Last year, a campaign called 10:10 appeared as if from nowhere, asking people to reduce their carbon emissions by 10% by the end of 2010. Halfway through the year some 75,000 individuals, businesses, schools and other organisations had signed up, and very soon the simple idea went global.

The very nature of the idea seemed to mean it had a limited shelf life. However, a sizeable chunk into 2011, and 10:10 is still going strong.

Tom Chute is the project manager of the Brighton and Hove campaign. He says: “We were saying ‘cutting carbon emissions 10% in 2010’. Now that’s changed to ‘cutting carbon emissions 10% at a time’. Hopefully people aren’t stopping now, they’re carrying on and cutting more. By 2050 we have to get to 80% cuts so we’re making it into nice manageable chunks that anyone can do.”

So what does project managing a local arm of 10:10 actually mean? Brighton and Hove was the first 10:10 city to set up a committee dedicated to overseeing the campaign, so for Tom it was very much a case of creating the job as he went along.

Tom, along with the original steering committee, appointed a number of “pioneers” who would champion certain areas of sustainability. Each pioneer is assigned to a topical strand such as health, business, arts and culture, communities, education, third sector or large organisations. Tom then coordinates all the different activities that arise around these strands, arranges for the pioneers to meet up and comes up with ways they can spread the message with their peer groups.

Since the formation of Brighton and Hove 10:10, Paris, Washington and Amsterdam have all followed suit, using our city as a model.

So what has been the local group’s greatest success? Tom says: “It’s definitely in the health strand. Making people realise there is a link between public health and reducing energy use. Everything from walking or cycling to work, to growing your own veg and eating more healthy food as well as reducing food miles.”

The health group was set up in March 2010, and already has been held up nationally by the British Medical Journal as a beacon of how health professionals should be making those links.

He adds: “Having the 10:10 logo on the side of Brighton and Hove Buses has been invaluable. So many people have got involved because they’ve seen them.”

This year, Tom says they are moving from being an engagement and awareness campaign to a much more hands-on practical delivery organisation, focusing on a smaller number of big impact projects. One such project will be to work with landlords and the private rental sector to improve the energy efficiency of the housing stock. They will also be pushing the arts and culture strand as a way of getting more people involved, and perhaps most importantly, working on a currently secret new project that is set to explode onto the city very soon.

“It’s going to get people working together with their neighbours,” he says. “We’re looking at a much more sustainable solution where you’re not just reducing energy but getting involved with the wider debate about climate change. It’s about getting the whole community taking practical steps. It’s going to be brilliant.”

* Visit www.brightonandhove 1010.org for more information.