Creating the greenest communities

Learn how to enable your community to move towards carbon neutrality and being a ‘community for the 21st century’. This session will enable you to learn from pioneers in this field and those who can help you get a project off the ground, including experts on community renewable energy, parish planning for sustainability and funding.

You can watch the full session by clicking on this link

Alternatively click on the presenters name to see their powerpoint presentation.

Matthew Ling (chair)
CRed Suffolk

Dr Matthew Ling is Head of Environmental Services at Ipswich Borough Council, managing a wide range of areas including environmental protection, food safety and building control. His responsibilities also include leading on climate change initiatives (including the CRed Suffolk project and the recent Save Your Energy for the Blues campaign) and strategies to raise the environmental and sustainability performance of Ipswich to improve the quality of life for its residents and communities. Before joining IBC, Matthew was employed by Suffolk County Council in their Development and Environment policy team promoting approaches to encourage the use of more effective and efficient sustainable transport, through workplace travel plans. Prior to these roles, Matthew worked for the Building Research Establishment (BRE) with a range of commercial and public sector organisations.

Roy Alexander
Technical Director for Ashton Hayes’s initiative to become England’s first carbon-neutral village

Roy Alexander is the originator of the Ashton Hayes Going Carbon Neutral Project. This small village of 1,000 people in Cheshire set out on a journey to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions in January 2006. The basic idea was to investigate whether community action at all levels could inspire behavioural change across the population. The response has been remarkable and the village has not only reduced emissions by an average of 20% in the first year but inspired communities across the world to do the same. The project was recently featured in the global Live Earth concert and reached an audience of 2 billion. In Roy’s day job he is RSK Professor of Environmental Sustainability at the University of Chester where he also oversees the administration, analysis and reporting for CRed Chester.

Carole Randall
Community Renewables Adviser for Renewables East and East of England manager for the Community Renewables Initiative

Carole has worked for Writtle College since 1998, and in 2003 she became a member of the local delivery team for the Community Renewables Initiative, becoming manager of the same project the following year. In 2006, while remaining based at Writtle, Carole began work with Renewables East as their Community Renewables Advisor. In this role she offers impartial, expert advice to community groups at all stages of a project, helping to identify where renewable energy technologies might be successfully deployed, which technologies are most appropriate and to locate funding streams. Alongside her community focused activities Carole is also interested in the planning, training and business aspects of the renewables agenda. Carole takes a keen interest in more local environment issues and is a trustee of Chelmsford Environment Partnership.

Wil Gibson
Chief Executive, Suffolk ACRE

Suffolk ACRE is a rural community development charity whose purpose is to promote the economic, environmental and social well being of communities across Suffolk. The organization has a long established expertise in community engagement and community planning at the local level. Coupled with this, the organization provides tailored support to help communities deliver against those plans. Prior to becoming chief executive eight years ago, Wil was a Suffolk County Councillor for 15 years and in that capacity he had a lead role in developing the Council’s Local Agenda 21 Strategy. He actively promoted the adoption of LA21 strategies amongst the participating Councils within the North Sea Commission of the EU. This theme of LA21 was the subject of his contribution to an international conference held in Cuba, which was examining the implications of sustainable development for their economy.