A Competitive, Inclusive
and Sustainable
Liverpool
A Submission to the Mayoral Commission on the Sustainable
Economy from the Liverpool Green Partnership
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A competitive, inclusive and sustainable Liverpool
A submission to the Mayoral Commission on the Sustainable
Economy from the Liverpool Green Partnership.
Summary
Liverpool is a remarkable city. It has been a world city based on trade and
industrialisation, faced decline, and physical and environmental degradation
not seen in many other places. Now it is creating an equally remarkable
transformation to a new future, highlighted by its year as Capital of Culture,
and the forthcoming International Festival of Business.
The advent of the Mayor provides a new opportunity, and he has articulated
his aspirations for Liverpool as a leading world city. He has an overarching
objective to create a thriving society and economy offering an increased
number of jobs and has five pledges to help drive his ambitions. We believe
placing sustainable development as the core guiding principle of Liverpool’s
planning, policy and action is the best way to achieve these ambitions.
This proposal is made by the informal Liverpool Green Partnership (see
annexe one for membership), comprising representatives of the Universities,
Chamber of Commerce, Liverpool Vision, health, transport, waste and social
sectors.
It sets out how the city can drive through a fundamental
transformation of its economy, by creating a sustainable city that builds upon
the uniqueness of the place and its people. We believe there are already
strong foundations and that this is a time of great opportunity which the city
should seize. The leading role taken by the Chamber of Commerce supported
by other private and third sector businesses within the Partnership is a clear
indication that the business community recognise and wish to support the
importance and opportunities for driving growth and jobs provided by a
sustainable low carbon city.
The sustainable city agenda is a transformational opportunity which enables
investment, jobs, a good environment, less inequality and a better quality of
life to become possible.
To deliver the Mayor's aspirations and objectives, Liverpool must remain
competitive with other cities in order to ensure growth and jobs. The city also
has legal obligations to meet in terms of climate change and emissions
standards. Above all, we want to future proof our city in order to hand on a
vibrant, successful and resilient city to our children. The informal Green
Partnership has examined a range of issues that help inform the debate about
sustainable development for Liverpool, and the following report contains more
details that underpin our key recommendations. We propose the following:-
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Key proposals
Recommendation One - Develop a single Sustainable City Vision and
Plan - To provide the road map for change and progression, the city must
articulate a Vision supported by a coordinated delivery plan.
Recommendation Two - Leadership accountability and governance
The Mayor must provide the strategic focus and this will need to be
reinforced by the City Council adopting a multi-discipline,
interdepartmental approach working with city region partners.
Recommendation Three - Develop new financial models to stimulate
local growth. Policies, investments and development across the city
must demonstrate real commitment to sustainable development, and
partners and agencies must use their financial power to promote local
growth.
Recommendation Four - Establish new ways of collaborative working
across sectors. The real barriers that exist in achieving effective
collaboration between public, private, community and academic sectors
have to be broken down.
Recommendation Five - Commit to a bid to be European Green Capital
in 2016.
Recommendation Six - Build public consensus. Creating a competitive,
inclusive and sustainable Liverpool requires the engagement, support and
input of all concerned.
Note. (In terms of specific actions this proposal deals largely with the City of
Liverpool. However, a truly sustainable approach will also require the full
participation of the wider City Region.)
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A competitive, inclusive and sustainable Liverpool
A submission to the Mayoral Commission on the Sustainable
Economy from the Liverpool Green Partnership
Introduction
We believe that creating a truly sustainable city is the best means of meeting
Liverpool's ambitions, and provides the best opportunity, to sustain and
improve the city’s long term economic health. Bidding for European Green
Capital, (see Annexe Two) is a key means whereby the City can celebrate its
transformation, and signal its intent to become a world leader.
The Liverpool Green Partnership
Following the 2010 report 'Low Carbon Liverpool'1, the University of Liverpool,
Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, and Liverpool PCT created a broad ad-hoc
partnership of organisations who have been meeting over the past year to
determine how Liverpool can combine the creation of a vibrant, successful
and inclusive city with what needs to be done to meet the city’s legal climate
change obligations, alongside the economic, social and environmental
challenges of the 21st century.
