Sustainable UK Cities

Six cities unite in Birmingham to join forces against climate change

Birmingham brought together six major UK cities yesterday to inspire a more joined-up approach to tackling climate change.

The Sustainable UK Cities event, hosted by the UK Business Council for Sustainable Energy (UKBCSE) and supported by Shell UK, attracted over one hundred leading figures from the public, private and voluntary sectors to discuss ways of working in partnership to drive positive, environmental change in cities.

Representatives from Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, Nottingham and Bristol provided examples of how their cities are uniting local businesses with the City Council for their mutual gain:

Birmingham: Local energy for local businesses
Birmingham’s Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants supply council buildings and private businesses with a local energy supply not linked to the national grid. The systems supply energy efficient heat and power which dramatically reduces the buildings’ carbon emissions and energy costs. With additional CHP plants planned for the Eastside Development area, more of Birmingham’s businesses could soon enjoy low cost energy.

Councillor Neville Summerfield from Birmingham City Council, said: “The Council is not ‘window dressing’ when comes to climate change. We are passionately committed to the sustainability agenda. We’ve set the most challenging climate change targets of any UK city and will be hosting the world’s first week-long Climate Change Festival next week, supported by National Government.”

Leeds: Climate Change Charter
Leeds City Council’s Climate Change Charter inspires local SMEs to commit to climate change action by lobbying Government on their behalf. Businesses pledge to engage employees in green practices and embed green thinking in business planning. In return, the Council encourages Government to consider SMEs when planning green regulation and taxation.

Sheffield: The Eco Business Standard
Sheffield City Council is working in partnership with the South Yorkshire Green Business Club to develop its Eco Business Standard. Eventually it will only buy products and services from companies awarded this green accreditation, which will boost the City’s green procurement and make green practices a commercially attractive option for business.

James Smith, Chairman of Shell UK, said: "Cities consume over three-quarters of the world’s energy so they’re a great starting point for climate change debate. As the only UK city invited to take part in the global Clinton Initiative, Birmingham was a fitting host for yesterday’s event.”

The Sustainable UK Cities event formed part of a full day focus on climate change action at Birmingham’s ICC yesterday. Earlier in the day the Carbon Trust and Energy Saving Trust reviewed the progress of their Local Carbon Cities Programme: http://www.lccp.org.uk/.

To find out more about the Sustainable UK Cities Tour visit: http://www.bcse.org.uk/ukbcse/sus_cities/