Mayor Boris Johnson is lending his support to a rallying call for inspirational individuals to come forward and help make capital a more pleasant city to live in now and in the future.

Dynamic individuals from all walks of life are being invited to apply to become a London Leader and the successful leaders will be chosen for their ability to deliver projects demonstrating sustainability in action. Previous Leaders have undertaken a variety of initiatives including building green roofs in central London, creating KiosKiosk to give new creative businesses free mobile premises to sell their products, running ‘Project Genie’, a fun climate change scheme for schools and working with London boroughs and London Warm Zone to offer residents energy efficiency grants.

The London Leaders programme is run by the London Sustainable Development Commission and is supported by the Mayor. London Leaders are appointed on a voluntary basis and commit to a project that delivers improvements in quality of life. The Commission provides Leaders with bespoke advice and support to deliver their projects, provides regular training and networking events and promoting project successes in order to inspire and accelerate change.

The Mayor said: ‘Our current London Leaders have burst onto the scene with a host of fantastic initiatives from creating green roofs to helping fledgling creative businesses get off the ground in tough economic times. Now we are looking for a new batch of London Leaders to make their mark on the capital and help improve the quality of life now and for future generations of Londoners.’

John Plowman, Chair of the London Sustainable Development Commission, said: ‘London Leaders brings together London’s leading lights in sustainability, to deliver change, and inspire others to do the same. Our vision is for London to be a global benchmark for sustainable cities by 2020 and this requires leadership, not just across government, but in companies and communities across the capital. We hope that the London Leaders programme continues to demonstrate just what is possible.’

Rob Holdway, Chief Executive of Giraffe Innovation, presenter of Channel 4’s Dumped and London Leader said: ‘The London Leaders programme is unique, and bringing such a diverse group of leaders and sustainability expertise together with a common drive for change can be inspirational. I would certainly encourage anyone with sustainability ambitions to get involved.’

Previous London Leaders have found the unique collaborations inspired by the programme empowering, enabling them to effect change across their organisations and communities. Michaela Crimmin, Head of Arts at the RSA and one of the first London Leaders to be appointed said: ‘ It’s incredibly important to support people pushing the boundaries and this is what’s been so fantastic about London Leaders…London Leaders is better than just receiving an award; the support goes far further than that. It adds to the ability to do new things, providing a cross disciplinary network of people dedicated to improving the world we live in.’

The Commission now is looking for new London Leaders – people from business, academia, the arts world, the third sector or individuals from local communities within the Greater London area. The projects they hope to run can range from pan- London business initiatives to small-scale community projects. The new London Leaders will be announced in January 2010.