This has included exploring the benefits of Liverpool bidding to become
European Green Capital, a process that other bidding cities have
demonstrated to be a tried and tested way to focus and catalyse a city’s
sustainable and competitive performance. The Partnership has concluded
that Liverpool can make a credible bid and there are a range of very positive
costs and benefits to doing so.
We have now formed the informal Liverpool Green Partnership and have
worked with partners to undertake a baseline audit of the city and city region’s
current environmental performance2. The audit was based on the bidding
criteria for European Green Capital, (EGC). This audit report is presented in a
separate submission to the Commission. The partnership now has a clear
understanding of the environmental challenges faced by the city along with
opportunities that these bring for economic and social renewal.
Liverpool’s future in a competitive world
To maximise opportunities for the local community as well as attracting and
retaining the highly mobile skills and technologies that will create the
sustainable wealth of the future, and the future entrepreneurs and labour force
that will generate them, the city needs to present itself as one with high quality
local environments, good education and a commitment to sustainable
development.
Liverpool’s competitiveness has to be achieved within the context of the
challenges that all cities face; the challenges of climate change, population
growth, demographic change, urbanisation and resource depletion, which
1
2
http://www.lowcarbonliverpool.com/
(utilising ESRC funding through the University and through the PCT)
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mean that the world’s great cities need to adapt to survive and thrive in the
twenty first century. For leaders of growing cities, reducing emissions while
increasing quality of life and economic success is an accepted reality, as well
as an enormous challenge.
However, as the CBI has recently reported, in addressing climate change
there is an opportunity to develop technologies bringing jobs and businesses,
addressing social inclusion, and nurturing and retaining local talent at all
levels in the economy.
As Mayor Bloomberg of New York has said:To thrive economically, we must create a setting where talented
entrepreneurs—and the businesses they grow—want to be. One of the
fundamental prerequisites for creating that business climate is functional,
cost-effective infrastructure. Another of the fundamentals is quality of life,
no longer a vague nicety but a tangible feature that business leaders
consider when deciding where to locate or expand: where do talented workers
want to live, in an age when they can choose to live anywhere? They don’t
consider great parks or clean air to be a frill”.
‘Business as usual’ economically, socially and environmentally is therefore not
an option.
The vision for a sustainable Liverpool
We need to complete the transformation of Liverpool from the low-value
industrial economy of the 20th century to the high-value knowledge driven
economy of the 21st. It is fundamental for this transformation to occur that the
city offers a competitive environment to attract global talent and investment
into its emerging high-value industries. We believe this can best be achieved
through an economic strategy based upon sustainable development.
The World Commission on Environment and Development (Brundtland
Commission) report defined sustainable development as "development which
meets the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs". The concept supports strong
economic and social development, in particular for people with a low standard
of living. At the same time it underlines the importance of protecting the
natural resource base and the environment. Economic and social well-being
cannot be improved with measures that destroy the environment.
Intergenerational solidarity is also crucial: all development has to take into
account its impact on the opportunities for future generations.3
A starting point for Liverpool has to be that sustainable development allows us
to square the circle of addressing disadvantage and poor health through
economic security with equal access to education, employment, food and
warmth to create a better quality of life and well being for the whole
community without compromising the wellbeing of other communities. This
3
United National Economic Commission for Europe
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means new economic models involving the creation of a green, healthy
environment resilient to changes in climate, energy availability and
demographics. It means the efficient use of land, producing the lowest
quantity of pollution possible. It means viewing waste, either of human or
material capital, as a failure. This will only be effective through governance
for the short and long term supported by meaningful and broad-based citizen
participation.
This in turn creates a city best able to attract talent and innovation, inward
investment, nurture and retain local talent, and create sustainable growth that
combines economic revitalisation with a step change in social and
environmental performance and reductions in greenhouse gasses.
