By becoming first council in UK to develop a “Green Standard”
Previous critised by some for lack of urgency in tackling climate change, Hounslow has now become the first local authority in the country to take a new approach to tackling climate change, with the help of a government award for innovation.
Research has shown that local councils can help cut carbon emissions by up to 150 million tonnes of CO2, around a third of the UK’s national target and Hounslow has ambitious plans to become a lead authority in the local battle against global warming.
With this in mind, Hounslow has become the first council in the country to develop a “Green Standard”, with the help of a £10,000 government award from the DEFRA Innovation Fund.
The Green Standard is designed to measure the green credentials of the council’s policies, projects and targets and ensure that the council is making sustainability a top priority.
This means the council can use the Green Standard to see which parts of its business are already leading the way on carbon reduction and where it can do more to tackle climate change.
The Green Standard will be targeted at initiatives within Hounslow’s Local Area Agreement and can also be used by the council’s public, private, community and voluntary sector partners in the borough’s Local Strategic Partnership
These include the Police, Fire Brigade, Hounslow PCT, West London Business, London West Learning and Skills Council, Hounslow Racial Equality Council and Hounslow Voluntary Sector Forum.
Cllr Barbara Reid, the council’s lead member for environment and planning, said, “Climate change is the greatest environmental challenge facing the world today, but we must never forget that local actions do make a difference.
“That’s why the council is developing a climate change strategy and exploring new ways to do business in a more environmentally sustainable way.
“We also aim to support and inspire other organisations and individuals who want to help our drive to reduce the borough’s carbon footprint.
“The Green Standard is an excellent example of this ambition in action because it will not only help the council do business in a more sustainable way, it can also help other organisations working in Hounslow to do the same.”
The council has created a ‘Green Toolkit’ to help apply the Green Standard in the development of the borough’s next Local Area Agreement (LAA). It is hoped that the standard and the supporting toolkit will be adopted by other council’s and used to embed sustainability into LAA’s around the country.
April 3, 2008
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