Down to Earth 2 Conference

The Guildhall, Winchester, Hampshire

19 October 2001

27 November 2001

20 February 2002

Conference Summary

Page 1 Summary

Key Issues

Page 2 Outline of three days

Further contact information

Page 3 Day one

Page 4 Day two

Page 5 Day three

Page 7 Speakers and Panellists

Page 9 Organisations represented at Down to Earth 2

THE DOWN TO EARTH CONFERENCES

Summary

The 3 day Down to Earth 2 conference was held on 19 October 2001, 27 November 2001 and 20 February 2002. Its theme was sustainable lifestyles. Over 600 delegates attended from across Britain, but focused on the South East and Hampshire. These delegates represented all sections of the community, and included business, media, academia, voluntary sector, public sector, major industry, SMEs and religious groups.

Some 30 speakers and panel members took part and gave a wide ranging series of talks and were involved in some challenging debates. The existing level of knowledge of the delegates was extensive and this contributed to the high level of debate.

There has been considerable media coverage, including numerous radio and television interviews, as well as newspaper articles. The Down to Earth website has proved very popular attracting over 1,000 visits to many of the pages, and around 5500 to the main home page in a six month period. Full transcripts, copies of the presentations and press releases are now available on the Down to Earth website (www.down-to-earth.co.uk).

To ensure that this series of three conference is not standing alone UNED UK has been involved with all three days so that the conference is able to feed into the UK overall input to the 2002 Earth Summit.

Throughout the whole three day conference one key theme emerged. This was the need for lifestyle and behaviour change.

The need for lifestyle and behaviour change

This was the major theme running throughout the conference and perhaps the hardest thing to change. Changing lifestyles and behaviour is a long term programme, and against the huge marketing power of multi national companies will be difficult to progress. At all levels throughout the conference solutions were available but require lifestyle change by a large number of people. Many of the solutions and developments in this area can be grouped into two sections, and these offer the best hope for long tem lifestyle changes.

1. Appropriate use of new technology

In almost every area of debate new technology was developing, which offered long term solutions to current problems. The challenge is how to implement this new technology in the most acceptable way, taking into account the high initial costs and the uncertainty that new technology presents.

2. How to use integrated management systems

Sustainable development is about integrating the widest range of topics to give the best long term solution. Current management processes tend to focus upon specific areas. The development of integrated management systems, like the embryonic Natural Resource Management process, and the many other partnerships currently developing will be key to future sustainable development.

Outline of Days

The main topics during the three days were:

Day 1 - 19 October 2001 - Winchester Guildhall

The conference broadened out beyond the usual outcomes taking a far reaching perspective of how movement and access will be conducted in the future. It considered the wider role of key stakeholders and the wider community. One of the key themes underlying the conference was the need for encouraging behavioural change and undertaking personal responsibility to make lifestyle adjustments. Key outcomes of the conference will need to feed into the decision making process, to put in place a radical new agenda for sustainable travel and ensure measures necessary for its delivery.

Day 2 - 27 November 2001 - Winchester Guildhall

The main aim was to ensure engagement of the community in a wider sense into the decision making process. The conference sought to understand the impact of the new community planning role of local authorities, as the key role of community involvement develops over the next 10 years. The conference also sought to identify who are the community, how you should consult and positively engage with all sections of it, and how to avoid too much consultation and bureaucracy.

Day 3 - 20 February 2002 - Winchester Guildhall

The sustainable use of resources is becoming a key financial issue for all businesses. Using energy was, water and soil in an efficient manner will have a major impact on the success of businesses over the next 10 years. The outcomes of this conference will help business support organisations adapt to deal with legitimate requests and targets in a positive manner.

Further information can be found on www.down-to-earth.co.uk or by looking at any of the following web pages:

Hampshire County Council www.hants.gov.uk

Environment Agency www.environment-agency.gov.uk

SIEnA www.environmentcentre.com

GAP www.globalactionplan.org.uk

UNED UK www.earthsummit2002.org

WRAP www.wrap.org.uk

Hampshire Economic Partnership www.hep.uk.com

Also for business support www.egeneration.co.uk

SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT

Day One - 19 October 2001

Roads in and around the South East are getting busier, with both road and rail having had high profile crises recently, sustainability in transport is now a critical issue. The first day of the Down to Earth 2 conference didn't produce a total solution but highlighted the extremely complex problems involved, then discussed the issues in a very constructive and entertaining manner. The key note speaker, Iain Reeves from the Government Office for the South East, spoke about the motor car, of its long history, of transport since roman times, and how the car has evolved from the horse and cart but still required shiny carriage work, with real wood and leather trim to signify luxury, and reflect the status of the owner. Whilst the car reflects powerfully the status of the owner are we ever likely to change, when it is so convenient, and cheap to run? For those unable to afford a car, not having one has proved to be more excluding than not owning a horse and carriage ever was.