Arising from this approach, the concept of a low carbon economy as a
discrete economic strategy, alongside the knowledge economy, Superport,
and visitor economy, needs to be replaced by a single one that embraces and
guides all the city’s activities. The visitor and knowledge economy, and the
port need to be run in a competitive, socially inclusive and sustainable, low
carbon manner if the city’s competitive advantage is to be maintained in the
long run.
Key findings from the Green Partnership.
The Partnership has undertaken two areas of research;
a) examining the approach taken by cities who are acknowledged
leaders in creating a sustainable economic strategy,
b) an audit of current environmental performance of Liverpool and the city
region.
Taken together these assessments have also allowed a snapshot of the city's
current position. Our main findings are:
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Economically successful cities are sustainable cities.
The most successful port cities in this context, cities like Vancouver,
Seattle, Stockholm, or Hamburg, are also the cities well aligned to a
‘green’ agenda. These cities are our competitors in a global market place
for investment and talent.
Cities need to continue to grow and develop and create resilient local
economies.
There is a clear need to position cities at the forefront of urban living with
high quality environments and a high quality of life able to attract inward
investment, and grow local entrepreneurship.
A key element of such an environment is sustainability and the quality of
life on offer. Another key element is efficiency in transportation, energy,
and resource utilization.
Being seen as green, smart and sustainable is essential to the brand of
any future competitive city.
Bidding for European Green Capital creates a brand that helps put a city
‘on the map’ and increases interest in the city as a place to do business. It
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can help boost low carbon innovation and technological development,
reinforces the ‘future, leading edge’ reputation of a city and forms the basis
for the new economy and jobs. Nantes recognised that growth and being
green add value to a culture-led regeneration strategy following the
collapse of shipyards in the late 1980s.
 A high quality environment and quality of life is essential to attract talent to
visit and stay in the city, and to create new business. Although already
successful, Hamburg saw it as imperative to attract and retain more
talented people than it was previously doing.
An audit of local performance
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Across the city and city region there are already a wide range of existing
environmental strategies, plans and initiatives in place on which to build.
The city and city region’s current environmental record in many aspects
compares favourably with past European Green Capital winners.
However, there are areas where there are real opportunities for
improvement which could bring significant economic, social and
environmental benefits.
We believe the audit provides a framework to drive and monitor change in
the future.
The current position
There is some evidence that the long term lack of a single Vision has been a
deterrent to investment in Liverpool. By contrast, Manchester's 'Commission
for a New Economy' is designed to ensure the City's commitment to a low
carbon economy, creates real investment opportunities. Research shows that
a consistency of approach across all a city’s partners and agencies is crucial
for long term success, while silo thinking and conflicting approaches between
agencies is a recipe for continued underperformance.
Evidence from Nantes shows how all agencies within the city have a
consistency of view and approach derived from a clear sense of the city's
overall strategy - regeneration through creating quality of life and a
sustainable city. It has turned its fortunes to become France’s happiest city to
which people relocate from Paris.. The Partnership has good working links
with Nantes, which is Green Capital for 2013, and from which we can learn.
The Green Partnership’s research demonstrates there are a wide range of
public, private and third sector stakeholders actively pursuing and delivering
low carbon projects across the city; these will ultimately deliver outputs that
should result in a lower carbon economy and increased quality of life being
achieved in Liverpool. They range in size and scope from examples such as
the Eldonians' combined heat and power plant, the River Mersey Task Force,
and the Local Nature Partnership, to burgeoning local food growing initiatives
and a multitude of community environmental initiatives.
However all these initiatives have different drivers and objectives. They are
not coordinated into one common vision and purpose. This is slowing our rate
of progress and prevents selling Liverpool as a leading sustainable city.
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In summary, the city is at the following stage:
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There is much good work going on
This is not tied together into a single vision and plan
There are no clear goals by which the city sets out its ambitions and
aspirations
There is a lack of leadership and coordination across all the existing
activities
The city does not articulate and market its green credentials as well as
it could
As a consequence, the city is not achieving anywhere near its full
potential for its economy and the health and well being of its citizens the sustainable city agenda is a transformational opportunity.
