Brentwood Climate Action

Category: Brentwood

  • March 24 set for first 2022 meeting

    March 24 set for first 2022 meeting

    Here’s a date to mark in your diary straight away – to make sure you don’t miss the first monthly Brentwood Climate Action meeting of 2022…. March 24, from 7.30pm.

    Join us for our first get together of the new year – being held at Chicken & Frog bookshop in Crown Street, Brentwood… and hybrid online via Zoom (the meeting link will be emailed to members beforehand).

    It will give you the chance to catch up on the latest Brentwood Climate Action news, and updates from the Steering Group meetings held to date in 2022.

    And to hear what’s been going on in our various Action Groups – as well as get the chance to meet and chat with likeminded people concerned about the climate emergency and environment in Brentwood, and join in with our future Action plans!

    If you are not on our emailing list then please do sign up as a Member today to make sure you receive details of this and all our other important updates!

    And if you are active on Facebook you might want to show your interest in attending on our Page on there too – and sharing the details with your own networks.

    We’ll be finalising the agenda over the coming weeks, but items likely to feature include:

    • Our plans for a second Brentwood Schools Conference this spring
    • How best Brentwood Climate Action can take part in the Great British Spring Clean organised by Keep Britain Tidy through March and April
    • Engaging with Brentwood Borough Council on their climate action plan drafting, and their newly published Environment Strategy 2022-25, which is due to go out for public consultation
  • Top ten Brentwood Climate Action achievements of 2021

    Top ten Brentwood Climate Action achievements of 2021

    As we head into what we hope will be a landmark year for Climate Action in Brentwood, let’s take a minute to look back on the major achievements of Brentwood Climate Action since our group was formed in late summer of 2021.

    In no particular order, here’s our Top Ten of Actions taken so far:

    1. We held our first Schools Conference at Anglo European School in Ingatestone in November, as part of our Action around the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow – with more than 50 sixth formers from four schools across the Borough attending and taking part in educational activities related to COP26 and the Climate Emergency generally.
    1. We had a successful presence on both Brentwood and Ingatestone high streets to mark the COP26 Global Day of Action. Brentwood Climate Action members spent the day talking to members of the public to raise awareness of COP26 and the Climate Emergency, and promote the ongoing work of our group and how it can make a difference locally.
    1. We’ve been making contact with Brentwood Borough Council officials and administration Councillors – who have indicated a willingness to engage with us around climate and environmental issues on an ongoing basis – and also asked questions at Brentwood Borough Council meetings; as part of our lobbying process moving forward in 2022.
    1. We held our kickstart meeting back in the summer, as more than 40 people took part in the first meeting held at Chicken and Frog bookshop in Crown Street, and online via Zoom, on Thursday August 12. The meeting elected a Steering Group, agreed a constitution, as well as a vision and aims for Brentwood Climate Action.
    1. The number of activists / members of Brentwood Climate Action has climbed well over 100 in just four months. You can sign up here.
    1. Despite the ongoing issues with the Covid pandemic, we’ve managed to hold four monthly members meetings, at a variety of venues across the Borough and hybrid online via Zoom. The guest speaker at our November meeting was Ottilie West, the new Climate and Sustainability Officer at Brentwood Borough Council.
    1. As part of the ongoing administration carried out by your volunteer Steering Group, we’ve set up a bank account and started to look at potential funding sources to enable us to operate effectively in 2022 and beyond.
    1. We set up this website and social media channels on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram from scratch – which have seen us gather hundreds of followers in quick time. And we’ve also set up a Membership database and been sending out regular emailings to our signed up activists.
    1. We launched a Petition calling on Brentwood Council to declare a Climate Emergency, and publish an ambitious Climate Action Plan – which has had more than 100 signatures online, and more than double that offline at our COP26 Global Day of Action stalls.
    1. We conducted a members skills audit, which allowed us to set up seven diverse Action Groups – such as Lobbying, Environmental, Funding, Wellbeing, and Education – which we hope will provide the focus for a lot of what will do during this year.
  • Council pledges Sustainability Strategy publication in 2022

    Council pledges Sustainability Strategy publication in 2022

    Brentwood Climate Action was pleased to hear recent pledges from Brentwood Borough Council Leader, Cllr Chris Hossack, that the planned Sustainability Strategy will be published in 2022 and include carbon reduction targets and objectives for the authority.

    Cllr Hossack was responding to questions from BCA chair Susan Kortlandt at last week’s Ordinary Meeting of the Council, where she asked:

    1. What is the total carbon footprint of Brentwood Council from all its current operations, including housing, offices and works?

