ACTION TWO: 400 signatories to Climate Change Action Plan and 40 implementation plans by Dec 31st 2014
Situation
The original goal of the Climate Change Action Plan was to have 1000 organisations signing up, and then producing their own action plans
Mission
By December 31st 2014, have at least 400 organisations signed up, with 40 implementation plans written.
Execution
Have a “clear out” of organisations and businesses that simply no longer exist and announce what the new number is.
Give the signatories who still exist a year to publish their own implementation plans. If they don’t commit to this – and don’t deliver- then they’re off the list. And the number climbs again.
Ask the Steering Group if it intends to get its gameface on around this issue. Is it going to give responsibility for reaching the magic number 1000 within – say – 18 months to a named [and unelected, naturally] individual on the Steering Group? If not, why not?
Getting to 400 is actually pretty straightforward, however. Simply make it a condition of participation in the various festivals that the Council part-funds – Pride, Food and Drink, the Manchester Day Parade etc etc. If organisations don’t publicly sign the plan, and commit to producing an implementation plan (with Council assistance) within 12 months of signing, then they don’t get to be part of that event. Given the current Exec Member for Culture and Leisure’s previous interest in climate issues (especially 2010-12), this shouldn’t be hard.
Oh, and that Clean and Green Fund? Make it a condition of applying for money, let alone getting any, that groups have endorsed the Climate Change Action Plan AND have committed to publishing their own implementation plan within twelve months. SMART, eh?
Administration
Presumably somewhere in a filing cabinet or on a floppy disk there is a copy of the Council’s pro-forma/template that it produced in early 2010 when it was still expecting signatories would be asking for help in developing their own implementation plans. Dust it off, photocopy it, put it out for consultation (since the implementation plan will now have to include adaptation), and get cracking.
Keep a public record, monthly, of how many signatories there are, and how many implementation plans written. There will need to be at least one per working day of signatories, and one per week of implementation plans, btw.
Command & Control/unanswered questions
Does responsibility for this rest with the Executive Member for the Environment. Or the Chair of the Steering Group. It’s a good question…
Financial implications
Not massive, though photocopying blank implementation plan proformas may add up.
Potential multiplier effects
If you get the right organisations signing up early, who knows, it might get easy-ish. Out of curiosity, is BDP signed up?
Consequences of non-delivery of this action
Massive credibility suck.
Next short-term action(s)
Decide who is in charge by March 1st 2014. Announce this.
Analyse how many of the original signatory organisations still exist by March 1st 2014
Commit publicly to making participation in upcoming Council-subsidised cultural events contingent upon signing the Action Plan by March 1st 2014.
Create reporting mechanisms by March 1st 2014.
Medium-to-long term actions
Report progress monthly. In writing. Publicly.
Bring a report to Neighbourhoods Scrutiny in July 2014 on progress between Feb and late June.
Bring another report in December, with an implementation plan for 2015-16, which is when most of the signatories will be publishing their own implementation plans. This may need to be a joint report by MCC and MACF steering group, depending on who draws the short straw.
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