Published November 16, 2021 at 12:06
Rossendale Council have thanked all those that attended and spoke at their recent conference on Climate Action in the borough.
The conference held at the Ashcroft Centre in Whitworth was used as a platform to raise awareness and share information about grants and actions being taken locally to help reduce the overall carbon footprint for Rossendale.
The day was split with a breakfast event for businesses in the morning and a session for individuals and community groups in the afternoon.
Chris Gibbons from the East Lancs Chamber of Commerce offered information about the support the Chamber can offer to businesses to improve their energy and environmental efficiencies, introduce on site renewable energy generation as well as their free carbon audit.
Chris said: “When it comes to green energy and general carbon reduction, you’ll find that quite a lot of businesses want to do more but don’t know where to start or think that it’s going to cost too much. But that need not be the case.
“The Chamber can offer lots of free advice and support to businesses, letting businesses know what is available at great events like this are crucial.
“We’ve already had several businesses take that first step and sign up for the free carbon audits from this conference. If any other businesses would like information, they can go to the East Lancs Chamber of Commerce website.”
Alyson Barnes Council Leader said: “The council take climate change very seriously and we’re trying to do as much as we can to reduce our energy consumption and obtain as much as we can from renewable sources.
“We wanted this climate action day conference to be a place where the people and businesses of Rossendale could come together, find out what others are doing, see what is possible and be inspired to do more.
“All the small things we do, when done collectively make a much bigger impact, so I was really pleased to see the event so well attended. It’s really encouraging to see businesses, community groups and individuals coming together to help make a difference.”
Attendees also heard from Anglo Recycling, We Buy Books, Valley Heritage, Helmshore Recycling and Planet B who spoke about ways to achieve a plastic free Rossendale.
Councillor Julie Adshead said: “The day was truly inspirational. There were so many positive stories and a sense of real commitment from our communities to take action. Hopefully, this is just the start, and we will move forward in our fight against climate change together”