South East Forum For Sustainability

 The SEFS AGM took place on Saturday 17th October, whilst numerous member organisations had to give their apologies for the meeting, those that could attend ensured that the debate about the future of SEFS was useful and stimulating.

We were also please to welcome three speakers.

Ian Christie spoke on creating a Truly Sustainable South East his key points included:

• We have been too successful at raising the profile of climate change and need to keep raising the profile of biodiversity, ecosystems, land use etc.
• Opportunities in the emerging policy context include:
  •  life beyond regionalism: the need to focus on local governance, city-regions, community networks and alliances and take LSPs and Sustainable Community Strategies more seriously;
  • greening the cuts: we need to provide richer visions of how cuts could work in terms of our agenda and measures of efficiency, service redesign
  • the virtue of necessity: constraints on agencies and need for collaborations e.g. possible merging of quangos such as Natural England and Environment Agency so they will need allies;
  • behaviour and value change: agencies like EA and NE don’t know how to foster behaviour change, ‘what no one has cracked is how to get action between Local Authorities and households’ so they will need organisations like SEFS to help;
  • Copenhagen effect: in particular the coming together of faith communities there – Ian has been working on a 10year Climate Vision for the Church of England. He thinks faith communities are the key to campaigning – ‘they are a massive lever for change’. Benefits are that they work on long time scales (eg. infinity) and week in week out they have meetings in which a key figure stands up and talks about behaviour change. CofE is still more popular than football in this country, and 6bn people out of earth’s 7bn population are members of faith groups/tradition. By 2016 every Church school in England will be a sustainable school
  • need for positive stories of SD futures
•  Strategic opportunities include:
  •  Low Carbon Transition: pursue funding for pilot communities, towns and cities
  • Local authorities and CRC/CAA incentives
  • Where next for ‘Low Carbon Economic Area’ after Cornwall?
  • SE as powerhouse for SD r&d: universities, Thames Estuary Eco-Region, renewables
  • Impact of recession: search for resource efficiency, new business models, awareness of transport and energy costs, more people and organisations seeking alternatives
•  His final checklist was:
  • Get ready for probable sharp move away from regionalism and SNR agenda
  • Green the Cuts
  • Positive images and visions of a sustainable future for SE places
  • Behaviour change needs powerful forces for community-level action: explore scope for alliance with Faiths

Jacinta Thorley from the South East Rural Communities Council outlined what low carbon and sustainable development initiatives were being encouraged at Town and Parish Council level.

The South East Rural Communities Council is a charity and they support the 8 county rural community councils in the region – SERCC is encouraging rural communities to take account of climate change and develop behaviour change strategies. Jacinta in particular outlined the project to create a ‘ sustainable 21^st century rural community‘ She gave examples of a renewable energy strategy in St. Margarets – Kent and an energy initiative in Blewbury – Oxfordshire which included creating a low energy light bulb library and using thermal imaging to show energy loss from buildings.

Finally Fiona Wellings outlined the Greening Campaign for the meeting. The Campaign aims to give structured and supported help to communities looking to tackle climate change. There are about 110 greening communities across the South East.

We are grateful to all those who attended, particularly Ian, Fiona and Jacinta, for giving up a Saturday to come along.

The full set of papers and presentations can be downloaded as follows:
AGM Minutes 2008
SEFS 2009 Autum Newsletter
SEFS Overview of 08/09 and Future
Annual Report
SEFS Accounts Presentation
SEFS Accounts
Ian Christie Presentation – A Sustainable South East
Jacinta Thorley Presentation – South East Rural Communities Council and Climate Change
Fiona Wellings Presentation - Greening Campaign