APSE Northern Region Forum 2019

Environmental Sustainability - more than just a trendy catchphrase!

View the programme here

About the forum

What is meant by Environmental sustainability?

One widely accepted definition is that it is: ‘A state in which the demands placed on the environment can be met without reducing its capacity to allow all people to live well, now and in the future’.

This highly informative and eye-opening Forum will provide an ideal opportunity for officers, elected members and local authority partners and trade unions who have an interest, or even want to learn more about environmental sustainability. They will hear from speakers who are developing schemes which are protecting and utilising nature’s resources to help an areas development in a sustainable manner causing the least environmental impact.

It is now widely recognised that protecting an areas environment is key to the future sustainability of urban areas, without healthy environments economic investment is unlikely to happen which in turn has a knock on effect on the economic health and wellbeing of local people.

By investing time and money in environmental resources local authorities are starting to reap the benefit, through renewable energy, heat generation, flood alleviation, , income generation as well as the wider health and well-being values now being widely recognised.

We ignore the value of the environment at our peril, there are many examples throughout history of towns and cities and even whole civilisations disappearing as a result of environmental misuse. As such examples being at the forum will shine some light on how by working in a symbiotic way both the environment and the people reliant on it, can have a sustainable future.

Presentations:

How important is environmental sustainability to Barnsley’s local plan? - Joe Jenkinson, Head of Planning, Policy and Building Control

Green and getting greener: a three-year review of progress through Manchester’s Great Outdoors: A Green and Blue Infrastructure Strategy for Manchester - David Barlow MSc MCIEEM Senior Policy Officer Lead - Green infrastructure & Biodiversity, Manchester City Council

Using natural assets to create heat and power in Barnsley - David Malsom, Group Leader Housing and Energy, Barnsley Council 

Local energy production - investing in energy - Phillip Brennan, Head of APSE Energy

What could happen should we fail to heed the messages of environmental sustainability? - Wayne Priestley, Principal Advisor (Environment) APSE