Clean Air Awards, Recognition and Roles
About Clean Air in London
Air pollution in our biggest cities is much worse than most of us have realised. It averages well over twice World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines and legal limits near many of London’s busiest roads. Mayor Johnson has estimated some 4,300 premature deaths in London in 2008 were attributable to long-term exposure to dangerous airborne particles alone.
Clean Air in London’s Mission is to achieve urgently and sustainably full compliance with WHO guidelines for air quality throughout London and elsewhere. It works closely with other campaign groups and a wider network of supporters and volunteers to identify and build understanding of the most important issues and encourage decisive action on them.
Clean Air in London’s immediate priority is to see that air quality laws are enforced rigorously in London and elsewhere. Clean Air in London believes that if we comply fully with relevant laws Britain can show the world how to tackle successfully air quality, climate change and sustainability issues.
Clean Air in London is a not-for-profit organisation funded by donations, sponsors and other supporters. It is not a charity in part because a registered charity is not allowed to have political objectives or take part in political lobbying (other than in a generally educational sense). Clean Air in London may wish to participate in such activities.
Clean Air in London is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales, with company number 7413769 and registered office address Thames House, Mere Park, Dedmere Road, Marlow, Bucks SL7 1PB
Clean Air in London’s Articles
An article by Simon Birkett about the story and vision of ‘Clean Air in London‘ was published in a special edition of ‘environmental SCIENTIST’, the Journal of the Institution of Environmental Sciences, titled ‘Air Quality – should we have achieved more?’ in April 2013
Awards
Simon Birkett has been presented with the London 2012 Sustainability Ambassadors Award for his outstanding contribution to achieving a truly sustainable Olympic and Paralympic Games in particular for his focused commitment to tackling air quality, climate change and sustainability issues. Note: no conditions were attached to this award or services provided.
London 2012 Sustainability Ambassadors Award
Campaign for Clean Air in London won the City of London Corporation’s inaugural Sustainable City Award presented for Outstanding Contributions to Enhancing Air Quality 2010/2011 on 3 February 2011
Recognition
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Global Opportunity Network interview with Simon Birkett, published in January 2016, focused on the themes of 'Disruptive determination' and Taking down walls'.
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Simon Birkett was interviewed by Air Quality News in its wrap-up on 2015:
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Simon Birkett was Creator and Producer of 'One Atmosphere' which is a 35 minute film about the lessons he has learned from 10 years of campaigning. It calls for urgent action to reduce local air pollution and greenhouse gases to protect public health and mitigate climate change. The film can be viewed in full or 10 chapters and has had over 100,000 video views on Twitter since its launch in November 2015.
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Simon Birkett was included in the Evening Standard's list of the Top 1,000 most influential people in London, under the category 'Eco-warriors', on 16 October 2014 and 16 September 2015:
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/the1000/the-1000-londons-most-influential-people-2014--campaigners-9789797.html#eco-warriors
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Clean Air in London was highlighted by Twitter as one of its success stories globally on 21 March 2014.
See also https://twitter.com/CleanAirLondon.
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Simon Birkett was profiled by the Guardian on 22 February 2011. See: 'Former banker's pollution fight a breath of fresh air'
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Simon Birkett was chosen as one of six international individuals of the year by the Guardian on 27 December 2010. See: '2010 - The environment year in review'
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Simon Birkett was profiled as a Campaign Hero by The Ecologist on 15 November 2010
Roles
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Clean Air in London supported the Communique from the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership to join up the climate change and air quality agendas on 2 March 2016.
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Simon Birkett became a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers’ London Air Quality Taskforce in February 2016
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Creator and Producer of the One Atmosphere film about the lessons learned from 10 years of campaigning. It calls for action to reduce local air pollution and greenhouse gases to protect public health and mitigate climate change. Launched in November 2015, the film had had over 100,000 video views on Twitter in the first month. Watch it in full or 10 chapters on Vimeo or Facebook:
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Simon Birkett became a member of the West End Partnership Amenity Group in July 2015
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Simon Birkett was elected as the Chair of the Knightsbridge Neighbourhood Forum on 16 September 2015 with a three year term
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Simon Birkett was appointed a member of the External Advisory Board for the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Health Impact of Environmental Hazards on 15 March 2015
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Simon Birkett was appointed to the United Nations Environmental Programme’s (UNEP’s) High-Level Intergovernmental and Stakeholder Advisory Group (HLG) for GEO-6 on 14 March 2015
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Simon Birkett was elected a founder member of the Executive Council of the European Chapter of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology and served between February 2013 and summer 2016.
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Simon Birkett acted as an Expert on air quality for DG Research of the European Commission and the European Environment Agency in 2012.
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Simon Birkett assisted Policy Exchange with its report ‘Something in the Air: The forgotten crisis of Britain’s poor air quality‘ published on 19 July 2012
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Simon Birkett has been a Science and Policy Adviser to ClientEarth since July 2009
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Simon Birkett has been a member of Environmental Protection UK’s Air Quality Committee since [2009]
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Campaign for Clean Air in London was a member of Defra’s Air Quality Forum between January 2008 and February 2012