Dick Strawbridge recommends a daily cocktail of sustainability at 2007 CIH SW Conference

"You don't have to wear hemp shirts, socks and knickers to live a sustainable lifestyle in the 21thCentury," said Dick Strawbridge at the CIH SW Conference in Torquay.

Dick stressed that people should not be preached at to be green and should be allowed to make their own sustainable decisions. "We must not preach about carbon emissions, we need to create more public awareness. We will know when we have succeeded when green issues don't dominate the news anymore but become part of our mind set and lifestyle decisions."

Dick well known for his green credentials on our TV screens told delegates that people don't have to go and live in the woods and eat berries but can still enjoy a 21st century lifestyle. He stressed we don't have to give up our broadband, laptops and other hi-tech equipment we can’t live without. "We just need to adapt our homes and lifestyles using a simple cocktail of sustainable solutions to help the environment and reduce our carbon footprint - using low energy life bulbs, ensuring our homes are well insulated, buying locally produced food, using water butts and composting our organic waste."

Aware of his housing audience Dick also talked about ways that RSLs could adopt sustainable schemes in their housing developments, once again advocating home insulation as his number one energy saving tip. He also discussed rainwater harvesting, combined heat and power systems, whole ventilation and heat recovery and micro generation.

Incidentally Dick was wearing a hemp shirt, socks and underpants which even though they are sustainable he finds them more comfortable than more conventional attire!

Notes for Editors

The mission of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) is to "maximise the contribution that housing professionals make to the well being of communities."

CIH is based in Coventry and has regional branches all over the UK and In Hong Kong. The South West branch of the CIH covers the whole of the South West from Swindon to Cornwall, from Bristol to Dorset.

The key aims of the CIH South West are:
To support and encourage students and members in the South West
To promote membership of the CIH
To develop joint working with associated professional bodies
To raise awareness of housing issues in the South West

For further information please visit the CIH website at www.cih.org or contact Gill Smith Publicity officer, CIH South West - call 01202 466527.