    2. I note that the Council is preparing an Environmental Strategy aimed at taking the ‘Council and the Borough’ towards Zero Carbon 2040. How will you ensure that progress is being made? Will there be intermediate targets, scrutiny and control measures? By when do you intend the Council’s own operations to be carbon neutral?

    In reply to the first question, Cllr Hossack said: “It’s not an insignificant task to baseline the carbon footprint of all of our operations – probably as an organisation, as an employer in Brentwood, the largest task of any organisation in Brentwood actually.

    “Our newly appointed Climate and Sustainability Officer is undertaking this baselining exercise. We’re bringing together the information on the carbon footprint, and it will form part of the baseline that our performance will be measured against moving forward.”

    Liberal Democrat opposition Leader, Cllr Barry Aspinell, added: “I welcome the question and I hope whatever detail we get back includes our Council housing, which is considerable, and every other detail; and I look forward to it when it comes to us.”

    And Labour Leader, Cllr Gareth Barrett, pointed to previous work done by other local authorities: “I think Cllr Hossack is right, it is a big piece of work, but there are several London Boroughs and Councils in the east of England that have already done this equation, with summaries we’ll be able to work from. There is a carbon workbook for local authorities that again we can work from.

    “It’s also not necessarily our emissions day to day, but how much carbon when we’re building new things – the laying of concrete is one of the most carbon intensive things you can do. As a Council we have to think how we can net off or produce alternatives to reduce those emissions as we develop.”

    Cllr Hossack confirmed that Brentwood residents could look forward to the Sustainability Strategy in 2022 in his answer to the second question, explaining: “The strategy that’s being created will be published next year and will identify where we want to be as an authority, and by when. The strategy will lead to clear targets and objectives identifying appropriate areas of work the Council should concentrate on that will create most reward in this sector.

    “In doing so, measures will be put into place with the mechanism to record and publish achievements against the targets. The Strategy will also seek to identify when the Council will become carbon neutral and the measures and steps the Council will need to take to achieve that objective.

    “The Council has set an overall aim to be carbon neutral by 2040. Once a baseline has been established a more specific target can be set.”

    Cllr Aspinell pointed to the need to consider ongoing housing development, saying: “We should also be looking at our Local Development Plan and, where it is possible, adding in to that that no building should be built unless they are carbon neutral on any of the sites that this Council has identified for building.”

    Cllr Barrett suggested that any such climate action plan would require highly visible monitoring: “Scrutiny-wise, this needs to become a key scheme of work for the Audit and Scrutiny Committee. If progress is to be made it needs to be made sure that it isn’t a greenwashing exercise.

    “In terms of intermediate targets, when we look at other large-scale organisations when they start their carbon programme, we have a net zero target the Council has set of 2040 – I still think it can be more ambitious and a 2030 target is more than viable – but to the same extent what most large organisations find is that the first 50 per cent is the low hanging fruit that can be achieved rather rapidly. The first five-year ambition is the important one; and then it gets progressively harder unfortunately, but if we set a big ambition to hit early on then I think that’s a viable and sensible plan to have.

    “And that level of ambition also sets a mark in the sand that we can be marked against rather than a long-term 2040 target which we’re reliant on new technologies to appear. Actually what we can do now can probably get us half way – let’s set that ambition, and let’s make it.”

    Brentwood Climate Action members will be bringing forward suggestions for inclusion in the Council’s climate action plan, and actively engaging in all available avenues for consultation – as well as continuing to press for the Council to recognise the seriousness of the situation and declare a climate emergency.

    You can watch the full recording of the Council meeting – with this relevant Q&A section starting from 30:00.

  • Questions asked of Brentwood Council

    Questions asked of Brentwood Council

    Brentwood Climate Action chair, Susan Kortlandt, is asking two questions of Brentwood Borough Council at their full Council Meeting tomorrow evening

    1. What is the total carbon footprint of Brentwood Council from all its current operations, including housing, offices and works?

    2. I note that the Council is preparing an Environmental Strategy aimed at taking the “Council and the Borough” towards Zero Carbon 2040”. How will you ensure that progress is being made? Will there be intermediate targets, scrutiny and control measures? By when do you intend the Council’s own operations to be carbon neutral?

    You can see the questions on the Council’s website at:

    https://brentwood.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s21511/Public%20Questions%20report%20-%208.12.2021.pdf

    And you can see the full Agenda for the meeting, and also follow the Live Broadcast, at:

    https://brentwood.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=128&MID=2249#AI9189

    We’ll update with how the Council responded after the meeting.

