. The process required extensive surveys to assess the varied and bespoke electrics found at different stations before designs for retrofitting and challenging access constraints could be prepared.
Current situations: 25 per cent of London Underground stations fully converted to LED lighting.
Impact of Green Finance Fund: acceleration of the existing annual delivery rate to further reduce associated carbon, saving an estimated total of 28,000 tCO2e in seven to eight years.
On completion: The Tube network will save an estimated 7,300 tCO2e/y, with 100 per cent of stations converted to LED by 2032.
This reduction will strengthen the London Underground as a green heartbeat for London and play a vital role in the Mayor’s ambition of becoming a net zero city by 2030.
Amount of finance: up to £34.5m for a portfolio of projects including this one
64,000 Street LEDs
Transport for London owns and maintains approximately 580 km of roads, which make up five per cent of roads across London, carrying around a third of all traffic. These roads form part of a vital network that keeps London moving day and night.
The network includes nearly 64,000 street lighting points that ensure the safety of the highway at all times and TfL has begun the process of converting these to lower energy LED lamps in a phased rollout in order to maximise asset lifecycles whilst simultaneously minimising disruption to road users.
Impact of the Green Finance Fund
The funding will allow for an acceleration of the existing street light conversion program, moving the current level from 53 per cent to 70 per cent of the total street lamps within the next three years, further reducing carbon emissions which is essential for achieving the Mayor’s ambition of becoming a net zero city by 2030.
Amount of finance: up to £34.5m for a portfolio of projects including this one
Project will see the installation of c.6,000-7,000 square metres of membrane installed
Challenges: working within the weight and access constraints of the building.
Installation: A tender process is starting in June 2023 to find a partner to deliver this exciting project. They will be appointed in November 2023, with install scheduled to be complete by Summer 2024.
Impact of Green Finance Fund:
- expected to generate over 1m kilo Watt hours of energy each year
- will mean approximately 10 per cent of the stadium’s energy consumption will be generated on-site
- forecast to save 270 tonnes of CO2 emissions per annum, the equivalent of making 70 homes carbon neutral.
- will reduce the stadium’s energy bills, reducing the impact of energy price fluctuations.
The Future: The project forms part of a wider set of initiatives to reduce the venue’s carbon footprint. This includes investment in:
- 150 sqm of solar panels on a new security reception building opened in April
- installation of LED lighting and better Building Management Systems that are reducing stadium energy consumption by over 15 per cent compared to last year.
Amount of finance facility: subject to tender.
MEEF is a loan fund that has mobilised £400m of private sector funding from an initial investment of £100m from the GLA.
See some of the projects in action:
Contact us
If you wish to speak to a member of the Green Finance Team please email us at [email protected]
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