WWF pits Sunderland among world's green city pioneers

Sunderland's efforts to tackle climate change are being recognised alongside the likes of Paris, Stockholm and Santa Monica as part of a global campaign by WWF.

As a national finalist in the WWF One Planet City Challenge last year, Sunderland has been invited to participate in the global 'We Love Cities' campaign for sustainability and climate action.

'We Love Cities' is a public engagement campaign that allows people across the world to express support for sustainable urban development by voting for their favourite finalists and posting improvement suggestions for the cities.  

The campaign aims to: inspire and raise awareness for the progress being made in cities; give the general public an opportunity to celebrate, vote and upgrade their city through making suggestions to decision makers; reward communities and strengthen the bond between residents and decision makers.

The shortlisting follows Sunderland City Council's commitment to ensure Sunderland is carbon neutral by 2040. The city's Low Carbon Framework was published in December 2020 and outlines the areas where action is planned in order to help the city reach this ambitious target.

Cllr Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council, said: "We are thrilled to have been named among the global finalists of WWF's One Planet City Challenge campaign and are keen for as many people as possible to get involved, vote, and share their ideas with us.

"To be seen as a trailblazer among some of the world's largest and most progressive cities is testament to the fantastic work we've put into making Sunderland a greener city over recent years.

"Be it investing in greener forms of transport, working with organisations across the city to reduce plastic usage or improving biodiversity, we've made great strides to reduce our carbon footprint however we know there is still a lot more work to do."

Over the last two years, Sunderland City Council has invested heavily into reducing the city's carbon footprint, including:

·        Establishing the Environmental, Green Sustainable (EGS) youth forum to give young people a say on the city's carbon-cutting initiatives

·        Joining the global Refill movement to help businesses and residents become less reliant on plastic and launching Refill Sunderland

·        Introducing the city's first escooter trial delivered by leading fleet operator, Neuron, which was recently extended

·        Exploring the potential of creating the UK's largest mine water sourced heat network at the former Wearmouth Colliery site

·        Creating living roofs at the city's bus shelters to make them more friendly to bees and other living pollinators

·        Leading the development of a first-of-its-kind 100% renewable electricity Microgrid to power Nissan and the Envision AESC Gigafactory, to save 55,000 tonnes of carbon annually

·        Organising the first EcoFest Sunderland, which took place this weekend (1/2 October) in partnership with Climate Action North and the city's Business Improvement District at The Bridges shopping centre and Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens.

Cllr Miller added: "Ensuring Sunderland becomes carbon neutral by 2040 will be a real city-wide effort, which is why we're committed to working with local residents and businesses to shape our Low Carbon Framework and Action Plan.

"If we are to achieve our goals, then initiatives such as the One Planet City Challenge will be key to providing residents with a forum to share their views on improving their home city and will be key to helping us create a cleaner, greener Sunderland for all.

"We're calling on as many people as possible to get involved and vote for Sunderland at We Love Cities."

To have your say on how Sunderland can become greener as part of the One Planet City Challenge, visit: https://mysunderland.co.uk/welovecities