Addison Lee launches Green Screens School’s programme

St. Mary’s Bryanston Primary School’s playground in London has celebrated having an emissions-absorbing ivy wall, or ‘green screen’ installed to improve air quality for its school children thanks to Addison Lee Group's Green Screens School Programme.

St Mary’s Bryanston Primary School has been identified as one of the 50 most polluted schools in London by the Mayor of London’s school air quality audit. Installing emissions-absorbing green screens was a solution identified to improve the air quality for the school’s pupils and is partly funded by the Mayor of London’s Green Fund, Westminster City Councils’ Schools Clean Air Fund and Addison Lee Group’s Greener Future Programme.

Greening playgrounds with climbing plants is beneficial to boosting air quality and reducing exposure to harmful emissions from busy roads. The screens consist of ivy, which traps emissions and particulates before absorbing them through the soil, protecting children from harmful emissions while providing privacy and reducing traffic noise. A study by The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Greater London Authority showed that the use of green screens at schools successfully reduced air pollution by up to 36% and 41% for NO2 and PM10, respectively.

Andy Boland, Chief Executive at Addison Lee Group, said: “At Addison Lee Group, we want to keep our cities moving – but we also have a duty to do everything we can to improve air quality in the communities where we live and work.

“Today, we are proud to partner with Westminster City Council and the Mayor of London to deliver on this commitment through the Green Screens initiative, which will start with St. Mary’s Bryanston Primary School, but also form a wider, on-going investment programme in other London-based schools impacted by London’s high carbon emissions.”

Cllr Tim Mitchell, Westminster City Council Deputy Leader (Delivery) said: “Air quality is the number one concern for our residents, especially when it comes to local schools, and with over a million people travelling into our neighbourhoods each day it’s essential that we work together with businesses across London to tackle this issue. We cannot continue to allow our schoolchildren to sit in polluted classrooms.

“We know that the impacts of air pollution disproportionately affect young people, that’s why our £1m Schools Clean Air Fund helps to support innovative projects such as these green walls, reducing emissions and clearing up our schools.”

Addison Lee Group’s Greener Future Programme encompasses a host of initiatives aimed at reducing carbon emissions, improving long-term air quality and supporting the communities it serves. Its Green Screens School’s programme is part of the initiative.