What do we mean by Environmental Sustainability?

Everything we do depends on and affects the environment around us – the air we breathe, the water we drink, the fuel we use to heat our homes and power our cars. So our quality of life in the future depends on the quality of our environment today and the measures we take to safeguard our future.

Our approach to a sustainable Middlesbrough

Our priority is to improve the environment for the future and use our present resources efficiently to make sure we all have a good standard of living today.

Towns and cities around the world have adopted this approach to making their communities more sustainable by following Local Agenda 21 programmes.

Back in 1996 the Council commissioned the Middlesbrough Environment City partnership to produce our first community Local Agenda 21 plan, we call this Action 2020 in Middlesbrough. Our approach to environmental sustainability, which has been confirmed by the Audit Commission as one of the very best, has put in place four ‘Pathways’:

• the council’s own Environmental Sustainability Strategy
• Action 2020, the community LA21 Action Plan co-ordinated by Middlesbrough Environment City
• environmental management systems
• sustainability and quality of life indicators

Through these Pathways the local community contributes to a more environmental sustainable town and vision for Middlesbrough and by doing so supports the Community Strategy.

The Council’s vision for the future of Middlesbrough is built on four pilars, one of which is: ‘A clean and safe environment in which people can go about their business without fear of crime and anti-social behaviour’.

In the Council’s Strategic Plan there is a section on ‘Transforming Our Local Environment’. This theme aims to improve the quality, cleanliness and safety of our public spaces. It includes making better, more sustainable use of natural resources and reducing waste.

Middlesbrough Council is committed to achieving this vision, and is working with local and regional partners to ensure that the town has an environmentally sustainable and prosperous future.