Air cleaning project at Marylebone Station extended for another year

BNP Paribas, Chiltern Railways and advertising firm JCDecaux have agreed to expand an air-cleaning project at London's Marylebone Station for a further year, after positive first-year results.


Air cleaning project at Marylebone Station extended for another year

The initiative supports the BreatheLife’ campaign for clean air

Last year, the companies installed a dual filter system inside the station’s advertising stands in a bid to create clean pockets of air. Over the course of the year, the air filters have produced 41.4 million cubic metres of clean air, enough to fill Wembley Stadium 36 times.

BNP Paribas’s UK country head Anne Marie Verstraeten said: “BNP Paribas is committed to London and to helping provide immediate, positive impact for our local communities.

“The Clean Air Zone partnership enables us to continue to deliver cleaner air to more than 14 million station users every year, which include our employees, clients, commuters and the local community.  As well as helping to reduce the impact of air pollution, we want to raise awareness of this silent killer, and that’s why we are supporting the BreatheLife campaign, which is so aligned to our own corporate values.”

The filtration systems are provided by Airlabs and are able to reduce up to 85% of PM2.5, 86% PM10 and up to 70% gases like NO2 and ozone from the area immediately surrounding the filters.

As mentioned by Verstraeten, the initiative supports the BreatheLife’ campaign for clean air, a network of more than 70 cities, regions and countries, reaching over 288 million people.

Urban areas are suffering from worsening air quality, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) finding that 93% of all children globally are living in areas which breach its recommended guidelines for air pollution. Parts of London, for example, breach annual levels of air pollution just one month into the year.

The Government has published its a clean air strategy, which it claims will reduce the costs of air pollution to society by an estimated £1bn every year by 2020.

Reality solutions

The partnership between BNP Paribas, Chiltern Railways and JCDecaux follows from both Stella McCartney and The Body Shop in trialling Airlabs technology in London. Earlier this year, Stella McCartney fitted its new Bond Street store with the filters, while The Body Shop fitted technology at three bus stop sites in New Oxford Street, Tottenham Court Road and High Holborn in 2017.

Airlabs’ chief executive Marc Ottolini said: “We are delighted that our air filtration technology is being used in this impactful way. Millions of people are using public transport in London every day. Our mission is to provide all of these people with clean air during their journey.

“The Clean Air Zones at Marylebone Station show that this can be turned into reality. Our partnership with BNP Paribas, Chiltern Railways and JC Decaux is a great example of the difference like-minded businesses can make to the lives of millions of people affected by air pollution every day.”

Matt Mace

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