Going Carbon Neutral Stirling will be administered by Keep Scotland Beautiful in response to the urgent need for massive global carbon reductions. The project will be administered by 7 staff who will engage with all the types of local community group across Stirling. With our staff’s help, each group will create its own carbon-reduction plan, made up of weekly and monthly carbon cutting actions that everyone can do, together, starting with the easy actions first. For the first 3 years, we will visit each group regularly, to provide support, advice and practical help. It is important that this process is made as easy as possible for you, and that, without taking up too much of your time, we can help you slot carbon reduction into your daily routine.

In addition we will work with the local council and local businesses to help ensure that being low-carbon, as an individual and community in Stirling, is easier, cheaper and more popular. We have done lots of research with local community groups, individuals and businesses around Stirling in the last 18 months…and it seems, as a local population, we are up for this challenge! Our aim is that together, as a concerned community, we will be able to create a critical mass of carbon reduction that will act as a beacon and blueprint for other communities across the country, and potentially, across the globe.

To create and implement a compelling, collectively owned, successful, district scale, model of meaningful carbon reduction activity encompassing the dynamic of national and local businesses, and geographic communities and communities of interest, that can be used as a blueprint for other UK cities and districts.

The critical mass that Going Carbon Neutral Stirling achieves will be based on loads of voluntary carbon reduction action by individuals. The bigger picture, looking at the district as a whole requires that the carbon reduction model is:

• Meaningful – looking at 8% year on year reduction path starting now, in line with the Tyndall Centre 2007 findings
• Wide-spread – covering the whole of Stirlingshire to ensure that people have maximum exposure to the message of reducing carbon
• Collectively owned – bottom up ownership, with supported personalised carbon reduction activity plans that individuals and groups themselves choose – that works well with their locality and lifestyles
• Mutually supportive – carbon reduction shouldn’t be about making an effort on your own. It needs to be supported, fun, actions taken- admired, discussed…and a normal part of everyday life
• Non-blame - understanding that people have varying needs and perception of needs. Some big changes are hard to make – and people need time to assess what they can do, where they need to get to, and how they are going to do it
• Equitable – people are more prepared to make and sustain changes to their own lives when they can see that others are also doing it and that it is 'fair'