Local Businesses come together to create “Better Environments, Better Lives”

• May. 31 by Emma Williams (1)

A conference examining and raising awareness for local environmental issues in the West Midlands was held on the 27 February at the Birmingham Blues Grounds.

 The conference, organised by the Environment Agency and Be Birmingham, was entitled “Better Environments, Better Lives”.

 There were various guest speakers, including the chairman of the Environment Agency, Chris Smith and Vice President of the Wildlife Trust, Chris Baines.

The focus was “environmental inequality” in Birmingham, and how improved social and environmental issues could lead to an improved quality of life for all.

 Birmingham Recycled spoke to social media specialist Nick Booth, who attended the conference and writes for the Better Environments, Better Lives Blog, and he told us his viewpoint on what it was all about.

“The focus of the conference was really on bringing people in the West Midlands together to start focusing attention on improving environment in the poorest parts of the region, which in turn will improve these people’s lives.

He explained; “It’s common for the poorer parts of the area to receive more rubbish. For example, if an area already has a sewage plant located there, it’s likely that something else may then be built there like an electricity substation.”

The conference bought together businesses, campaigners and members of the public from local neighbourhoods.

Ranjit Sohal spoke of the “5 E’s” – economy, environment, energy, effiency and effectiveness and how we can work to improve these areas.

Other subjects on the agenda were the health and lifestyle of people in Birmingham, and the quality of the green spaces in the city. Full presentations from the conference can be viewed here.

All of these subjects and more can be found on the Blog set up in order to continue to debate on the issues raised at the conference.

Nick told us “In my point of view, there is a natural overlap between local activism and social media. With the blog, we’re hoping to start a gentle conversation on the issues raised at the conference. I see it as just a simple tool to take the ideas a little further.”

So, why not join in the conversation?