While filming Local Hero in the early 1980s, Lord Puttnam was invited to become president of the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE), a position that helped cement his life-long passion for the environment. This commitment to safeguarding the planet was further consolidated when he became founding chair of Forum for the Future and culminated in his chairmanship of the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Committee on the Draft Climate Change Bill. The eventual Bill for which the committee was responsible (the Climate Change Bill of 2007) contained the principal limits and 'terms of trade' still adhered to today. It also remains a benchmark to which many other nations aspire. Lord Puttnam’s continued support for environmental matters is underlined by his appointment as International Ambassador for WWF, and in his involvement with the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit.