Plymouth City Council has launched the Resurgam Charter - a commitment from Plymouth’s businesses to create a fairer and greener city as it recovers from the impacts of the pandemic.
With a growing population of 263,000 people in the city, and a pre-Covid economic output of £5.2billion, Plymouth is the most significant urban area on the South West peninsula.
As part of the council’s economic recovery plan the city has set a target to reduce carbon emissions by 50% and maximise local spending to create a lasting legacy for Plymouth and its community.
The Resurgam Charter, which is free for businesses to sign up to, focuses on five key challenge areas to ask businesses to commit to: spend locally, employ locally, benefit employees, benefit the community, and benefit the environment.
More than 150 businesses attended a virtual launch event for the charter on March 23, hosted by Richard Stevens, chair of Plymouth Growth Board.
Businesses which sign up to the charter will receive guidance and information on how they can address each of the five charter challenges within their organisations in areas such as paying living wage, reducing carbon footprint and increasing local spend.
Councillor Tudor Evans, leader of Plymouth City Council, said: “Our Resurgam plan for recovery focuses on protecting jobs and addressing both the immediate threat to lives and livelihoods and resetting the local economy to address structural inequalities in our city.
“This is an important step within our recovery plan, asking businesses to support our aim in making Plymouth a fairer and greener city, giving clear challenges for employers and employees to follow.
“This charter provides easy to follow steps for businesses to commit to spending locally, employing locally and providing a better community and environment for the people of Plymouth.”
The charter has been developed by the Inclusive Growth Group, a flagship of the Plymouth Growth Board, comprising of representatives from Plymouth Social Enterprise Network, Real Ideas Organisation, CETEC, University of Plymouth, Devon and Plymouth Chamber of Commerce, Plymouth City Council and Plymouth Octopus Project.
The challenges within the charter have been created following collaboration with the wider business community to enable as many organisations as possible to see how they can commit.
Mr Stevens said: “It’s fitting to have launched this charter one year since the lockdown began. As businesses look to the future, and plan for post-Covid recovery, signing up to this scheme shows a positive commitment to being a part of Plymouth’s aim to create a fairer and greener city, that all of us should be a part of.
“I’m delighted to have been involved in the launch to share how easy it is for Plymouth businesses to sign up and be a part of this scheme and hope to see many people joining us in marking this important commitment.”
The Resurgam Charter is part of Resurgam: Plymouth’s Covid-19 Recovery plan, which addresses both the immediate threat to lives and livelihoods presented by the pandemic, and a plan to reset the local economy to address structural inequalities in our city and place a fairer and greener future at the heart of our recovery. Find out more about the Resurgam Charter here.