  • Council’s Ottilie West presents to November meeting

    Council’s Ottilie West presents to November meeting

    The guest speaker at our November monthly members meeting was Ottilie West, the new Climate and Sustainability Officer at Brentwood Borough Council.

    Ottilie joined the hybrid meeting like others via Zoom, while there was also a packed meeting room for those attending the November 23 session in-person at Chicken and Frog bookshop in Brentwood.

    Ottilie’s presentation (which you can download below) covered her priorities in her role at the Council – the main one of which is “Creating a Strategy to reduce the carbon footprint and improve the overall sustainability of Brentwood Borough”.

    She outlined further detail on ‘The Sustainability Strategy’, which she explained is being created to “identify the actions required to meet the Council’s aim of becoming carbon neutral by 2040”.

    She also covered BEBA, the new Brentwood Environmental Business Alliance, and ways in which Brentwood Climate Action might be able to work with the Council moving forward.

    Download Ottilie’s presentation as either a PowerPoint or a PDF file below:

    The meeting – to which we also welcomed Council Leader, Cllr Chris Hossack, at the start via Zoom – also heard updates from all our seven Action groups. These included reports on the recent COP26 Global Day of Action activity in Brentwood and Ingatestone high streets which gathered hundreds of signatures for our petition, and the Schools Conference held at the Anglo European School.

    There will be no monthly meeting at the end of December as we take a break during the Christmas period. The aim is to return on a monthly basis back at Chicken & Frog Bookshop (and also still by Zoom) from the latter half of January. A poll for meeting dates and times will be distributed to the membership to help us finalise a first date.

  • Back to Chicken and Frog on Nov 23

    Back to Chicken and Frog on Nov 23

    The next Brentwood Climate Action members meeting will take place next Tuesday, November 23rd at 7.30pm – in-person at Chicken and Frog bookshop in Crown Street in Brentwood, and hybrid online via Zoom.

    Members will be sent the link to the Zoom in advance of the meeting via email.

    Chicken and Frog was the venue for our kickstart meeting back in August, and we’ve certainly come a long way since in a short space of time.

    Among many items on a full agenda we will be discussing reports from all our different action groups, with time for questions on future direction and priorities.

    And we hope to have a presentation from Ottilie West, Brentwood Borough Council’s new Climate and Sustainability Officer, on her role with the Council.

    There will also be time for feedback on the recent COP26 Global Day of Action activity on Brentwood and Ingatestone High Streets, as well as the Schools Conference held successfully at Anglo European School during the climate summit in Glasgow.

  • Schools Conference a great success

    Schools Conference a great success

    More than 50 sixth formers from four schools across the Borough attended Brentwood Climate Action’s first Schools Conference, held at Anglo European School in Ingatestone last week.

    In addition to pupils from the host venue, students and their supervising staff came from Brentwood County High School, St Martin’s School, and Brentwood Ursuline Convent High School. The November 11 event saw them all taking part in educational activities related to the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, and the Climate Emergency generally.

    Everyone was in agreement that the afternoon was a huge success, with the Conference a great opportunity for students to discuss the growing need to combat climate change, and its various effects on societal well-being.

    “There was a lot of energy in the room, a lot of dialogue with the speakers, and great enthusiasm to do it again in summer 2022 – with St Martin’s School volunteering to host,” said Brentwood Climate Action’s Richard Millwood.

    The main focus of the event was three presentations by key-note speakers via Zoom – Matt Webster, Head of Environment and Sustainability for British Land; Patrick McDowell, fashion designer; and Andrea Zara, DJ at KISS FM – plus Councillor Gareth Barrett of Brentwood Borough Council in person. These were interspersed with round-table discussions among the students, brainstorms and workshops.

    Matt Webster kicked off with a talk on ‘Buildings’ effect on climate’; followed by Patrick speaking on ‘Climate conscious fashion’. The third presentation from Andrea was on ‘Reducing individual impact on the climate’; and then Cllr Barrett talked to the room about ‘Recycling in the UK: challenges and opportunities for food and drink.’

    The event was coordinated in association with Ingatestone & Fryerning Parish Council, with Parish Cllr Marilyn Marston saying: “The enthusiasm and interaction within the hall seemed to stimulate great ideas for future projects.”

    Textile students from Anglo European that also attended are going to work with Cllr Marston, collecting scraps of material and wool from people’s homes to turn into fashion items.

    Students were invited to brainstorm project ideas for future climate action and get together in action groups to discuss in more detail. As the Conference drew to a close, each action group was invited to explain what they are committed to achieve and then report back on at the follow-up Conference in the summer of 2022.

