SME Green Transition and Job Skills in London

March 5, 2026

London Councils Green Economy Programme Reports
March 2026

Image: London © Linda Gessner / kultur.work

Two new reports on London’s green economy have been published by a research collaboration between London Borough of Hounslow (for London Councils) and a consortium led by the Centre for Enterprise, Environment & Development Research (CEEDR) at Middlesex University, working with CUSP researchers from Kingston University, the University of Surrey and Royal Holloway.

Commissioned through the London Councils Green Economy Programme, led by Hounslow Council, the research looks at how London can move towards net zero while supporting local businesses and workers.

The first report, Developing London’s SME Green Business Transition, examines how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are supported in reducing emissions. Drawing on interviews with boroughs, finance providers and businesses, it finds that support across London is varied but often fragmented and uneven. Barriers include limited access to finance, complex grant processes, landlord–tenant constraints, and shortages in green skills, particularly in retrofit and energy auditing.

The report calls for a London-wide “one-stop shop” for SME support, simpler finance options, closer public–private cooperation, shared infrastructure, and clearer regulation. It highlights the role SMEs can play in meeting local climate targets and strengthening local economies.

The second report, Net Zero Transition in London and the UK: Evidence on Green Jobs and Green Skills, looks at how the labour market is changing. It finds that the number of green jobs in London was growing faster than the UK average before the pandemic and are mainly in high-skilled occupations. However, gender and ethnicity gaps remain, and there are mismatches between green qualifications and green jobs.

The study points to underused graduates with green qualifications and identifies areas—particularly construction, retrofit and engineering—where targeted training could make a difference. It also stresses the need to retrain workers from carbon-intensive sectors and improve diversity in STEM pathways.

Together, the reports look at both business support and workforce skills. As the lead researchers note: “Delivering a just green transition requires coordinated action across finance, skills, procurement and local governance. These reports provide evidence-based leverage points for boroughs and partners to scale impact.”

As London Councils continue to mobilise climate action across the capital, the findings offer a practical and policy-relevant framework to accelerate SME decarbonisation, strengthen green job creation, and ensure that the benefits of the transition are broadly shared.