Organisation
Lambeth Council
Theme
Biodiversity & environmental quality
Start Date
Jun 2023
Goals
Reduce traffic, Net-zero freight, Air quality
Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) is a harmful air pollutant primarily generated from traffic and the combustion of fossil fuels.
It worsens respiratory health, contributes to smog and acid rain, and forms fine particles and ozone. NO₂ is a key indicator of urban air pollution and a target for clean air and sustainability policies. As part of Lambeth’s commitment to improving air quality, we use diffusion tubes to monitor nitrogen dioxide levels around the borough. To collect these samples, we work with Gophr, who collects and replaces over 120 samples monthly using bicycle couriers, making sure our monitoring project doesn’t contribute to poor air quality.
The Challenge
Air quality in Lambeth is improving. Since 2017, there has been a 26% fall in the concentration of nitrogen dioxide on Brixton RoadBut, we know that there are still several places where pollution exceeds the government’s air quality objectives, and much of the borough has air quality worse than what is recommended by the World Health Organisation.
Air pollution is the presence of substances (pollutants) in the air that have a harmful effect on humans. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM) are among the most dangerous pollutants. They can directly affect those with asthma and existing respiratory and heart conditions, and long-term exposure has been shown to cause medical conditions such as lung cancer, type 2 diabetes, and heart and lung diseases.
Lambeth is tackling and reducing air pollution through its Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) (opens in a new window) and has committed to improving its air quality, breaking the association between poor air quality and inner-London living. The plan outlines actions and commitments to reducing air pollution and improving access to clean air.
To measure our progress against these actions, Lambeth uses diffusion tubes to gather data on nitrogen dioxide levels and monitor changes in air pollution. We work with Gophr to collect these diffusion tube samples on a monthly basis and send them for testing.
Action Taken
Diffusion tubes are small plastic cylinders attached to lampposts across the borough. Inside the tubes are small pieces of gauze doused in a chemical that reacts with nitrogen dioxide. These diffusion tubes are collected and sent monthly to a laboratory for analysis. The laboratory can calculate nitrogen dioxide concentrations from the gauze samples in the tubes.
We have over 120 diffusion tube locations across the borough. Every month, we coordinate with Gophr (opens in a new window) couriers to collect all the tubes in one day and replace them with new ones. All the samples must be collected on the same day to ensure consistency in the data and analysis.
Gophr uses pushbike couriers to collect all 120 diffusion tubes, ensuring our collection method doesn’t also contribute to poor air quality.
Why use pushbikes:
- Quieter: Less noise pollution contributes to more livable city environments.
- Accessibility: Able to deliver to places inaccessible to larger vehicles, such as pedestrian zones or narrow alleyways.
- Cost-effective: Lower operational costs than motor vehicles (no fuel, minimal maintenance).
- Speed: Pushbike couriers can often move faster than cars or vans in dense city traffic by using bike lanes, side streets, and shortcuts.
- Easier parking: They are not affected by parking issues or road closures to the same extent as motor vehicles.
- Environmentally friendly: Zero carbon emissions during operation. Contributes to reduced air and noise pollution in cities
The Results
Since switching to bike couriers, Gophr has replaced over 1,200 diffuser tubes and covered over 625km around Lambeth, resulting in 105kg LESS carbon emissions than cars completing the same journeys.
Committing to using low- or zero-carbon couriers demonstrates to other organisations and businesses how it is possible to make the switch, become more sustainable, reduce air pollution, and maintain delivery times. We hope others will consider switching to clean transport methods and encourage others to walk, wheel, and travel more sustainably around the borough.
Going a step further – Gophr
Reducing delivery emissions is a challenge for every carrier, especially when working with self-employed professional couriers, and the costs of electrification remain high.
But there are key ways we make local deliveries less harmful to the environment:
- Route optimisation: We build our despatcher algorithm from scratch to minimise ‘empty miles’; we ensure our vehicles are as full as possible to minimise emissions per delivery.
- Zero emissions fleet: Gophr has one of the largest remaining pushbike delivery circuits in London, meaning we can support clients - like Lambeth Council - who want to minimise their carbon footprint
- Offsetting: Some deliveries still require traditional IC vehicles, and so we are committed to offsetting 100% those emissions through Ecologi, one of the leading offsetting platforms.
