One World Living programme

The One World Living (OWL) programme aims to address and reduce consumption-based emissions across four key areas: plastics, textiles, food and electricals.

OWL is one of London Councils' seven climate programmes, and aims to reduce London's consumption emissions by two thirds by 2030.

Each of the four workstreams has a key priority plan to complete within the next one to two years, as well as longer term actions.

Richmond Council is leading the plastics work for this programme. Within this workstream there are three key pillars:

• Innovate to ensure that the plastics we do need are reusable, recyclable and compostable
• Eliminate all problematic and unnecessary plastic items
• Circulate all the plastic items we use to keep them in the economy and out of the environment

Actions in the priority plan include:

• Establish a Low Plastic Communities Network
• Adopt low plastic policies for councils (procurement, operations, events, schools)
• Develop a range of support and advice for small businesses on low plastic approaches (purchasing co-ops, business recycling options) 
• Promote and support refill options across London
• Tackle the lunchtime plastic waste throwaway economy

A plastics working group has been set up to steer the actions forward and meets to discuss progress, opportunities for influencing policy and methods of further engaging with other boroughs and organisations to most effectively see outcomes.