The South East England Regional Assembly

'The Assembly is pleased to support the eco open houses event. We hope it will encourage more people to make their homes energy and water efficient by showing how environmental benefits and cost savings can go hand in hand with quality design,' says the Assembly Chairman Cllr Keith Mitchell.

The Assembly - a partnership of councils and communities in the South East - has a 20-year vision setting out how we can improve quality of life, ensuring a healthy economy while protecting the environment, reducing waste and cutting pollution. These are some of the biggest challenges facing all of us - residents, business and government. Part of our role is to help the region respond to these challenges with practical advice. Recent examples include:

• A climate change guide for planners in the South East to inform local plans and explain ways to adapt to climate change and limit its effects
• Joint work with regional partners to develop a regional framework setting priorities for sustainable development. This includes 25 objectives for the South East, which will help all organisations ensure that their actions contribute to a consistent vision of our sustainable future
• Research with the World Wildlife Fund and the South East England Development Agency to identify how we can reduce our impact on the environment by managing use of transport, energy and water.

The Assembly also advises local authorities on developing strategies that contribute towards sustainable development and reductions in carbon dioxide emissions.

The Assembly has six roles:

• Regional Planning - preparing and delivering the South East Plan
  
• Regional Housing - the Regional Housing Board decides housing investment priorities
  
• Regional Transport - the Regional Transport Board decides transport investment priorities
  
• Advocacy - pressing the South East's interests in London and Brussels
  
• Accountability - scrutinising SEEDA’s plans and impact
  
• Alignment - co-ordinating regional policies and decisions.

For more information see www.southeast-ra.gov.uk

Legal & General

At Legal & General we have taken our environmental responsibilities seriously for many years. Since the 1990s they have formed part of what has now become a comprehensive Corporate Responsibility programme. During this time we have worked with the Carbon Trust to identify the extent of our carbon footprint and to reduce our overall environmental impact.

Our programme has focused on reducing carbon emissions and waste to landfill by increasing our energy efficiency and improving our recycling. Legal & General’s new offices in City Park offices, Hove opened in 2006. We are delighted that two of three buildings at the site have obtained ‘Very Good’ rating through the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM). We believe this provides us with a firm base from which to manage our environmental impacts in Brighton and Hove for years to come.

See our Corporate Social Policy