Here East impact report celebrates campus community coming together to support local people

• Here East Impact Report 2021 outlines award-winning social impact initiatives and ESG agenda
• Here East and campus community steps up support for local people during the pandemic

Delancey’s award-winning Here East, London’s fastest-growing tech and innovation campus, has today launched its 2021 Impact Report showcasing its economic and social impact within the local community in the face of the challenges posed by the global health pandemic.

Following recognition for Project of the Year and Commercial Building of the Year at the inaugural RICS Social Impact Awards, the Here East Impact Report 2021 outlines the social impact of the campus, highlighting the continued positive contribution to society through programmes and initiatives led by Here East and tenants to increase access to education and employment for local communities.

With a continued commitment to creating job opportunities for young people across the campus, the growth of tenants during the pandemic has created new jobs for local people in East London. Here East is actively recruiting local talent, offering job placements for young people through its Scholarship Programme and there are also 13 tenants recruiting for local talent – making the campus one of the biggest employers in the local area.

Education is also central to the Here East Social Impact Report 2021, as Here East has launched a Scholarship Programme in partnership with Staffordshire University London and LMA to support three local students to enter higher education every year for the next five years.

The Report has also highlighted the campus’s commitment to increasing access for people with disability. Here East is now home to the East London Inclusive Enterprise Zone, which promotes startups developing disability-led innovation as well as Scope, the disability equality charity and the Global Disability Innovation Hub.

The Impact Report also reveals the first list of Humans of Here East, individuals whose work during the global health pandemic has provided invaluable support to local communities. These heroes include Nana Badu, whose company, Badu Sports, delivered free meals throughout the pandemic to local families.

Gavin Poole, CEO of Here East, comments: “Making a difference is built into the DNA of Here East. Over the past 12 months, Here East’s community has continued to grow, and in turn, so too has our impact on East London and beyond. This is a campus that is ready to serve the
evolution of London and is doing so today. We have seen job creation and business growth for companies that will define the next decade of economic growth in London. Not from traditional City sectors, but from the new creative and emergent areas like esports, immersive experiences
and technologies, and digital entrepreneurs developing emerging technologies.

“As we wrote this year’s Impact Report, what emerged was an extraordinary story of the Here East team, and members of our campus community coming together to provide more support for each other, for local people and the local economy than ever before.”

Lyn Garner, LLDC Chief Executive, said: “it’s been great to work alongside Here East on what is a great success story for London and Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. It has established itself not just as a hub for innovation and enterprise but also a close-knit community of individuals and organisations who have played a huge role in supporting local communities during the past year.”

Mayor of Hackney, Philip Glanville, said: “As our plans to ensure a fair recovery beyond the pandemic gain momentum, having anchor institutions and employers like Here East committed to this approach, which ensures local people and businesses are the first to benefit
from economic growth, is essential. As a campus, they helped to host our own Council food and humanitarian hub during the first lockdown, and the ‘Humans of Here East’ show the importance and reach of organisations like Badu Sports.

“This report captures the impact of the pandemic and shows how Here East and their tenants rose to that challenge and how they are providing new opportunities around jobs, training and skills for people living and working in Hackney Wick and the borough as a whole. Collectively this work is unlocking social value and supporting our ambitions to create a more inclusive economy. We will keep working together to ensure these vital opportunities continue and we do even more.”

The full report is available to download here: https://hereeast.com/news/here-eastlaunches-
impact-report-2021