Climate change is recognised as being one of the most important issues to be addressed over the next decade. Scientific opinion is almost universally agreed that we must cut man made emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to prevent irreversible damage to the ecosystem of the earth. The cuts required are big, and will need every person and organisation to make their contribution. Be Birmingham and BVSC (the Birmingham Voluntary Sector Council) acknowledge this and their actions through WeSave, the groundbreaking support package for the Voluntary Sector, demonstrate this.

Voluntary Sector Organisations are leaders on acting for the greater good and within these organisations there is a willingness to act to minimise the effects of climate change and to lead in their communities in a better use of energy and in the use of renewable technologies. Material exists but those in Voluntary Sector Organisations often don't know the best way to interpret all the various options for their particular building(s) and with respect to their organisation. Energy audits provided by consultants are an effective way to recommend to the organisation what they should do, although often these recommendations are not taken up and stay as just that, recommendations.

Wesave.org.uk supplies the Voluntary Sector with the tools to perform their own energy audit through the wesave.org.uk interactive website, accompanied by its help screens and guide book. This process gives the organisation ownership of its carbon descent, increasing the involvement of those within the organisation and resulting in large impacts on the organisation's or group's carbon descent. Wesave.org.uk then continues to interact with the organisation, showing them how their energy consumption decreases over time and assisting them with any future changes. In addition the tool incorporates various behavioural change elements which can then be disseminated to the members of the organisation and those who visit their premises.

This resource is intended to enable a person who is not an energy expert to work through a step by step process to build up an action plan to be used by their organisation. The work can be carried out in manageable chunks, and the workbook and online tool are linked together so that you can keep track of what stage you have reached.

WeSave aims to be a bit different; to be inspiring, to be empowering. But more importantly it seeks to help all that use it to get from aspiration to planning practical action. There is certainly no shortage of information on sustainable energy and climate change, although there does seem to be a sizeable amount of carbon illiteracy. As the English Romantic painter John Constable said in the year before his death "We see nothing truly till we understand it." WeSave helps you and those around you truly see the challenge and the opportunity of sustainable energy and climate change.

One way or another, this generation - that's you and me - have this awesome responsibility of delivering low carbon lifestyles in our communities. So log on to the website (www.wesave.org.uk) , read the workbook and spend an important hour or so as a carbon accountant and low carbon building planner & engineer. This isn't a guidebook to read, it is a workbook to do and an interactive tool to use - so get reading, entering, and planning - the future is in your hands. The workbook is also availabe to donwload from our resources section on the left.