Greener Lifestyles
Think global, act local! There are many easy changes we can all make to our everyday lives to help protect and improve our local environment.
Global Action Plan - provides tips and advice for people who want to reduce the
environmental impact of their lifestyles.
Environment and greener living - online guide to help you find out what you can do in your everyday life to tackle climate change and other environmental issues. Includes actions
involving the home, shopping, travel, food and drink, waste and recycling, energy and water saving, gardening, and also ideas on how to be greener in your workplace, school or community.
Ecological footprint score sheet (pdf 150kb) - simple score sheet from oursouthwest; useful for staff awareness raising campaigns.
Ecological Footprint Calculator - hosts the
South West's resource flow analysis, ecological footprint analysis and sustainability assessment Stepping Forward.
Act on CO2 - carbon calculator to help you work out your own carbon footprint.
Energy Saving Trust - sustainable energy solutions in the home and on the road.
Recycle Now campaign - for lots of useful advice, hints and tips on recycling. Learn about how easy recycling is and how you can really make a difference.
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Sustainable Communities
Sustainable local communities should be sensitive to the environment, active, inclusive and safe with a common sense of purpose and a healthy local economy. Sustainable local communities are at the heart of sustainable development.
Some of the essential ingredients for local sustainability are:
Local decision / policy makers should listen to what local people want and involve them in the decisions that affect them.
Low carbon - energy used efficiently and use of renewable energy.
Cut consumption of materials, production of waste and pollution and the development on green field sites.
Protection of the local biodiversity.
Increase local access to facilities without the need to use the car.
Build on local strengths and add economic value locally encourage local businesses to supply to local retailers and markets to help the local economy whilst reducing environmental impacts.
Increase opportunities for local employment, education and training, especially for those in most need.
Strengthen local community and cultural identity - local distinctiveness should be valued. The variety of customs, food and drink, landscapes, wildlife, buildings and building materials found across the South West are what makes the region so special.
For further information visit:
"Local Area Agreements and Sustainable Community Strategies" in the next section below.
Empowering Communities - the South West consortium of a national programme, the National Empowerment Partnership, to improve the quality and functioning of relationships between citizens and government, and to enable people to influence decisions which affect them.
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Local Area Agreements and Sustainable Community Strategies
During the 1990s Local Agenda 21 (LA21) formed the basis for actions by communities towards achieving local sustainability. Local Agenda 21 originated from the Earth Summit held in Rio in 1992 and was the process of
drawing up and implementing local sustainable development plans, with each local authority working in partnership with all sectors in the local community to achieve this.
The Local Government Act 2000 placed local authorities under a duty to prepare a (Sustainable) Community Strategy. A Community Strategy should enhance the quality of life of local communities through action to improve the economic, social and environmental well being of an area and its inhabitants. It should provide a means of joining-up services and tackling cross-cutting issues in a coherent and integrated way. The Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) has a significant role in developing the Community Strategy.
Since 2008 (following the first pilots announced in October 2004) Local Area Agreements (LAAs) struck the deal between central Government, local authorities and major LSP delivery partners in an area. LAAs sought to provide local authorities and partners
with the flexibility and capacity to deliver the best solutions for their areas through a reformed relationship between central and local government.
An objective of LAAs has been to give greater local autonomy over how money is spent to meet local needs and deliver action on local priorities alongside Sustainable Community Strategies. In the South West the Government Office for the South West
has been responsible for overseeing, negotiating and monitoring LAAs, as well as providing advice and support.
The Coalition Government formed in May 2010 announced that it would implement a fundamental shift in power from Westminster to people by promoting decentralisation and democratic engagement and give new powers to local councils, communities, neighbourhoods and individuals. The future of LAAs is under review.
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Local to Regional Sustainability Forum
The Local Sustainability Group for the South West (LSGSW) was established in early 1999 to provide a regional voice to local sustainability practitioners working with communities around the region. From March 2006 this activity transferred to an annual Local to Regional Sustainability Forum event organised by Sustainability South West (SSW). This enables
local to regional organisations to share their perspective on the reality of delivering sustainable development.
For further details visit SSW's dedicated web page: Local to Regional Sustainability Forum.
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Bath Farmers Market
Local Area Agreements and
Sustainable Community Strategies
Local to Regional Sustainability Forum