Delivering a sustainable city.
The range of initiatives outlined above along with strategic developments such
as the introduction of the Liverpool City Region SEAP, and Liverpool’s
Covenant of Mayors initiative all provide the city with the basis and
momentum to develop a cross cutting, long-term strategy that delivers
economic growth and carbon reduction and improved quality of life, sending
the right signals to investors and citizens alike about Liverpool’s intent. Now
is the time for Liverpool to become an early adopter. It must develop an
effective delivery model based on true public-private partnership, knowledge
transfer, smart procurement, commercial awareness and sustainable
outcomes.
The Heseltine/Leahy report has already highlighted the opportunities that
could be opened up around a clean and thriving River Mersey, with its
strategic position on the Atlantic coast with rich coastal and water resources
making our proposition unique.
Liverpool as a green and sustainable city is a message that needs to be sold
as a matter of priority. The importance of Liverpool's cultural and sporting offer
in creating a highly successful tourist sector is now well understood. Being
seen as green and sustainable city will become increasingly important to
maintain and grow its reputation as a tourist destination.
Becoming a green and sustainable city therefore adds to the city's portfolio of
selling points to regain its place as a leading world city. The Mayor must lead
on a strategic approach with a clear and well publicised action plan backed by
costed projects and programmes. This would provide an opportunity to build
a consensus across the city, and provide the best opportunity to help meet his
priorities particularly in relation to jobs, enterprise and a 'sparking city'
To build on the opportunities that now present themselves we believe there
are a number of key proposals to ensure success
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Recommendation One - Develop a single Sustainable City Vision and
Plan. To provide the road map for change and progression, the city must
articulate a Vision supported by a coordinated strategy, backed with
appropriate resource and ‘bite’, that enables and supports all projects but also
connects and refines when appropriate. We must find a multi-disciplinary,
interdepartmental response to our vision that will reduce consumption and
emissions, enhance the city as a place to visit, live and work, deliver
economic growth, create resilience to climate change and eliminate fuel
poverty. There are already a host of existing plans and strategies embracing
all aspects of the city's development. These need to be corralled into an
overarching strategic plan that all partners can relate to. Future spending
proposals, such as the new European Structural funds programme, for
example, should be measured against the contribution to the strategic plan.
There are a number of models across the world showing how to draw up a
long term strategy for the sustainable development of the city region,
combining competitiveness with what we need to do to avoid dangerous
climate change, including the ICLEI’s Milestones Methodology4. This involves
(1) building on the Green Partnership’s audit to review current environmental
performance, (2) identifying a full range of measures for enhancing the city’s
performance as a green and successful city, while reducing greenhouse gas
emissions, (3) developing environmental performance and greenhouse gas
emission reduction targets, and (4) developing a mechanism for tracking
progress towards targets.
There are many examples of how cities across the world have addressed
these issues. The New York PlaNYC has much to commend it as its
introduction followed a period in the early 2000's very akin to Liverpool's
current position.
Recommendation Two - Accountability leadership and governance. It is
essential that the Vision and Plan are constantly monitored and reviewed.
Models of good practice must continue to be studied carefully, both national
and internationally. There is much that can be learned from others, and this
will help in two key areas – benchmarking against the competition, and
focussing resources effectively. The Mayor must provide the strategic focus
but this will need to be reinforced by a multi-discipline, interdepartmental
approach as an essential success factor in our view. Accountability within the
City Council with access to resources and with a responsibility to act is
therefore vital. The role within the City Council will need to be supported by
the Leadership of the Council and the City including senior officers and
Members
Recommendation Three - Develop new financial models to stimulate
local growth. Policies, investments and development across the city must
demonstrate real commitment to the sustainability agenda. The biggest prize
4
http://www.icleiusa.org/action-center/getting-started/iclei2019s-five-milestones-for-climateprotection
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will be a viable legal and financial model which is able to deliver this. The
new Social Value Act may provide new opportunities to help keep more jobs
and opportunities within the City and region, using the potential of big
institutions to procure local services.
