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The Green Standard

Tests for environmental leadership

The Green Standard: Tests for environmental leadership is a joint initiative by eight of the UK’s leading environmental groups. They are CPRE, Friends of the Earth, Green Alliance, Greenpeace, RSPB, The Wildlife Trusts, Woodland Trust and WWF. This major initiative was first launched in February 2007 to set a standard for political debate and shape the battle for leadership on climate change and the environment between the political parties.

Latest news:

Green NGOs assess main political parties' manifestos (17 April 2010)

In the week that saw each of the major political parties launch their manifestos for the forthcoming General Election, eight of the UK's leading environmental organisations that make up the Green Standard initiative have issued their assessment of the commitments made on climate change and the natural environment.

This assessment provides a summary of the specific commitments in the main manifestos of the parties specified, against the Green Standard’s manifesto priorities that were published in our September 2009 report, Common Cause: the Green Standard manifesto on climate change and the natural environment.

The General Election manifesto assessment can be downloaded here, along with the accompanying press notice.

Common Cause (18 September 2009)

Common Cause: the Green Standard manifesto on climate change and the natural environment was launched on 18 September 2009. Read it here along with the accompanying press release (18.09.09).

Our 2009 report is a forward-looking assessment of the priorities for action on climate change and the natural environment in the next Parliament.

Action in the next Parliament is critical if we are to reduce our carbon dioxide emissions to avoid dangerous climate change, tackle the looming crises of food, energy and water shortages, and improve the resilience of our natural environment.

Common Cause argues it is therefore imperative that the leaders of all parties in the next Parliament accord the highest priority to climate change and the natural environment. An ambitious approach can secure new jobs and industries, improve our security, and improve the quality of life for all. We need action now, not in the decades to come.

The environment groups behind the report call on all political parties to demonstrate their willingness to acknowledge and embrace these challenges, and their preparedness to play a leadership role by endorsing a Common Cause Declaration. The declaration sets the threshold for credibility at the next election and is a necessary starting point if real progress is to be made. We also call on the parties to commit to ten specific manifesto proposals that we believe must form the basis of action for the next government.

These manifesto commitments relate directly to the original Green Standard tests for environmental leadership that we launched in 2007.

The first assessment of the parties against the tests, How green are our parties? The Green Standard report, was launched on 12 September 2007, see press release 12.09.07.

The 2007-08 Green Standard Review of the Parties was launched on 10 September 2008. It can be downloaded here, along with the accompanying press release.