Local Agenda 21 is a way for communities, individuals and organisations to move towards a more sustainable way of life. Sustainability is about protecting the environment, involving people in decisions about it and the sharing of social and economic resources more fairly. At the Rio World Earth Summit in 1992, an agenda for the 21st century was proposed in order to address the social and environmental problems facing the world. This became known as Agenda 21 and has been implemented by Local Authorities as Local Agenda 21 (LA21). LA21 Action Plans aim to involve all sectors of the community in local action and decision making which will result in a sustainable society. A sustainable future should protect and enhance the environment, meet social needs and promote economic success.

It was approved at the Earth Summit that - ‘... by 1996 most local authorities in each country should have undertaken a consultative process with their population and achieved a consensus of a Local Agenda 21 (LA21) for their communities’

In effect there was a mandate for all local authorities to prepare a LA21 plan, and to advance sustainable development, in local communities. In 1997, the then British Primeminister Tony Blair called on all Local Authorities to produce a LA21 strategy by the end of 2000. Middlesbrough achieved this goal and produced its plan in partnership with the local community in 1997. At the heart of the plan are the following key principles:

• Sustainable development is the responsibility of everyone. 

• It is important that education for sustainable development is integrated throughout the National Curriculum in schools.

• Education for sustainable development is seen in terms of lifelong learning. It is important that local communities are involved in making decisions which will affect their future.

• A future based on the principles of sustainable development is both attractive and achievable - it is important that individuals and groups are enabled to make a real difference.

The responsibility for implementing the process lies with Middlesbrough Council. However in 1997 MEC was commissioned to lead on community involvement delivery of the action plan. This allows the Local Authority to devote more of its staff resources towards making its direct activities and services environmentally sustainable. Over 500 individuals and organisations provided input into the first draft strategy and 'visioning' conference and the plan was launched on 4th November 1997.It sets out the local community's vision of a more socially and environmentally sustainable future. The plan was called Action 2020.

Action 2020 was prepared as a document for the whole community and includes actions to be taken by a range of local groups and organisations. It identified a range of actions to be taken under 13 key themes of sustainability. MEC attempts to work towards the vision through its working agenda and its work with its partners, which involves consensus building, awareness raising, demonstration projects and community-based action. Action 2020 is seen as an ongoing process, which is regularly monitored and reviewed. MEC continually consults with communities and the plan is reviewed on an annual basis through MEC’s annual Community Environment Conference. An annual review document is then prepared and circulated within the community.

Sustainable development is based on an understanding that to make lasting improvements to the quality of people’s lives and communities, economic, social and environmental factors need to be tackled in an integrated way.

Since the development of Action 2020, there has been considerable development in environmental sustainability issues in Middlesbrough. The development of a community strategy for Middlesbrough has provided opportunities to embed the principles of Local Agenda 21 into achieving the other priorities of the town. Middlesbrough was one of the first towns in the UK to develop a Climate Change Community Action Plan (CCAP), a complementary strategy to Action 2020. The CCAP details how Middlesbrough will respond to the challenges posed by Climate Change, both in terms of adapting to the changes already taking place and reducing on emissions of greenhouse gases.

Finally, the Elected Mayor of Middlesbrough, Ray Mallon has set many of his reduction targets around themes of environmental sustainability, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing reliance on the private car.

Middlesbrough Environment City is the trading name of Middlesbrough Environment City Trust Ltd.
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