Canary Wharf Group Joins Forces With The Eden Project

London property developer Canary Wharf Group has teamed up with Cornish charity The Eden Project to “tackle biodiversity challenges in urban environments” and “create a blueprint for sustainable global cities to act on biodiversity loss,” Abode2 reports.

The Eden Project has been given a London base in Canary Wharf, and will work with the estate to put more nature in its public realm and waterways. This will start with the creation of a “green spine” through the East London enclave; Glenn Howells Architects has been brought in to “implement significant changes across Canary Wharf, turning theory into action.”

The Eden Project is an educational charity and social enterprise based in Cornwall, founded over 20 years ago by Tim Smit. The massive “biome” gardens (designed by Grimshaw Architects) are one of the county’s top tourist attractions, as well as a hub for botanical research and conservation.

CWG’s first project with Eden will be the creation of a “green spine” through the centre of the Canary Wharf estate with additional green public realm, parks and gardens, waterside access, performance spaces, new bridges, boardwalks and floating pontoons. “It will animate the docks with new spaces for arts and culture, and for water sports such as paddle-boarding, open water swimming and kayaking,” explains the team.

Beyond this, the partnership aims to turn the Canary Wharf estate into “a global example of best practice and innovation on biodiversity in a dense urban environment, living and working in harmony with nature.”

CWG already claims to have more “sustainably certified space” than any other UK developer, and has purchased 100% of its electricity from renewable sources since 2012, and sent no waste to landfill since 2009. The business is aiming to be Net Zero for carbon emissions by 2030.