15 March 2006
Greenwich Council has been recognised for its efforts to keep the green in Greenwich at a special ceremony held at the Town Hall last month.
The Council received the commendation from the British Standards Institute for its hard work in improving the local environment and its unique approach to managing the borough’s green open spaces.
This hard work has involved both changes in policy and changes at a ground level, with various projects that aim to improve the local environment, these have included:
· The increase of hedge-roses throughout the borough, which are proven to be very beneficial for wildlife
· A borough-wide horse chestnut tree planting campaign, with 150 tress planted already
· A Sycamore tree eradication programme, to maintain the natural balance to the local environment
· The continuing conservation of Oxleas Woods – the only remaining ancient woodland in all of London
Councillor Vicky Morse, Cabinet Member for Culture and Community Services, said,
“The Council is constantly improving the way that we manage our green spaces, because parks and woodlands make a real difference to people’s quality of life.
“I’m very pleased to see the Council receive this award because it’s recognising the hard work that we have done to improve our borough and most importantly, the benefits it brings to local people.”
ENDS
For media information please contact David Harrison on 020 8921 5214.
Notes to editors:
The British Standards Institute is the National Standards Body for the UK, who develops the government’s national targets for environmental sustainable development. They also work with businesses and consumers to represent UK interests and facilitate the production of British, European and international standards.
The Council were commended for meeting the standards of the ISO 14001, which is an international standard that specifies a process for controlling and improving a company's environmental performance.
The new policy changes have included the up-take of the Sustainable Development Strategy.
The Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS)
The SDS involves the following policies:
· To act and campaign against pollution of land, air, water and noise levels
· Implement an energy and water conservation strategy in Council properties and to promote these issues in the community
· Protect and enhance open spaces, trees and hedges
· Promote the development and implementation of renewable energy sources
· Reduce emissions that are recognised to contributed to global warming and climate change
· Support environmental education in schools and colleges
· Practice environmentally responsible ‘Green’ procurement.