The Bristol Green Capital Partnership has elected a new Chair and Vice Chair to lead the organisation into Bristol’s year as European Green Capital 2015. Philippa Bayley, Manager of the University of Bristol’s Cabot Institute, and Liz Zeidler, Director of Happy City, will share the Chair. Nina Skubala, lead Go Green Bristol Adviser at Business West, is the newly-elected Vice Chair.
The Green Capital Partnership (GCP) aims to boost Bristol’s status as a low carbon city and to encourage a high standard of living throughout our community. The GCP involves partners from community groups, charitable organisations and the public and private sectors.
The group represents a considerable cross-section of Bristol’s green community, who provided much of the momentum for Bristol’s successful bid to become the 2015 European Green Capital. More than 350 organisations have already signed the Green Capital pledge to commit to environmental activity in their organisations and to support the Green Capital vision.
The partnership will work with the newly-formed European Green Capital 2015 Company to design an extraordinary year of activities for Bristol in 2015, as well as delivering long-term sustainable changes in areas such as green spaces, energy and transport.
Philippa Bayley, the newly elected chair of Bristol GCP said: “2015 is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Bristol to truly become a low carbon city with a high quality of life for all. Our vision of success for 2015 is that everyone can make a meaningful contribution to transforming their city.”
Her counterpart Liz Zeidler added: “The Green Capital Partnership is open to everyone, and diverse contributions are needed to make sure Bristol looks radically different after the award than it does now. The partnership’s role is to hold that audacious vision, touching everything from the city’s green spaces to renewable energy generation, and help make the vision a reality through ambitious yet achievable steps.”
Philippa’s role as joint Chair of the Green Capital Partnership will forge closer links between the University and the European Green Capital 2015.
Philippa said: “There are great opportunities for our researchers, students, staff and facilities to get involved with and benefit from the European Green Capital year and the changes that will flow from it. From launching collaborative research projects to sharing our successes with campaigns like Green Impact, everyone in the University can be part of greening the city.”
There are three ways for anyone who is interested to get involved with the Partnership:
- Register for the upcoming partnership meeting at @Bristol on the 27 January from 2pm to 5pm, which will set the direction for the year ahead. This is an opportunity to set up a range of key action groups which will drive change across the city. These groups will be the hub of the partnership’s activity, and all organisations that have signed the pledge can get involved.
- Encourage your company, colleagues and friends to be part of the Green Capital by signing the Partnership Pledge.
- Register your interest in the Green Capital Partnership by signing up to the mailing list on the Green Capital homepage.
Vice Chair Nina Skubala said: “I am delighted to accept the position of Vice Chair of the Bristol Green Capital Partnership. I look forward to working alongside Liz Zeidler and Philippa Bayley, my colleagues at Business West and all partnership members to help prepare the city for its exciting role as European Green Capital in 2015.”
Further information
Liz and Philippa have chosen to share the role of Chair, the role will be clearly divided between them. Liz will lead on the engagement of the wider partnership, whereas Philippa will represent the partnership on the European Green Capital 2015 Company Board.
About the Cabot Institute The Cabot Institute at the University of Bristol carries out fundamental and responsive research on risks and uncertainties in a changing environment. Our interests include natural hazards, food and energy security, resilience and governance, and human impacts on the environment. Our research fuses rigorous statistical and numerical modelling with a deep understanding of interconnected social, environmental and engineered systems – past, present and future. We seek to engage wider society – listening to, exploring with, and challenging our stakeholders to develop a shared response to 21st Century challenges. Find out more about our work at www.bristol.ac.uk/cabot
About Happy City Happy City campaigns for happiness to be taken seriously. We deliver training, projects and tools to grow happier communities. Happy City exists to demonstrate being happier needn’t cost the earth. The world needs a new story: less ‘stuff for stuff’s sake’ and more ‘life for life’s sake’. A story that redefines what it means to prosper.
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