The well known filmmaker and Chairman of the Schumacher Society (Herbert Giradet) then presented a review of sustainable cities, again using a historical perspective - comparing our present way of life with that before the industrial revolution, when people travelled a minimal amount, and lived in mainly rural areas with food source nearby. Recently for the first time ever over 50% of the worlds population live in cities. Now even fresh local food has to travel some distance to the consumer. When you consider the more exotic foods fly thousands of miles, it is easy to see how unsustainable today's lifestyles can be. Do we need to live so far from work, or do so much travelling for leisure and holidays? However a number of fascinating examples from around the globe showed that there are solutions and that Hampshire has the ability to change.

Four speakers then came from the transport industry, from BAA, from Stagecoach, from Ford, and the Freight Transport Association. Each outlined ways in which their particular form of transport can become more efficient and can deliver better services as part of an overall sustainable development improvement. For example the Ford representative predicted that by the year 2030 half of all new cars will run on hydrogen. Another speaker from the Freight Transport Association outlined how empty running is now down to less than 27% of lorry mileage. Both Stagecoach and BAA spoke of the long term requirements as major infrastructure and development projects are so costly.

After lunch Mark Watts MEP (Labour Transport spokesperson in the European Union gave the afternoon key note address. The transport debate within the European Union is very much ongoing and developments over the next decade will have a major impact on how the UKs lifestyle changes.

Later in afternoon the highlight was BBC transport correspondent Paul Clifton chairing a lively debate around the theme of what solutions are effective and are achievable. Much of the emphasis was on providing an improved public transport network, however the very knowledgeable delegates recognised that Transport was one part of a much wider sustainable development issue, and that involving everyone to make sure successful strategic decisions are made would be key. This led into the second day, which emphasised the involvement of communities in the decision making process.

SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Day 2 - 27 November 2001

The Keynote speaker Dr Alan Whitehead MP was introduced following an entertaining 15 minute opening talk by Director of Global Action Plan Trewin Restorick. Trewin introduced Gap and their new magazine ERGO, both of which aim to influence lifestyle change from all sections of the community.

Dr Whitehead, currently in post as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, identified urban sustainability issues as fundamental to the quality of our life. As an ex leader of Southampton City Council, he was all too familiar on the impact of out of town shopping centres on the one-third of households without a car.

He then referred to the important new responsibilities and powers placed upon local authorities to promote economic and social wellbeing, and the Local Strategic Partnerships which are being established to help enable `joined-up government.' These partnerships should produce strategic plans, including very specific action plans for all the organisations involved - local authorities, health services, probation services, educational establishments etc. Part of this will involve using performance indicators relating to the quality of life in locality. This localised agenda setting process will be a central theme of the soon to be published Local Government White Paper.

Possibly the most unusual topic of the morning came from Jim Gomershall (Governor of Winchester Community Prison) and two other of his key staff. Winchester Prison is very unusually aiming to become a community prison and demonstrates that communities can take many and varied forms, and that a sustainable community is one which looks after all its members including those that do not stay within the rules. Having been in operation fro over 100 years the prison is an example of a sustainable community, and with some excellent local work on recycling within and outside of the prison including pallet and clothes recycling there are opportunities for other parts of the local community to get involved.

A project in Nottingham run by Penny Poyzer from GAP kept the delegates entertain. It highlighted that involving the community was possible. Groups of six to eight households working together as Eco-Teams were reducing their energy and water consumption and other environmental impacts. This is a very practical idea that could be taken up in Hampshire, maybe even without local authority support.

Each day of the conference featured a speaker from the United Nations Committee - inputting to the next earth summit on behalf of the UK Government. John Gordon spoke of the developing agenda for the conference - developing through a world-wide consultation exercise, which will culminate in the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development to be held in Johannesburg next September. The importance of involvement from local councils, businesses, individuals and voluntary groups contributing to that process was an issue he was very keen to stress.

SUSTAINABLE RESOURCES

Day Three - 20 February 2002

This day provided an opportunity to get business guidance, to hear about Hampshire's emerging Natural Resource Management Initiative, and view the new business environment tool e-generation.

Day Three was jointly run by the Environment Agency, WRAP and SIEnA, through a partnership with Hampshire County Council. Speakers were from local authorities, centres of technical expertise, and organisations that can demonstrate how they have successfully overcome the barriers of reusing and recycling of materials.

The day was chaired by Kit Oliver the SEEDA Board member for Sustainable Development. She highlighted that in the UK the 600 million tonnes of raw material and energy we use every year produce just 60 million tonnes of goods and services. That efficiency needs to increase dramatically in order to promote our competitiveness and quality of life. Sustainable use of resources is now a mainstream concern for companies and public sector organisations. The Landfill Tax, Climate Change Levy and licences for water, air and land have increased the costs of waste disposal, energy use and pollution, so as to better reflect the environmental, social and economic costs of inefficiency. That trend will continue, so all organisations need to address the need for change now in order to secure the commercial benefits, reduce the risks and damage to the environment (including inevitable changes to the climate such as increased flooding).

