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
Publications
Governing for the Future - The opportunities for mainstreaming sustainable development
| Date: | 31/03/2011 |
|---|---|
| Classification: | Watchdog, Governance |
| Document type: | SDC Reports & Papers |
| Download: |  SDC_SD_Guide_2011_2.pdf - 0 KB |
| Summary: |  Following the statement by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 22 July 2010 stating that Government wants "to mainstream sustainability, strengthen the Government's performance in this area and put processes in place to join-up activity across Government much more effectively", the SDC’s funding has been withdrawn by the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) effective from 31 March 2011.This Guide was a response to that announcement to help Governments – current and future – will the challenge of mainstreaming sustainable development. It explains the benefits of adopting a sustainable development approach, outlines the barriers and offers examples in practice. This piece of work is a summary of the major lessons learned by the Commission – its Commissioners and staff - after years of working with Ministers and officials across government to better understand some of the ‘How’ and ‘What’. Advice on the preparation of the Guide was provided by the Environmental Audit Committee, the University of East Anglia, the University of Dundee and Defra. Advice on the preparation of the Guide was provided by the Environmental Audit Committee, the University of East Anglia, the University of Dundee and Defra. This project was undertaken in the final 6 months of the SDC. It was a cross-SDC effort engaging members of Secretariat as well as Commissioners. It was lead by the Government Team. Sustainability works. But given the scale and nature of the gap between where we are and where we need to be, the need for a better definition of a sustainable future, and a step change in progress towards it, is both urgent and vital. We can no longer simply think of existing from generation to generation, but must ensure that fairness and equality is passed through generations and that the world we leave is as good as, if not better than, the one we found. In other words, we must govern for the future. While this Guide deals primarily with the experiences of parts of Government and the public sector, we hope that a broader audience will be able to learn from it as well, and that the case studies and examples are applicable to other sectors including business and civil society. It seeks to provide advice for both leaders and practitioners, whether their organisations are already some way along the sustainability journey or just starting out. This Guide provides information and advice for governments now and in the future who wish to reflect on progress and find more systemic ways of responding to the biggest challenges of the day. While successive UK Governments have made progress towards a more sustainable future, there is still much to do. |