Press Release

LL03/07 28/02/2007

Lloyd's branches out to create poetic place for City workers


Lloyd's, the world’s leading specialist insurance market, has unveiled a new outdoor space for City workers and visitors that uses poetry to emphasise the importance of tackling climate change.

'Trees in the City' is a new Lloyd's project that aims to improve the quality of the City environment. To launch the project, Lloyd's has sponsored three elm trees and installed a new seating area by Fenchurch Street Station, London Street, EC3. Extracts from a series of new poems commissioned from three contemporary British poets form part of the new site's design.

Lloyd’s is also using the new poetry to take its message on the importance of tackling climate change to primary and secondary schools in Tower Hamlets. The poets will conduct workshops in five schools throughout the year.

Lloyd's Chief Executive Richard Ward said: “Trees in the City is a great example of what can be achieved when the City works in partnership with the Arts and the local community. This project demonstrates our continued commitment to improving our local environment and raising awareness of the importance of tackling climate change. We hope that this is just the beginning of a series of projects to improve the environment in the Square Mile.

“By using the poetry to take our message on climate change to schools, we hope to play  a part in equipping the next generation to deal with this growing problem."

Trees in the City was officially launched today by Richard Ward and poets Patience Agbabi and Matthew Hollis. Schoolchildren from Tower Hamlets also attended, having each written a wish for the environment on coloured tags attached to the trees.

The project is a partnership between Lloyd’s, the City of London, and charity Poet in the City, which aims to attract new audiences to poetry.

Graham Henderson, Chief Executive of Poet in the City, said: “Everyone is waking up to the dangers of global warming and environmental damage, and it is only right that poets and poetry should be contributing in an active way to communicating this crucial message both within and beyond the financial community. This is a bold artistic collaboration between a cutting edge charity and one of the City’s most famous institutions.”

Lloyd's and Poet in the City have received an investment from Arts & Business New Partners Investment Programme to develop the project. Arts & Business New Partners is funded by Arts Council England and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Colin Tweedy, Chief Executive, Arts and Business, said: “I am delighted to see Lloyd’s engaging with the arts in such an innovative and inclusive  way. This project demonstrates the scope of the arts for transforming business practice.”

Notes to editors:

1. The Trees in the City project is part of Lloyd’s 360 Risk Project, which has been created to generate discussion on how best to manage risk in today’s business environment. More information, including the poetry involved in this project, podcasts of the poets reading them, and biographies of the poets, is at www.lloyds.com/360
2. The poets involved in the project are: Patience Agbabi, John Burnside and Matthew Hollis. 
3. Poet in the City is a charity committed to attracting new audiences to poetry, making new connections for poetry, and raising money to support poetry education, in particular the placing of poets in schools. It is providing City organisations and top companies with a way of investing in poetry and in poetry education. www.poetinthecity.co.uk
4. The new seating area is part of the City of London’s ‘Street Scene Challenge’, which plays a key role in fulfilling the City of London’s commitment to improving the City’s streets, and creating a refined and legible urban environment for the City’s residents, workers and visitors. Each year £1 million is available to fund a wide range of joint initiatives to enhance the street scene, using high quality design and materials.
5. Arts & Business aspires to be the world's most successful and widespread creative network. It helps business people support the arts and the arts inspire business people, because good business and great art together create a richer society. Now seven years old, the Arts & Business New Partners Investment Programme is designed to help businesses try something new with the arts. Through 12 regional offices, Arts & Business invests in ideas to deepen the relationship between arts and business and encourage new ways for the sectors to work together.

 

For further information, please contact:


Steve Farrance

Tel: +44 (0)20 7327 6096 Fax: +44 (0)20 7327 5229 Email: steve.farrance@lloyds.com

Caroline Daniell

Tel: +44 (0)20 7327 6256 Fax: +44 (0)20 7327 5229 Email: caroline.daniell@lloyds.com

For urgent out of hours media calls Tel: +44 (0)7659 597 825


Lloyd's is the world's leading specialist insurance market and expects to have the capacity to write approximately £16bn of business in 2007. It occupies sixth place in terms of global reinsurance premium income, and is the second largest surplus lines insurer in the US. In 2006, 64 syndicates are underwriting insurance at Lloyd's, covering all classes of business from more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.

Lloyd's is regulated by the Financial Service Authority.