Project Background

The Business Climate Champions project aims to give you all the information you need on climate change, legislation, financial support and how effective action can strengthen commercial opportunities and make sound business sense.

In 1997 the UK Government signed up to the Kyoto Protocol, which committed them to tackling climate change. As a result, several targets were put in place to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases, the gases responsible for heating up our atmosphere. Since then the Government has realised that to make a difference to climate change in the UK, people first need to understand the issues and challenges ahead.

In 2005, Defra published a communication strategy for climate change which focuses on changing public attitudes and awareness through local communicators, regional and national initiatives, and collective action. Out of this strategy the Climate Challenge Fund (CCF) was established to provide financial support for communications projects seeking to achieve positive changes in public attitudes about climate change. The intention of the fund is to spread the climate change message to new audiences and communities.

The Association for Town Centre Management, in partnership with Action for Market Towns and Impetus Consulting Ltd, have been fortunate enough to be awarded funding from the CCF for the exciting new initiative ‘Business Climate Champions' as they are ideally placed, as a network, to communicate the climate change message across the nation.