Adrian Clamp: Leadership key to greener Glasgow commitment

GLASGOW must be congratulated for its ambitious plans to become one of Europe's most sustainable cities. As a city, it emits nearly four million tonnes of annually and it has set a target to reduce this by 30 per cent within ten years.

By seizing the initiative in this way, Glasgow has the opportunity to create a model for an integrated "intelligent city", embracing green transport alternatives, renewable energy, smart building technology and effective waste recycling.

The impact will be felt in terms of cutting costs and operating more efficiently, as well as increasing the city's green credentials.

The report made public last week provides a bold vision, but behind this, the city leaders will be acutely aware of the challenges of its implementation.

Critical to its success will be moving away from a collection of single projects to taking a "joined-up" approach to delivering a large-scale programme. Success will require drawing together partners to develop new business models that can both deliver the ambitious carbon reduction targets, while providing value to the consumer. It means getting consumers on side and encouraging them to change their behaviour.

Drawing on the experiences of other cities, fostering an integrated, collaborative programme that captures the public imagination, invariably holds the key.

Amsterdam, having set itself a target of reducing emissions in 2025 by 40 per cent compared with 1990, announced a "Smart City" initiative that involves putting in place smart grids and meters alongside a more comprehensive range of sustainable transport, work and lifestyle initiatives. Just like Glasgow, it aims to do this by bringing together a large number of public and private sector players. And just like Glasgow, strong leadership is proving vital.

In my experience, city authorities are in the best position to bring together the various public and private sector bodies that must collaborate for success. Only the cities themselves can arbitrate between consumers, businesses, energy companies and public bodies to determine the best plans for city residents.

Glasgow's announcement is to be applauded; now the city must continue to show strong leadership by bringing consumers and businesses along to play their part.

• Adrian Clamp is head of resources industries for Accenture Scotland