For some, there remain tensions between the economic and environmental
agendas. Leading cities are dealing with them, led by political vision and
commitment. They know that the leading cities are the greenest cities. As the
audit and other evidence shows there are a number of already successful
initiatives underway, delivering change and growth. In other areas, progress
is less assured. Lessons need to be drawn from these areas and solutions
promoted.
Perhaps most significantly, the new EU Multi-Annual Financial Framework
(MFF) or more informally, the Budget, for the period 2014-20 will demand a
large commitment to developing the low carbon economy. It appears likely
that a substantial part of the available budget will support low carbon
initiatives. There is therefore a large potential opportunity to use this period to
greatly develop the sustainable city. The corollary of this is that the city will, in
any case, have to show such a commitment to be eligible for the new funding.
Recommendation Four. - Examine new ways of collaborative working
across sectors. The real barriers that exist in achieving effective
collaboration between public, private, community and academic sectors have
to be broken down. They stifle enterprise and drive away investment to better
organised, more entrepreneurial locations.
To drive the agenda we must therefore have the resources to carry out proper
strategic thinking and develop collaborative programmes with all sectors.
Through the Green Partnership, we already have the building blocks to create
a centre of excellence and an information exchange, and ensure that
resources of expertise and finance are used efficiently. A joint Centre for the
Sustainable City could help draw in funding and staffing in innovative ways,
that can support existing and further research in areas such as the challenges
and opportunities that are presented. For example, by reducing energy
consumption the city can reduce its emissions, costs and export of sorely
needed capital. What are the cumulative impacts of this? What employment
opportunities are opened up?
The triple helix approach, of the public, private and university sectors jointly
driving the growth of their cities is one that already has favour in Europe and
increasingly feeds into national programmes. Important lessons in how a
centre, focussed on these activities, could work can be drawn upon from the
experiences of a number of similar institutes globally, for example, the Los
Angeles Regional Collaborative for Climate Action and Sustainability hosted
at UCLA5.
5
http://www.environment.ucla.edu/larc/about/
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Recommendation Five - Commit to a bid to a future European Green
Capital. This will require a decision in principle in the summer of 2013, with a
final bid in October 2013. Bidding for the title will raise the city’s economic,
social and environmental and European profile, and to catalyse the transition
to a low carbon economy and to facilitate a step change in performance,
much as the city’s year as Capital of Culture showcased cultural heritage and
a can-do attitude in a rejuvenated city in 2008. , This proposal has already
been endorsed by the Mayoral Commission on Europe.
The audit undertaken by the Partnership has been undertaken within the
framework of the bidding process for the award. It therefore provides a ready
made template for a formal bid. There is clear evidence from cities that have
bid unsuccessfully for the award that the process of bidding has helped raise
the profile of the city and helped drive change within the city. The Green
Partnership commissioned a report in 2012 illustrating the positive costs and
benefits of bidding.
Recommendation Six - Build public consensus. Creating a competitive,
inclusive and sustainable Liverpool requires the support of all concerned. A
city-wide movement for change based on an understanding of the benefits the
whole city can derive needs to built, to generate a wider debate across the
community on the need for change, in order to enhance the city as a place to
visit, live and work, deliver economic growth, create resilience to climate
change and eliminate fuel poverty.
Work on this can be started by formalising a working relationship with the
Liverpool Green Partnership to recognise the contribution all sectors can
make to a sustainable city. The Green Partnership should be led by the
Mayor, and composed of key decision makers able to drive change through,
supported by a wider implementation group from the public, private and
community sectors. It should result in co-ordinated approach, building
capacity, and maximising support and resources
There are clear lessons to be drawn from the success of Capital of Culture
where the general public were engaged and committed. More recently, the
Decade of Health and Well Being is showing the way a holistic engagement
programme can work. The City Council should support and work with the
Green Partnership to promote the sustainable city and achieve change in key
areas such as recycling and the use of healthier transport options.
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