We are the UK Government’s independent adviser on sustainable development. Through advocacy, advice and
appraisal, we help put sustainable development at the heart of Government policy
Our Aims
Our aims are to:
- Build the organisational capability – the attitudes, knowledge, skills and resources – of Government to put sustainable development into practice through their policies and work programmes
- Help the Government to achieve breakthroughs in the areas of policy which will have the greatest impact upon progress towards sustainability
- In some administrations, hold Government to account on their progress in delivering sustainable development.
What we do
We work towards achieving our aims in a number of ways, including:
- Providing informed, evidence-based advice to government on how sustainable development can improve their work
- Developing the attitudes, skills and knowledge in government to make the best decisions for today and the future
- Holding government to account on progress towards sustainability.
What we don’t do
- Our Watchdog role is restricted to UK Government departments and agencies. As such, we do not undertake scrutiny of the wider public sector, private businesses, or individuals
- We do not make rules (or guidance). We provide advice and help the Government to deliver on sustainable development, but we do not implement policies on its behalf
- While we do aim to raise awareness of sustainable development, our remit doesn’t include helping individuals live more sustainably. There are a number of other sources of information, such as the Energy Savings Trust or Direct Gov's Greener Living pages, which are better able to carry out this role.