in Wales what happens next? One Voice Wales 2012 Jane Davidson, - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

‘Sustainable Development in Wales – what happens next?

One Voice Wales 2012

Jane Davidson, Director of INSPIRE (Institute of Sustainable Practice, Innovation and Resource Effectiveness)

The systems approach

Key Sustainability Drivers In Wales’

• a constitutional commitment to sustainable development
• Climate Change Commission with targets of 3% greenhouse

gas emission reductions p.a

• Education for Sustainable Development and Global

Citizenship (ESDGC) statutory part of Welsh curriculum

• Wales for Africa programme

SD: the definition

• The Brundtland definition of 'Sustainable Development' from

'Our Common Futures' 1987 World Commission on the Environment and Development

• "..development that meets the needs of the present without

compromising the ability of future generations to meet their

• wn needs”
• the concept of needs, in particular the essential needs of the

world's poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and

• the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and

social organization on the environment's ability to meet present and future needs."

SD: the Welsh indicators:

'One Wales, One Planet' is the Government's current sustainable development scheme (2009)

• It has 5 high level indicators:
• Economic output: GVA and GVA per head
• Social: % population in low income households,
• Environmental: biodiversity conservation
• Ecological footprint:(what Wales consumes) and
• Well being: physical and mental health

SD: the political commitment:

" a sustainable Wales to become a ‘one planet’ nation by putting sustainable development at the heart of government; creating a resilient and sustainable economy that lives within its environmental limits and only using our fair share of the earth’s resources to sustain our lifestyles."

SD: legislative commitment

• Legislate to make sustainable development

the central organising principle of the Welsh Government and public bodies in Wales.

• Create an independent sustainable

development body for Wales.

• First consultation just finished
• White Paper consultation Autumn 2012

SD: International context

• Rio +20 conference:
• Institutional framework for sustainable

development

• Millennium Development Goals to become

Sustainable Development Goals in 2015

• Green economy in context of SD and poverty

eradication;

Outcome of SD: economic, social & environmental wellbeing

Why a new duty and why now?

• We need to think and deliver differently if we are to meet

existing and future challenges;

• Design and build organisations, infrastructure and public

services which will serve us for the long term;

• Identify and deal with the root causes of issues;
• Deliver in ways which are thought through, joined up and offer

what people need;

• Integrate and balance the need for a strong economy, a strong

Welsh culture and society, and a robust environment;

The proposed SD duty (1)

• SD behaviours: “the way we would expect
• rganisations delivering public services to do

business if everything they did were collectively influenced by sustainable development thinking”

• Long-term thinking;
• Integration;
• Working across organisational boundaries;
• Focussing on prevention;
• Engagement and involvement.

The proposed SD duty (2)

• SD objectives: “the objectives at the heart of SD that must

inform higher level decisions”

• the wellbeing of people and communities should be enhanced;
• social justice and equality for all should be promoted;
• the vibrancy of the economy should be promoted;
• environmental limits should be respected;
• healthy, functioning ecosystems should be promoted;
• cultural legacy should be strengthened;
• healthy living should be enabled;
• the interests of future generations’ should be recognised;
• people should be involved in the decisions that affect their lives.

Where should the duty “bite”?

• Higher level decisions: “decisions that are

adopted by an organisation with the intent that they should influence the way an

• rganisation delivers services, allocates

resources, procures services, provides financial assistance and manages its estate”.

• Longer term strategies (more than one year)
• Annual plans
• General or subject-specific policies

How should the duty “bite”?

• Higher level decisions should be required to

have more than regard to sustainable development principles.

• SD behaviours: higher level decisions to be

reached in a way that is consistent with SD behaviours

• SD objectives: higher level decisions to be

consistent with SD objectives

How should compliance be reported?

• Organisations should be transparent

and accountable in the way that they have responded to the duty;

• Requiring organisations to report within

their existing annual reporting requirements on how higher level decisions comply with the SD duty.

Which bodies should be covered?

Indicative list: organisations which make a very clear contribution to people’s economic, social and environmental wellbeing:

• Welsh Government;
• Local Unitary Authorities in

Wales;

• National Health Service Trusts

and Local Health Boards;

• Higher and Further Education
• rganisations in Wales;
• New single body
• National Park Authorities in

Wales;

• Higher Education Funding

Council for Wales;

• Fire and Rescue Authorities in

Wales;

• Public Health Wales;
• Arts Council of Wales;
• Sports Wales;
• Amgueddfa Cymru National

Museum Wales;

• National Library of Wales;
• Town and Community Councils.

New SD body

• Ombudsman type role: existing organisations

already act as advocates for a specific cause or investigate individual grievances against public sector

• rganisations;
• Scrutiny role: Auditor General for Wales having a

formal role in undertaking SD examinations in public sector;

• Expert advice and guidance role: new SD body.

5 key themes from ESDGC Action Plan

• Links between society, economy, environment and

between our lives and those of people throughout the world;

• Needs and rights of both present and future generations;
• Relationship between power, resources & human rights;
• Local and global implications of everything we do; and
• The actions that individuals and organisations can take

in responding to local and global issues.

The systems approach

INSPIRE will

• support the development of the area as a low carbon

region,

• develop specific sustainability practice in a rural setting
• develop cross-society exemplars of sustainability in

practice

• influence the practice of the current and new institution
• support development of the ESDGC agenda in Wales
• develop partnerships with other organisations/institutions

with a similar agenda

Evidence base

A report Leadership Skills for a

Sustainable Economy commissioned by Business in the Community (BITC 2010) shows that over 90% of businesses already recognise these skills are a critical business issue, and 80% think there is an urgent need to put more programmes in place:

Graduate attributes (1)

• able to appreciate the importance of environmental,

social and political contexts to their studies;

• able to solve or ameliorate real life problems through

employing holistic as well as reductionist approaches, as appropriate to the issue;

• able to think creatively, holistically, and systemically

and make critical judgements on issues;

• able to develop a high level of self-reflection at a

personal and professional level;

Graduate attributes (2)

• able to understand, critically evaluate and adopt

thoughtfully sustainability values;

• able to apply theory to practice and vice versa;
• able to work collaboratively and work in

interdisciplinary teams;

• able to initiate and manage change that supports

sustainable development in personal, institutional and social contexts develop and apply a broad and balanced knowledge of sustainable development

One Voice Wales already working with

• Cynnal Cymru on ‘Strong Roots’
• Aberystwyth University on research

study re economic development and community energy

• Welsh Gov’t SSL grant focused on

research to identify councils’ adaptation role and initiating behaviour change

SD as competitive advantage

• rising public interest and global concern over

sustainability-related issues;

• Government and funding council mandate and

expectations including carbon management;

• links to employability and views of employers;
• profession’s requirements; ;
• links made between corporate social responsibility

and sustainability;

• financial savings made by better environmental

practices;

One Voice Wales 2012

• If you always do what you've always

done, you'll always get what you've always had” Mark Twain

• “It is not the strongest of the species

that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change” Charles Darwin