Pictured at South Ayrshire Council headquarters in Ayr are members of the South Ayrshire Community Planning Partnership who signed the declaration.
Members of South Ayrshire Community Planning Partnership have pledged their support for the environment by signing Scotland's Climate Change Declaration.
The Partnership is made up of representatives from South Ayrshire Council, Scottish Enterprise, Strathclyde Fire and Rescue, Strathclyde Police, NHS Ayrshire & Arran, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, Scottish Agricultural College, Ayr College, Skills Development Scotland, Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce, University of the West of Scotland, Jobcentre Plus, Scottish Natural Heritage and Voluntary Action South Ayrshire.
Councillor Bill McIntosh, Chair of the South Ayrshire Community Planning Partnership and Leader of South Ayrshire Council, said: "Climate change is something that is happening across the world and it will have far reaching effects on South Ayrshire's people, places, economy, society and environment.
"We all need to accept responsibility for our actions and adapt to climate change and reduce the impact on our communities and we need to encourage others to do the same.
"By signing the declaration members of the Partnership are demonstrating their commitment to protecting our environment."
Members of the Partnership have jointly committed to:
- Prepare and publish a dedicated plan that sets out how we intend to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, with clear targets and timescales. This will include our energy use and sourcing, travel and transportation, waste production and disposal, estate management, procurement of goods and services, and raising awareness of the plan with our employees, customers and partners.
- Incorporate measures for sustainable development and reducing greenhouse gas emissions into our new and existing strategies, plans and programmes.
- Assess the risks and opportunities for our services and communities of the impact of climate change and take appropriate action to address this in line with sustainable development principles.
- Encourage and work with others in our local communities to take action to adapt to the impact of climate change, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and publicise the action being taken.
- Publish an annual statement on the monitoring and progress against our plan and targets set, including details of outcomes achieve and further actions required.
- Work with other organisations to promote good practice on tackling climate change and reducing its impact within our local area.
South Ayrshire Community Planning Partnership is working across public, voluntary, community and private sector organisations to improve the quality of life and services for South Ayrshire residents in relation to health, employment, community safety, economic development and the environment. More information can be found on our Community Planning webpages