Council encourages Southwark residents to join an Eco Team and make a real difference
Published 15 February 2010
Southwark Council, together with environmental organisation Global Action Plan, is encouraging residents in the borough to sign up to a new environmentally friendly scheme.
The idea is to work together in an Eco Team, setting a collective target on anything from recycling, to composting, to energy saving.
The team will set itself some goals and then over a five month period see how well it's doing by regularly measuring its impact on the environment, with the help of Global Action Plan and the council's sustainability team.
Teams can be of up to eight people and can be made up of family members, friends, work colleagues and even strangers. Working together through a series of action-focused meetings or online groups, the team will be provided with all the tools it needs to make a difference.
At each meeting, team members will discuss what actions they can do to reduce their energy, save money on their bills and increase their recycling. Throughout the course, they can see the real impact their small actions have on their bills and the environment.
Southwark council and its partners will be available to provide advice on any of the topics discussed.
Southwark Council and Global Action Plan will be hosting a team leaders' training session on 27 February 2010 at Peckham Library. You will need to have registered for this day by e-mail.
Cllr Gordon Nardell, Southwark Councillor for The Lane ward in Peckham, and a trustee of local renewable energy group Peckham Power, said: "We all support national and international targets for reducing carbon emissions. But doing this successfully depends on what happens at community level.
"Eco Teams is a welcome local initiative. I'm pleased to be taking part in it, and I'm sure it will help people understand how they can make a big difference through simple changes to their homes and lifestyles."
Cllr Paul Kyriacou, executive member for environment at Southwark Council, said: "It's these kinds of schemes that are so important in engaging the population of the borough in the effort to be greener. The council does a great deal to help residents reduce their environmental impact, and this is another scheme we're right behind."
