PRESS CALL AND PRESS RELEASE
DATE: Monday 18th APRIL 2005
PRESS CALL:
The launch of Stepping Forward: A resource flow and ecological footprint analysis of the South West of Englandwill be taking place at:
The Winter Gardens, Weston-super-Mare on Tuesday 19th April 2005 from 10.00am - 2.00pm.
- Speakers from 10.30am – 12.00pm
- Lunch and further photo opportunities from 12.00pm – 2.00pm.
Keynote speakers and others at the event will be literally getting to grips with global issues with a set of inflatable globes.
Contact Andy Baker on 07971 198014 or Claire Stentiford on 01865 250818 for further details. Please see press release below for more information.
PRESS RELEASE:
JONATHON PORRITT BACKS SOUTH WEST ECO FOOTPRINT REPORT TO BE LAUNCHED TOMORROW
Jonathon Porritt, advisor to the Prime Minister on sustainable development and a leading broadcaster and commentator on the subject, has given his backing to Stepping Forward, new report to be launched in Weston-super-Mare tomorrow detailing the ‘Eco-Footprint’ of the South West of England.
The ‘Footprint’ measures the region’s impact on natural resources and reveals that the South West is soaking up nearly three times its share of available resources. In other words if everyone lived in the world lived like an average resident of the South West we would need three planets instead of just one!
Mr Porritt commented: “We are at last starting to get real about the challenges of sustainable development. Politicians, business people and individual citizens can’t get real about anything unless they’ve got the data in place, in terms of evidence about the true state of play.
“Stepping Forward provides a lot of that data for decision makers in the South West – about energy use, material consumption, transport, water and land use, and so on. It takes it out of the zone of technical experts and policy wonks, and pitches it directly at all of us, both as consumers and citizens.
“And the challenge? Simple: Move from a Three Planet Economy (such as the one we have now) to a One Planet Economy – such as we have to have if we’re going to do right by those who live in the South West today and by the rest of the world”
The report, put together by Best Foot Forward, uses data on the region’s usage and consumption patterns as well as the amount of waste generated. This meant looking closely at the lifestyles of South West residents to examine their ‘impacts’ on the natural environment.
The data informed the calculation of the regions ‘ecological footprint’ revealing that if everyone in the world lived like residents of the South West we would need 2.93 planets' worth of resources. This is slightly more than the national average of 2.87 planets although considerably less than North America that is using up nearly 5 planets’ worth! However, by comparison, an average Bangladeshi resident uses only a quarter of their entitlement of the world’s resources. Other findings from the report concluded that the South West:
- Consumes 3.5 million tonnes of food per year (about 700kg per person)
- Creates half a ton of domestic waste per person per year, of which only 11% is recycled
- Residents, on average, use enough water to fill one Olympic size swimming pool per year
- Residents, on average, travel approximately 11,000 km per year – equivalent to travelling from the UK to Indonesia.
More of these findings will be announced at the launch event tomorrow.
Reducing our footprint is a huge challenge that faces all of us in the South West although we can start to make a difference today through simple changes to our lifestyle. Recycling and composting in the home, choosing to walk or cycle instead of driving, buying local and organic food or conserving the amount of water and energy we use will all help to reduce our own personal ecological footprints. The launch event aims to stimulate informed debate that will help us all to understand the actions required to achieve a more sustainable future.
The report develops various scenarios based on ‘Living on One World’ (LOW) footprints. Living on One World, or living within environmental limits, is the idea we need to embrace in the South West and across the globe if we are to combat the immediate threat of climate change and achieve a ‘sustainable’ future for ourselves and for our children. This is particularly timely given the recent publication of the Government's new National Sustainable Development Strategy in which ‘living within environmental limits’ is identified as a guiding principle.
The Stepping Forward project has been commissioned by the South West of England Environment Trust and funded by Biffaward and the South West Regional Development Agency. Sustainability South West, the region’s independent champion of sustainable development, are helping to promote the findings and use them to inform progress towards sustainable development in the region. The following organisations have also provided support and advice during the project: University of Bath, Environment Agency, South West Local Food Partnership, South West Regional Assembly, Wessex Water and WWF South West. For more information please visit
…Ends
Notes to Editors:
- If you would like further information about this pres call / press release or would like to interview someone about this event please contact Andy Baker at Sustainability South West on tel 0117 933 0249 mob 07971 198014, e-mail or Claire Stentiford at Best Foot Forward on tel 01865 250818 e-mail
- Jonathon Porritt was appointed by the Prime Minister as Chairman of the UK Sustainable Development Commission in July 2000. This is the Government's principal source of independent advice across the whole sustainable development agenda. He is also President of Sustainability South West , a member of the Board of the South West Regional Development Agency and a leading writer, broadcaster and commentator on sustainable development
- Stepping Forward: A resource flow and ecological footprint analysis of the South West of England launch will be taking place at The Winter Gardens, Weston-super-Mare on Tuesday 19th April 2005 from 10.00am - 2.00pm. You can find out more about Stepping Forward and download all reports at
- Best Foot Forward Ltd is a sustainability consultancy based in Oxford. BFF’s ecological footprint of the Isle of Wight was voted Overall Winner at the Biffaward Awards 2001, and their Environment Report won a 2002 ACCA Award for Environmental Reporting (SME). You can find out more at
- Sustainability South West is the independent champion of sustainable development in the South West of England. Its mission is to improve understanding about the benefits of living healthy, productive, responsible lives within the natural resources of our one and only planet – and to raise awareness of the implications if we don’t. It is a completely independent charity with a wide range of members from many sectors. For more information visit
- Biffaward has funded a number of research studies into the mass balance and flows of resources through the economy, focusing on specific materials, industries or geographical areas. The purpose of these studies is to improve the quality, quantity, availability and awareness of information about these resources. They will stimulate improvements in the way they are managed and enable policies to reduce their life-cycle environmental impacts to be formulated. They will also give base-line data from which to evaluate and measure the achievement of waste reduction targets