Driving credible climate action: UKAS and BSI launch new hub at a pivotal London Climate Action Week

London Climate Action Week (LCAW) has firmly established itself as a crucial fixture in the global climate calendar, but the 2025 gathering felt particularly pivotal. Taking place against a backdrop of complex geopolitical headwinds and economic pressures, LCAW 2025 moved beyond abstract ambition to the practicalities of delivery. Its importance was amplified this year, providing a vital platform to maintain momentum, foster radical collaboration, and demonstrate that climate action is inseparable from long-term economic security and stability. The key outcome was a resounding call for tangible, verifiable progress, with a focus firmly on bridging the gap between pledges and credible implementation.

It was within this charged atmosphere that UKAS and the British Standards Institution (BSI) convened a packed room of influential leaders at the historic Guildhall to address this very challenge: how to scale credible climate action. The event, “The role of robust standards and credible assurance in scaling climate action,” brought together stakeholders from government, business, finance, and civil society. A clear consensus emerged: to deliver on our collective net zero, and broader sustainability goals, ambition must be underpinned by a system of trust and integrity.

The conversation highlighted the Quality Infrastructure – the internationally-recognised system of standards, measurement, and accredited conformity assessment – as a powerful market mechanism ready to meet this challenge. When strategically mobilised, this system provides the confidence that is critical for advancing global climate efforts at scale.

The discussion was brought to life by a distinguished panel of speakers. Dame Polly Courtice of BSI and the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership opened with a powerful call for unity to overcome the fragmentation of climate efforts. Lord Jamie Lindsay, Chairman of UKAS, articulated the vital role of accreditation as the cornerstone of credibility, providing confidence in everything from corporate sustainability claims to the effectiveness of decarbonisation technologies. Simon Weaver, Global Head of ESG Advisory at KPMG, provided the crucial business perspective on the growing demand for accountability, while Anna Turrell of the Aldersgate Group offered sharp insights into the challenges facing UK businesses and the need to link business action with effective policy, coherent and agile standards and aligned assurance frameworks.

For UKAS, the event marked a significant moment, reinforcing our role not simply as a technical body, but as a fundamental partner in the UK’s net zero transition. The success of the event underscored the growing recognition that accredited assurance is a strategic enabler for climate policy, innovation, and investment. It provides the confidence needed for new technologies like green hydrogen to succeed, for voluntary carbon markets to scale up and function with integrity, and for global supply chains to operate on a trusted, interoperable basis.

The key outcome of the event was the official launch of the new Net Zero Quality Infrastructure Hub. This digital platform, part of the wider UKQI Platform, serves as a central point of engagement for all stakeholders to collaborate with UKAS and its QI partners on climate challenges.

The conversation at the Guildhall does not end here. It is the start of a renewed, collaborative effort. We invite all stakeholders to explore the new Hub and join us in deploying the indispensable tools of the Quality Infrastructure more effectively, to build upon the inspirational climate work already underway and accelerate our journey to a sustainable, net-zero future.

Explore the Net Zero QI Hub and join the collaboration here.