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Local decision-making and sustainable development

Date:11/11/2008
Classification:Local Government
Document type:SDC Reports & Papers
Download:SDC_Localgov_SD_report.pdf - 328 KB
Summary:imageBy taking a sustainable development approach, local authorities and their partners can play a leading role in delivering integrated environmental, social and economic improvements at the local level.

The SDC's Capability for Local Sustainability project brought together Government Departments, national stakeholders, regional bodies, local authorities and LSPs to explore ways of improving the capability of local government to deliver sustainable development. The project focused in particular on the role of LSPs, SCSs and LAAs in achieving sustainability.

The resultant report, Local decision-making and sustainable development, set out our findings in this area, highlighting:

• the key responsibilities of local authorities and LSP partner in relation to sustainable development
• the benefits of taking a sustainable development approach
• the ‘key ingredients’ for delivering sustainable development at the local level
• new developments that the project helped create
• what further support is still required from government and other stakeholders

In addition to the report, the SDC also published a series of case studies demonstrating how some local authorities and their partners are tackling the challenge of putting sustainable development at the heart of local decision-making processes. The case studies show how a sustainable development approach can strengthen local policy-making, highlighting ways in which other local authorities and partnerships might follow suit.

The case studies are below:

»Cornwall - Integrating sustainability into strategy development

»Birmingham - Taking a lead on climate change and sustainable procurement

»Cumbria - Building sustainability appraisal into local priority-setting

»Sutton Partnership - Creating a genuinely sustainable local vision

»Hounslow - Evaluating sustainability

»Islington - Putting climate change at the heart of the LSP

»Oldham - Overcoming historic obstacles to develop leadership on sustainability

»Leicester - Using climate change to establishing high-level commitment to sustainable development

»Dudley - Sustainability as a cross cutting theme for the next generation

»North Somerset Partnership - Towards integrating sustainable development

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