Guiding principles of sustainable development
The Coalition Government is committed to sustainable development. This means making the necessary decisions now to realise their vision of stimulating economic growth and tackling the deficit, maximising wellbeing and protecting the environment, without negatively impacting on the ability of future generations to do the same.
The government wants to mainstream sustainable development so that it is central to the way policy is made, how buildings are run and how goods and services are purchased. This echoes the approach taken by leading businesses, which recognise that sustainability is a core strategic issue, and not just a ‘nice to have’.
Ministers have agreed an approach for mainstreaming sustainable development which, in broad terms, consists of:
- providing ministerial leadership and oversight
- leading by example
- embedding sustainable development into policy
- transparent and independent scrutiny
In 2005, the UK Government, Scottish Executive, Welsh Assembly Government and the Northern Ireland Administration agreed upon a set of shared UK principles that provide a basis for sustainable development policy in the UK. These are:
- living within environmental limits
- securing a strong, healthy and just society
- achieving a sustainable economy
- using sound science responsibly
- promoting good governance
UK priorities
The UK has four priority areas for immediate action, shared across the UK. These are:
- sustainable consumption and production
- climate change and energy
- natural resource protection and environmental enhancement
- sustainable communities
The government also recognises that changing behaviour is a cross-cutting theme closely linked to all of these priorities.
The principles and approaches are covered in more detail in Securing the Future - the UK Government's sustainable development strategy and the UK strategic framework.
Thinking globally
The 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro brought together world leaders to discuss how best to tackle issues such as global warming, deforestation, pollution, the hole in the ozone layer, poverty, social inequality and fair trade. The Earth Summit considered the integration of environment and development for the first time, and the connections between actions in one country and consequences in another, a connection termed as sustainability.
One of the most significant results of the Earth Summit was Agenda 21, a global action plan for the 21st century and beyond which was agreed by over 170 Nations including the UK. The document covered social, ethical and economic issues as well as environmental ones, and looks at ways in which quality - and equality - of life can be safeguarded and improved around the world, both for this generation and those to come.
A further conference, known as the World Summit on Sustainable Development, was held in Cape Town, South Africa in 2002 to review progress ten years on, where many of the outcomes focussed on African and other developing nations.
How we are linking this to our work
Many of the recommendations can only be tackled at community level, and the document highlighted the importance of local councils creating strategies and policies, and to work in partnership. Please follow the links to Shropshire’s Sustainability Policy and the Community Strategy.
For more information, follow the link on this page.