Peter Quarmby from the Environment Agency summarised the first two days, and gave an outline of some of the problems, and key issues being faced for discussion at the conference.

The keynote speaker was Bill Duncan from ASSURE who gave a broad outline of the European Resource Management perspective including the 6^th Environment Action Plan. A description of the process of European Government and the key legislative impacts in the future fed straight into the two next speakers.

Carl Kocklebergh from the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) outlined how the role of procurement can make a big impact on sustainability from buying sustainable energy to procuring sustainable goods and services. This may also have a major impact on the Hampshire Natural Resource Management Initiative (NRM) which Bob Lisney from Hampshire County Council described.

The NRM initiative has been slowly developed over the previous 18 months through a wide consultation process and at the time of the conference had just received some money through a public service agreement with the Government, and is in the process of developing an action and business plan. It is also being developed through two networks, a Hampshire County Council internal one, and an external one made up of organisations and groups with an interest in the subject.

Another area for potential was then launched, on display during lunch and explained after lunch. The e-generation web system, which offers a regional and local business hub for sustainable development. Through a Biffaward from the landfill tax this has been developed and promises to be an extremely useful tool and advice network for business throughout Hampshire and the South East Region (www.egeneration.co.uk).

Of course the South East is not alone in looking for answers and UNED UK and Gregoire le Divellec gave an entertaining review of the national and international process leading up to the Earth Summit in Johannesburg.

The afternoon session of the conference was concluded by an interactive panel debate chaired by Kathy Morrissey from SIEnA. A lot of questions were raised and the panel, from diverse backgrounds were kept on their toes for a lively 45 minutes. What advantages are there for business in becoming more sustainable, will only cost saving solutions be accepted, how will future legislation affect performance, who is available to help business?

In parallel with the afternoon session WRAP the Waste and Resource Action Programme held a small focussed seminar looking at how the waste reprocessing business and the financial community can help each other, and how this can lead to a step change in recycling performance?

All these questions/answers and the whole days proceeding were wrapped up by Chair, Kit Oliver. She summarised the day and highlighted the three key themes:

· the appropriate use of new technology;

· how to use integrated management systems;

· the need for lifestyle and behaviour change.

These also reflect the overall key themes for the whole conference, and brought the final day and conference succinctly to a close.

SPEAKERS AND PANELLISTS DOWN TO EARTH

Day 1 - 19 October 2001

Councillor Michael Woodhall Deputy Leader, Hampshire County Council

Professor John Wootton Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Southampton 

Iain Reeve Government Office for the South East

Professor Herbert Girardet Chairman of the Schumacher

Andy Taylor Director of Corporate Citizenship, Ford

Brian Cox Executive Director of Stagecoach

James Hookam Executive Director of the Freight Transport

Association

Jenny Bradley Public Affairs Director, Heathrow Airport Limited 

Mark Watts MEP

Professor Peter Jones Director of the University of Westminster 

Paul Clifton BBC Television correspondent

David Tarrant Deputy County Surveyor, Hampshire County Council

Tim Greenwood County Planning Officer, Hampshire County Council

John Dawson Policy Director, The Automobile Association

Stephen Joseph OBE Executive Director, Transport 2000

Day 2 - 27 November 2001

Trewin Restorick Director, Global Action Plan

Dr Alan Whitehead MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR)

Caroline McCarthy Community Affairs Manager, B&Q plc

Jim Gommershall Governor, Winchester Prison

Chris Church Consultant, Community Development Foundation 

Penny Poyzer EcoTeams Nottingham (GAP)

Pilton Community College Devon 

John Gordon UNED-UK

Steve Trevett Co-operative Insurance Services (CIS), Southampton

Gavin Ellis Global Action Plan

Katie Willis Global Action Plan

Day 3 - 20 February 2002

Kit Oliver OBE Board Member, SEEDA (South East England Development Agency)

Peter Quarmby Hampshire and Isle of Wight Area Manager, Environment Agency

Bill Duncan ASSURRE (Association for the Sustainable Use and Recovery of Resources in Europe)

Carl Kockleburgh Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply

Bob Lisney OBE Head of Management Resources, Hampshire County Council

Ian Dent, Chief Executive The Packaging Federation

Malcolm Noyce, Director TRL Limited

Alan Phillips Services Manager, SIEnA

Gregoire le Divellec Administrator, UNED-UK

Peter Kelly Environment Protection Manager, Environment Agency

Chris Hills Managing Director of IMD Solutions

Professor William Powrie University of Southampton

Councillor Michael Woodhall Hampshire County Council

Waste and Resources Action Programme

Organisations Represented at Down to Earth 2

APPENDIX 2

DOWN TO EARTH 2 ACTION PLAN