Abstract Body

We know that to truly address the climate crisis, the greatest changes need to happen in our towns and cities. The majority of people now live in towns and cities, and they will soon account for ¾ of our energy use and green house gas emissions.

Bioregional has been working with delivery partners in five towns and cities across the world as part of a grant funded programme. In each region, communities have created sustainability action plans and collaborations – helping them move towards a greener, healthier future, where everyone enjoys a good quality of life. Across the programme, 105 people have been trained as One Planet Integrators, and over 100 action plans have been created.

Additionally, ecological and carbon footprints were calculated in four of the regions, acting as a baseline from which to identify key areas for concerted action.

Our programme has brought together local authorities, businesses, schools and community groups in Canada, Denmark, South Africa, Russia and the UK to make their towns and cities better places to live.

These organisations have developed action plans and partnerships to help their region become more sustainable. The process has been led in each location by an 'on-the-ground' lead partner.

Bioregional’s One Planet Living framework is used to structure the plans. These ten simple principles – from health and happiness and sustainable food to zero carbon energy – provide a common language to talk about sustainability and to drive change.

Through our work across the 5 towns and cities, we have developed a clear collaborative process for driving sustainability action in a region that is based around the co-creation of shared vision and development of action plans.

The programme has created an international network of knowledge-sharing designed to accelerate change towards happy and prosperous lives for all within the limits of our one planet.

We’re now looking to expand our programme and are inviting more towns and cities to join our network.