Climate change has become a key issue for industry. Cleaner, greener ways of doing business have rocketed up the corporate agenda. But eco improvement is something that needs to be embraced by all of us.

Green Crusade

The Evening Gazette has long championed the green message. Its environment campaign Go Green - launched almost two years ago - aims to help all of us take up the challenge to reduce our carbon footprint.

The Gazette has recently appointed a dedicated environment correspondent - Kelley Price - to lead the green crusade and help promote the issues to an ever wider audience, both in print and on the web.

It will take a global effort to halt the tide of climate change. And the facts speak for themselves.

If everyone in the world lived the lifestyle typical of that in the UK, we would need more than three planet Earths to provide us with enough food, energy and resources to survive.

On top of that, the latest research by environment charity the WWF shows we are consuming about 20% more of the Earth's natural resources each year than the planet can sustain in the long term.

There's now unanimous scientific evidence that carbon dioxide is causing climate change and if we don't reduce emissions we are moving towards a point where it will be too late.

The UK is a very small contributor to global emissions. Just 2.4% of the world's carbon dioxide is produced by Britain, compared to big hitters like the States - at 28% - and China, at about 24%.

But it's collective responsibility around the globe that will make the big changes that are needed.

Green Giant

Tees Valley has placed itself at the forefront of the green revolution.

Major initiatives like our multi-million pound biofuels commitment and the zero carbon development plan for Middlehaven's RiversideOne have raised the profile of our area as a leading 'green' giant.

We are driving development new green technology.

Wilton is home to a £60m wood-burning power station - the first of its kind in the UK.

And the Centre for Process Innovation has pioneered projects including the Fuel Cell Application Facility and National Industrial Biotechnology Facility at Wilton to push forward green energy schemes.

Teesside is set to become home to one of the world's largest sustainable biomass plants after a MGT Power announced a £400m investment at Teesport.

Representing £30m per year to the local economy, the Tees Renewable Energy Plant (REP) will create around 600 construction jobs and 150 on-site roles, as well as 300- 400 jobs each year for the local supply chain.

Located at Teesport, it will produce enough green electricity to power 600,000 homes and save around 1.2m tonnes of CO2 from being emitted into the atmosphere every year.

Construction work will start next year and the plant is expected to be operational by 2012.

The plant will play a major role in helping the UK meet ambitious national and EU renewable energy targets.

Brussels wants the UK to produce from renewable sources 15% of total energy generated by 2020.

Front Runner

But the environment is a complex issue and Teesside faces its own challenges - particularly when it comes to the biofuels debate.

Tees Valley is a front runner in this fledgling industry, but support is needed for it to grow and prosper - a message the Evening Gazette has hammered home with its Back Our Biofuels campaign.

Ensus is developing a £250m wheat-to-bioethanol plant at Wilton and Biofuels Corporation's site at Seal Sands has been up and running since 2005.

But the sector has already had casualties. Heavily subsidised US biodiesel imports have forced Middlesbrough's D1 Oils to move overseas to continue biofuel production.

Going Green

Go Green is encouraging all us to implement small changes—which can add up to making a big difference.

And as well as doing your bit for the environment, going green could put money back in your pocket.

Just swapping from normal to energy light bulbs can save around £9 a year per bulb.

This saving could be up to £100 over its lifetime if you're replacing a very high wattage incandescent bulb, or one used for more than a few hours a day.

And turning your thermostat down by one degree centigrade. This can cut your heating bills by up to 10%. You could save around £50 per year.