The Green Party is the unique UK political party to place environmental sustainability at the heart of our policies. Whilst other parties tag "the environment" as an afterthought onto other policies, the Green Party has a radically different approach: we believe that environmental sustainability is the key to job creation, economic progress, the economy and transport as well as the more traditional areas of climate change, energy and farming.

In Brussels - where 80% of environmental legislation is made - our MEPs have been at the forefront of the fight for real progress. Greens in the European Parliament have been fighting against GM, toxic chemicals, climate change and pollution. Greens came joint first in a study of MEPs' environmental voting records – and it must be said that a broader study incorporating all issues of party policy, not merely voting records on a selection of issues in one legislative body, would have shown the Green Party to be way ahead of the other parties.

1) Corporate accountability: The requirement that all companies with an annual turnover of 50 million euros or more should be required to report on their global social and environmental performance.

Huge multinational companies control most of the world's resources and massively impact on the environment, yet they are almost entirely unaccountable to the public or to the law.

Greens believe that voluntary codes of practice are woefully inadequate to prevent big business from placing profiteering before environmental and social objectives.

• Green MEPs have been fighting in the European Parliament to make global social and environmental performance reports for big companies mandatory.

• Greens have been working with major environmental and social NGOs, to press Trade and Industry minister Patricia Hewitt into making "Corporate Social Responsibility" meaningful and regulated.

2) Chemicals: Consumers' right to know, on request, what chemicals are in products, and clear labelling when chemicals of very high concern are present.

The UK and EU chemical safety policy has undoubtedly been shaped by the chemical industry lobby. The worrying new EU chemicals framework - REACH - may leave industry with a flexible definition of "adequate control" which would allow them to continue releasing dangerous substances into the environment.

• Greens have consistently lobbied the European Parliament for better public access to environmental and health information on chemicals, and use of safer alternatives.

• Green MEP Caroline Lucas has just authored a report demanding tougher legislation on Endocrine Disrupter chemicals.

3) Trade: Prevention of the expansion of the World Trade Organisation agenda into new areas and the transfer of negotiations on the relationship between trade rules and multilateral environmental agreements from the WTO to the United Nations.

Global trade institutions such as the WTO and the EU drive environmental destruction and global poverty through their unfair "free market" agenda.

Greens have been fighting in the European Parliament to replace the existing institutions with international agreements on sustainable trade and environmental protection.

• As a member of the European Parliament's trade committee and official EU delegate to WTO talks, Green MEP Caroline Lucas has been instrumental in calling for fair trade and opposing EU inclusion of the "Singapore Issues" at the collapsed Cancun WTO ministerial talks.
• Both MEPs have vociferously opposed the General Agreement on Trade in Services, which would extend WTO rules to essential services

4) GM: Legislation to ensure that non-GM food, feed and seed crops and imports can be marketed without detectable GM presence and that biotechnology companies are strictly liable for any harm arising from their GM products.

5) Climate change: The EU continuing to set itself challenging emissions targets in line with meeting an 80-90 per cent reduction in 1990 emission levels by 2050; and the introduction of tough policies and measures to meet these targets.

• Green MEP Jean Lambert has challenged local incinerators, developments and roadbuilding schemes at EU level.
• Green MEPs have continually challenged the UK government's commitment to the aviation industry.
• Greens are pushing for a carbon-neutral economy, and a bold energy strategy across all EU countries.

The Green Party has comprehensive policies for tackling climate change at all levels of government, including making it easier for individuals to reduce their emissions. For example, as part of our 2004 local elections campaign we have just launched a 40-point Smart Energy strategy for local authorities, which we believe would facilitate a 30% reduction in CO2 by 2020, and a local transport strategy which could cut road traffic by 20% within 10 years.

The Green Party recently wrote and introduced to the UK Parliament an Air Traffic Emissions Reduction Bill which would cut emissions from aviation by 50% by 2050. Green peer Lord Beaumont has successfully steered this Bill through the House of Lords, and we shall continue to campaign for the Bill to be taken up in the Commons. Meanwhile the Greens on the London Assembly, and in relevant local authorities, have advanced the case for a range of aviation taxes to circumvent the current problem of an international ban on aviation fuel tax – and our policy for the Euro-elections includes a demand for an EU-wide tax on aviation fuel.

The Green Party has a proud record of advancing positive policies for reducing CO2 emissions by the amount necessary to play our full part in stopping climate change. From our plans to scrap the national roadbuilding programme, through our commitment to a Zero Waste UK by 2020, to our policies for a massive expansion of renewable energy production and energy conservation, we are the only political grouping with both the understanding of the issue and the political will to take responsibility for implementing the necessary policies.