Mark Jones is partnerships manager at Destination Basingstoke. He has worked in Basingstoke for 26 years, including 13 years as editor of The Gazette and eight years as director of communications and fundraising at Ark Cancer Charity.

QUESTION: Can Basingstoke and Deane become the green capital of Hampshire?

Hopefully the above sentence will turn into a talking point – and wouldn’t it be good if a talking point turned into a ‘Yes we can!’

How you measure green success would, of course, need to be defined but increasing the number of local solar farms to a target level, the number of EV charging points in the area, and the recycling rate in the Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council area are just a few benchmarks that spring to mind. There are no doubt many more. I’m sure we could all come up with a top 10.

Progress has been made to make our green and pleasant town and borough into an even greener and better place for people to live, work, play and visit. But there is also no doubt that more people, businesses and community organisations need help, support and encouragement to walk the walk.

It’s great to see individuals, businesses and organisations increasingly raising the barrier when it comes to environmental responsibility and sustainability – this is definitely a case where action speaks louder than words.

There’s a regular flow of good news on the eco-front. Basingstoke College of Technology, already a green trailblazer when it comes to using solar panels, this month launched a new Green Energy Centre. The centre will help to equip students and local businesses with knowledge and skills in renewable technologies. That’s got to be a good thing.

There is much talk about Basingstoke getting its own university campus. Wouldn’t it make sense if going green was at the heart of what this new campus does with a firm focus on renewable skills and industries – jobs for the very near future?

By making a loud and proud pledge to become the green capital of Hampshire, a collective of like-minded organisations in Basingstoke and Deane could work together to make our town and borough stand out from the crowd – and one spin-off could be that we create an environment where more people might be inclined to put down roots rather than take their green skills and ambitions elsewhere.

Destination Basingstoke is proud to be partnering with Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, NatWest, and EM3 Growth Hub for a special event: ‘Unlocking Hampshire’s Green Potential’ at the Apollo Hotel, Basingstoke, on Wednesday, November 8 – you can read all about it at https://bit.ly/3Fl4DyY

Key goals of this free-to-attend event are to help local businesses to find out how they can green their business, help to save the planet, and save money – a win, win, win. We hope to see a good turnout – and for those who want to be more green but haven’t yet found the time, just remember: Every journey starts with a small step.