If you have been following us here at SCDC and PB Scotland, you will know that we have been on quite the Green PB journey over the last year or so to explore in what ways Green PB can contribute to a Just Transition for Scotland.

We have been looking at PB processes and how these can be used and facilitated to achieve and promote positive climate action, that has both direct and indirect benefits to people living in our local communities.

Starting with just a vision and some basic climate change knowledge, we have built partnerships and forged relationships which have allowed us to develop a strong Green PB Action Group, encourage and support new Green PB activity and even take our learning across Europe by participating in the Green PB Caravan late last year.

We are certainly putting Green PB on the map for Scotland but want to do more and continue to promote and encourage this well into the future!

Not just news…

The Green PB Action group have shaped significant developments on the PB Scotland website with a dedicated Green PB section being introduced which contains explanatory information on Green PB, Green and Greener PB Processes, Just Transition and highlights news of some exemplar Green PB projects happening in Edinburgh, Dundee and the North East of Scotland.

But we want to bring you more than just news, we want you to be involved in both encouraging green and greener PB processes and identifying where Green PB activities are happening across Scotland. We want to do this, not only so we can track our progress and celebrate our continuing success throughout Scotland, but also so we can demonstrate how PB processes have an important role to play in contributing to a Just Transition for everyone.

Introducing Green PB Badges and Seals

Because of this desire to recognise activity, and clearly show how PB processes can have a positive green impact, the Green PB Action group have co-produced with PB Scotland, a new Green PB Seal and Green PB Benefit Badge as a way of publicly recognising and promoting both dedicated Green PB processes and PB activities that have green impacts locally.

The Badges and seals have been designed using Just Transition outcomes as their basis to clearly link how PB processes are related to achieving positive climate change whilst having benefits for our communities.

This is important as we have spoken before about how not all projects and activities, made possible through PB processes, start with the aim of having positive climate action, rather the focus is, quite rightly, on improving the lives of local people and communities.

We often see the green links after the activity, proving that not only do local people benefit from PB processes but also that the environment does too…..but to date we haven’t recorded this enough to show a clear link and celebrate the potential for Green PB processes to further positive climate action and local knowledge, discussions and participation around climate change.

The Seal and Benefit Badge are being introduced to act as a simple way to recognise where Green PB activity has taken place and are a visual prompt to allow for wider promotion both on PB Scotland and beyond - a sort of good PB practice mapping and recognition exercise if you will.

We hope that the Seal and Benefit Badge will not only identify positive Green PB processes and where they are happening but also, highlight the importance of Green PB in achieving a Just transition whilst encourage people to think about climate change as a consistent theme within their existing PB processes.

But we need your help…

To encourage people to celebrate their successes, we need your help. We need you to tell us about Green PB activities and where they are happening, no matter how small or large they are.

You can read more about the Badges and Seals, and find out how to self-refer, either your own PB activity or one with which you have been involved.

There is a simple online form to complete which will be passed to the members of the Green PB Action group for consideration, after which an award will be made, and successful activities will begin to be promoted on PB Scotland.

So what are you waiting for?…..share this blog, share the link, encourage people to submit forms…..we are waiting to hear from you and begin to map out where our wonderful Green PB activities are happening and the difference they are making locally and to our wider national Just journey to net zero.

Find out more here.