February has been another busy month for the City Office and many partner organisations across Bristol. This month’s newsletter has details about the newly published One City Climate Strategy, as well as an exciting new event the City Office and Bristol City Council are hosting, with Innovate UK and 100% Open, to bring innovators and SMEs together to discuss solutions to key challenges for Bristol on sustainability and housing. Register for free here – tickets include a visit to the SS Great Britain. There’s also details on more great events and opportunities below.

One City Climate Strategy – Bristol agrees next steps to emergency climate action

The first city-wide collaborative approach to addressing the climate emergency in Bristol was published on Wednesday. It sets out a pathway of action on how Bristol can become carbon neutral and climate resilient.

Building on the movement of Bristol organisations declaring a climate emergency, the strategy looks to accelerate and coordinate climate action in the next few years. The strategy sets out a shared vision for Bristol in 2030. It describes the challenges along with the opportunities for investment and job creation as Bristol moves towards clean energy and away from polluting fossil fuels within the city.

To find out more and download the strategy, click here.

Domestic Missions Event

Bristol City Council and Bristol City Office are hosting a half-day event on Monday 16th March to bring innovators and cities together around sustainability and housing challenges. Registration for this free event includes a visit to SS Great Britain. Register on Eventbrite here.

The aim of the event is for local businesses and experts who have an interest in some of Bristol’s major challenges to:

  • Gain a better understanding of the challenges areas
  • Hear from selected innovators who can play a part in addressing the urban challenges
  • Meet potential collaboration partners and understand who else is working in this area
  • Learn how to collaborate well with City Authorities
  • Discover procurement routes and funding opportunities

There will be the opportunity to engage with a panel discussion and hear from experts from the City Council with plenty of networking time throughout.

This event is supported by Innovate UK and is part of the Domestic Missions pilot programme. This programme hopes to convene UK City Authorities and SMEs with the aim of learning from each other about the nature of urban challenges and the potential benefits of new technology, products and services.

Click here for more information and to register.

Ben Smith’s USA 2020 Challenge

A big thank you from the City Office to Ben Smith for his fantastic hosting of the January City Gathering. Following on from his extraordinary success in the 401 challenge in 2015, when he ran 401 marathons in 401 days, raising over £330,000 for charity, and being honoured with a Pride of Britain Award and the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Helen Rollason Award in 2016, he is now taking on a new epic challenge: The USA 2020 Challenge!

In a nutshell, Ben will be running one marathon in each of the 50 US state capitals and then cycling between them, equating to more than 14,000 miles in just 104 days!  He is doing this to raise £1million to support The 401 Foundation and the Youth Sport Trust.

To find out more, including seeing the route that Ben will be taking, see here, and if you’re interested in sponsorship opportunities, please contact Holly Maurice on 07813 828 988 or holly@the401challenge.co.uk

International Women’s Day 2020 with Bristol Women’s Voice is back!

At City Hall on Saturday 7th March 2020, Bristol Women’s Voice  are celebrating International Women’s Day with thousands of women from across Bristol. You can expect a day packed with performances, activities, discussions and workshops brought to you by many fantastic organisations. Come together to celebrate, learn and inspire each other!

For more information see here.

South West FairTrade Business Awards

The 2020 South West Fair Trade Business Awards are open for applications! If your organisation, no matter its size or sector, champions Fair Trade and supports Fair Trade supply chains, then this is your chance to be celebrated.

Entering is free and simple, and all applicants will receive a complimentary ticket to the ceremony on 15th May, this year taking place at Tobacco Factory Theatres in Bristol, and hosted by The Great British Bake Off’s Briony Williams.

So don’t miss your chance to be recognised amongst the South West’s leading ethical organisations, and to connect and be inspired by businesses that share your values. Find out more here.

The SWFTBAs are easy to enter and open to organisations of all sorts and sizes and entering is one way that organisations can contribute to Bristol’s bid to become a Gold Sustainable Food City – a key One City priority for the year.

Reading City

At the January City Gathering, Bristol Reading City and Ablaze launched an Offer and Ask – they’re coordinating volunteer and donation schemes to provide volunteers and materials to ensure levels of literacy in the city of Bristol continue to rise year on year. Could you or your organisation donate to help buy the books to stock a cloakroom library, or give an hour of your time to become a reading champion? Please take a look below for more information on how you can help on this vital aim, and visit Ablaze and the Bristol Learning City websites.