My involvement in a couple of organisation-wide sustainability assessments at medium sized local authorities is giving me the opportunity to take a closer look at the sort of community based initiatives Sir David is talking about. First impressions are that its an extensive and diverse list of projects and reported successes;
...from financially supporting community based initiatives with progressive third sector organisations like Vision 21.
...to investment in carbon efficient technology to run sustainable local services like the local leisure centres and even the crematorium (subject of a future blog post!)
...from installing a 60ft wind turbine in a local park providing 17% of the energy requirement of the nearby community resource centre
...to replacing colourful displays of water thirsty municipal flower beds with low maintenance wild flowers and drought resistant grasses ( a tough challenge in a regency town that regularly wins Britain in Bloom awards).
There is a hint of caution however; in local government we often monitor the strategies, plans and ambitions and forget to keep an eye on the outcomes. Over the next few months I will be learning to assess and analyse in detail some of these projects, seeking out meaningful targets and evidence of carbon reduction. It will be an interesting few months, and who knows where it might lead.
