MIDDLESBROUGH Council’s Environmental Sustainability team hosted a stall at last weekend’s Cleveland Show to raise awareness about the One Planet Living programme that the council is developing.

The team challenged visitors to a couple of competitions about the environment and the prize winners will receive their prizes at a special presentation this Friday afternoon at Middlesbrough Town Hall.

One Planet Living is an innovative model for sustainable living pioneered by the sustainability charity BioRegional and leading environmental organisation WWF to ensure that we live within the environmental means of the planet. If everyone in the world were to use resources at the rate of the average UK resident we would need three planet Earths to support us all.

One Planet Living’s ten guiding principles cover everything from culture and heritage to zero carbon emissions from buildings and sustainable transport. The council is looking at putting these principles into action so that its services can be delivered more efficiently and be more cost-effective.

The principles could equally apply to other organisations in the town and to households and families so that they can live more economically and enjoy greater wellbeing and sense of community.

Focusing on the principle of sustainable transport, visitors to the Cleveland Show could cycle on an exercise bike to generate electricity and light a bulb.

Two competitions were also held, one for adults and one for children, which challenged entrants to think about sustainability and the natural environment.

There were nine sustainable prizes up for grabs, from Fairtrade footballs to a reconditioned bike donated by Middlesbrough Cycle Centre.

Following the prize draw the lucky winners have been invited to a presentation to be held in the Town Hall on Friday July 30.

Contact information

Issued 29/07/10 by Ross Hamilton, Communicatioons Unit, Middlesbrough Council on 01642 729504