    In this way Brentwood Climate Action is looking to get students to commit to inter-school collaborative action over the coming months, and take back what they have learned to their schools, fellow pupils and their community.

    Brentwood Schools Conference

  • All set for Schools Conference

    All set for Schools Conference

    Brentwood Climate Action’s first Schools Conference takes place this coming Thursday, November 11, at the Anglo European School in Ingatestone.

    The aim of the Conference (1-4.30pm) is to bring together sixth form students from across the Brentwood Borough to take part in educational activities related to the current COP26 climate summit being held in Glasgow.

    Brentwood Climate Action believe this Conference will be a great opportunity for students to discuss the growing concern about the need to combat climate change, and its various effects on societal well-being.

    It’s hoped the students will be able to take back what they have learned to their schools, along with ideas for tackling climate change and other environmental issues. We also hope the Conference will provide them with the necessary tools to empower their fellow students, and to share their knowledge with the wider community. 

    The outline Conference agenda aims to educate the attending sixth formers about the climate challenge we face in general, and in three specific areas:

    • Buildings’ effect on climate
    • Climate conscious fashion
    • Reducing individual impact on the climate

    Presentations by three key-note speakers – Matt Webster, Head of Environment and Sustainability for British Land; Patrick McDowell, fashion designer; Andrea Zara, DJ – will be interspersed with round-table discussions among the students, brainstorms and workshops.

    Students will be invited to identify climate actions they want to take, and get together in action groups – which would then report back at a planned follow-up Conference in the summer of 2022.

    In this way we are looking to get students to commit to inter-school collaborative action over the coming months.

    And we are aiming to provide more of these sessions in the future to allow the students of Brentwood to share their ideas, along with the successes of working with the school, the wider community and with each other.

    Paul Jeater, Chair of Ingatestone & Fryerning Parish Council and a member of Brentwood Climate Action, will introduce the Conference, outlining its aims, objectives and the agenda. 

  • Global Day of Action success

    Global Day of Action success

    Brentwood Climate Action members were out in force on Brentwood and Ingatestone high streets on Saturday – as part of the Global Day of Action.

    Brentwood Climate Action members spent the day talking to members of the public on Brentwood High Street and on Ingatestone High Street, to raise awareness of COP26 and the Climate Emergency, and promote the ongoing work of Brentwood Climate Action and how it can make a difference locally.

    If you missed the chance to join the dozens signing our petition in person at the weekend, then please do so online. We’re calling on Brentwood Borough Council to Declare a Climate Emergency and publish an ambitious Climate Action Plan as soon as possible.

    Taking place on the middle Saturday of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, the Global Day of Action featured a series of grassroots-organised events right across the country. The purpose of the Global Day of Action was to unite all climate activists and climate groups nationwide around a common goal: to demand governments and corporations limit global temperatures to 1.5°C and deliver real and just solutions to the climate crisis.

    If you signed our petition, joined up as a member or talked to us and would like to get more involved – then come along to our next full meeting of Brentwood Climate Action members on Tuesday November 23 (7.30pm)

    The venue will be confirmed soon – but it will also be hybrid online via Zoom for those unable to attend in person – and we’ll publish full details as soon as we have them.

  • Join us on Global Day of Action

    Join us on Global Day of Action

    Brentwood Climate Action will be out on the high streets in Brentwood and Ingatestone this coming Saturday, November 6, as part of the Global Day of Action.

    Taking place on the middle Saturday of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, the Global Day of Action features a series of grassroots-organised events right across the country. The purpose of the Global Day of Action is to unite all climate activists and climate groups nationwide around a common goal: to demand governments and corporations limit global temperatures to 1.5°C and deliver real and just solutions to the climate crisis.

    Brentwood Climate Action members will be out at sites on Brentwood High Street (10am-4pm) – by the Chapel Ruins outside The Baytree Centre – and on Ingatestone High Street (at the bus shelter in the Market Place, 10am-noon), to raise awareness of COP26 and the Climate Emergency, and promote the ongoing work of Brentwood Climate Action and how it can make a difference locally.

    Come along and see us and you’ll be able to sign our petition calling on Brentwood Borough Council to declare a climate emergency, talk to us about signing up as a member of Brentwood Climate Action – and understand more about us a group and why we formed earlier this year.

    We will also have informative leaflets to take away, and some fun materials for kids to take, supplied by Friends of the Earth.

    If any Brentwood Climate Action members can spare half an hour or more between 10am and 4pm to help out in Brentwood please contact us as soon as possible.