[Nick] So next up, we have our Chief Executive, Caroline Simpson, who I'm just checking is online. Yes, there she is. It's the first time we're doing this hybrid type setups to do bear with us if we do have any technical issues. But I can see Caroline there. So I'd like to hand over to Caroline for a few words. Thank you. [Caroline] Thank you so much, Nick. And good afternoon, everybody. It's really good to be joining you albeit virtually this afternoon. And I do hope the kit is working. So I'm really delighted to be here as Mark has said so far, this is a really crucial event in our annual calendar now in Stockport to come together and think about this incredibly important agenda. And as you know, the council declared a climate emergency back in 2019. And I think this section this afternoon about what is the council doing is really important because we know that we are making good progress in some areas, but we can always do more. And we do need to accelerate action delivery of ourselves and galvanise that accelerated delivery of change across the whole borough as we move towards 2030. So just to give a little bit more flavour about the role of the council in this important area, as the leader of the council has just said, we have a really important job as a local authority to think about and plan for the long term future. So one of the things that we are doing is putting climate change at the heart of our thinking as we develop new policy, new plans, new strategy, bringing new investments into Stockport. So whether it's designing where new homes should be located, or the design of those new homes or where we want to put new investment in transport has been said, you know, really thinking about moving away, that switch from the car, that investment in public transport and how we think about the design and build of our new infrastructure. Our new homes, our new schools, our new parks and thinking about the way in which we will live our lives in Stockport over the next 5, 10, 15, 20 years and beyond, making sure that we have the climate agenda at the heart of how we plan, how we draw investment in and you've just heard of, you know, just a few examples of particularly driving that investment in public transport to make sure that we are addressing the climate agenda. And the other way that is essential as a council that we deliver for all of you as partners and residents and stakeholders is that we ourselves are as good as we could be in terms of operationally net zero. And we've set ourselves a target as an organisation with the things that we deliver directly to be net zero by 2030. And so you'll find out in this session, Nick will take us through in a lot more detail and you've already heard some examples. But just to give you a flavour of how are we intending to do that, and you can imagine the challenge, can't you? With this range of services that this local council delivers, we collect everybody's bins every week, we have all sorts of services being delivered to people's homes directly, lots of staff out and about across the borough, day in, day out, you know, having to use transport to get around to see people. We have the responsibility for swimming pools. So we have a number of leisure facilities that we need to keep those pools at a certain temperature. So these are some of the challenges that we have as a council in thinking about that net zero. But what is really important is we do take the steps and we do start to tackle some of those big challenges. And over £5.6 million has already been spent in our own corporate estate. So our own buildings are office buildings across the road. From where you are, you'll see all the the workmen and the work activity around Stopford House. We've replaced all the windows were put in a new energy system into Stopford House to make sure that our corporate estate, our property, our buildings are as efficient as they can be. Another really good example is where you are now. Stockport Homes have been really ambitious and a bit of a vanguard for climate agenda for many years and have been retrofitting the social housing stock in the borough again for many years, to the point where 40% of the homes that are run by Stockport Homes and owned by the council are running off some sort of renewable energy, and 90% have EPC ratings of C or above. We've still got more to do obviously. Some of the investment in street lighting for example, we've replaced every bulb virtually now across Stockport with new LED bulbs, and that has reduced our energy consumption by 40%. There's obvious benefits on so many levels of that. So tree planting again has been a big priority. And as the Leader has just said, you know, thousands and thousands of trees have been planted and continue to be planted across the borough. And we've already met our 10 year target and are starting to extend and stretch that now and thinking about the importance of wildflower meadows and biodiversity. and, you know, really thinking about protecting the green space and how we use to manage that green space from a climate perspective is central to how we operate. But it's also important that we also set the standards for new development in the borough. So some examples of again has been mentioned the interchange for our new zero emission fleet of buses is underway. If you walk through the town centre, you'll see the cranes on the skyline. That project will also deliver a two acre park in the middle of the town centre. Much needed public space with greenery in there, right next to the Mersey, and it will start to connect and build that greater biodiversity. But we're also setting the scene for industrial development, which is a really tough area in terms of sustainable energy. So these are the big industrial units that you see where businesses do valuable work in our economy and create jobs, but not always as climate and sustainable efficiency as we can. So the council is building a new eco park of industrial units in Cheadle, using a government grant of over £4 million to set the bar in terms of the highest standards of industrial development, from a climate and green credentials perspective. So that will start to come through planning this year. We've got the funding in place, and what that will do is will evidence to the market that actually, there is great demand for this kind of product and I think showing that this can be done and showing what good and excellent really looks like is a core part of our job as the local council. We've mentioned and the Leader has mentioned carbon literacy training and making sure that decision makers and all our colleagues and all the politicians in the council are very familiar and carbon literate and have that training and I myself have had it and we are rolling it out now through at the organisation. Climate change as you have heard and you know, I think it's so important to keep saying, is one of the most important factors governing the way councils will operate both now and in the future, and it is essential that we are prepared. We are delivering. We are showing momentum and progress and leadership in this important agenda, and part of our role is to listen. Part of our role is to get feedback. Part of our role is to listen to criticism and say where we could do more and how we could do better, and we are certainly very open to that as well this afternoon, and I really look forward to hearing the rest of the discussion. Thank you very much.