Defining Sustainability Report
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ENVIRONMENT, SUSTAINABILITY AND Agenda Item 5.1 INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE REPORT COVER SHEET 14 October 2004 DEFINING SUSTAINABILITY REPORT Division Corporate Performance Presenter Stuart Gillespie , Acting Manager Continuous Improvement Purpose To present the City of Melbourne’s definition of second generation Sustainability and Triple Bottom Line. To propose an upgrade to the sustainability assessment process which will assist sustainability reporting and decision making. Time Frame Work will commence on the upgrade of the Sustainability Assessment intranet tool in October-November 2004. Caretaker Policy The actions detailed in the recommendation relating to the support of sustainable development are neither major policy decisions nor ‘significant’ decisions for the purposes of the Caretaker Policy. Finance There are no direct financial implications arising from the recommendation contained in this report. Legal No direct legal issues arise from the recommendations contained in the report. Sustainability Sustainability is the capacity to continue operations indefinitely. It means that we must restore human and natural capital and add to the prosperity and well being of current and future generations. If sustainability is to be a genuine quality of our organisation we cannot take for granted that the way we do things now is the way things should always be done. The improved Sustainability Assessment for Committee Report (SACR) will cater to the diversity of responses to the sustainability test. However we cannot rely on the SACR alone. Sustainable development has to be supported by consistent messages from senior decision makers at regular intervals. The subject of this report is an aspect of the integrated plan to assist people deliver Council’s sustainability objectives. The program is not expensive, nor is it time consuming, but it does in some respects represent new values. Sustainable development is now more than positive public relations. For the city to demonstrate leadership it must provide evidence of decisions made consistently at policy and operational levels that reflect the principles of sustainability. Recommendation That Environment, Sustainability and Indigenous Affairs Committee: · endorse the following actions in support of sustainable development: Ø upgrade the sustainability assessment tool to; - removal of the impact, likelihood, magnitude formula on some of the questions; - provide drop down lists to new pages with specific relevance to specific disciplines; - removal of outdated references and programs; - provide access to supporting documentation available on the corporate document register, eg Greening Events, Green Buildings Planning Policy, Social Inclusion Framework etc; - release the second generation definition for sustainability with supporting statements on the sustainability page of the intranet; and - include a link to an on-line information kiosk via the HR on line induction tool for new staff; Ø remove theme headings under the sustainability section of the Committee report template; Ø introduce sustainability advisors across the corporate divisions; Ø provide access to sustainability support sessions for both staff and Councillors; Ø retain the term ‘triple bottom line’ in the corporate lexicon; Ø adopt the proposed definition for sustainability as being; “Sustainability is the capacity to continue operations indefinitely; Sustainability means that we must restore human and natural capital and add to the prosperity and well being of current and future generations; and If sustainability is to be a genuine quality of our organisation we cannot take for granted that the way we do things now is the way things should always be done”; and 2 Ø to the following supporting statement; “Sustainability is our collective task to maintain Melbourne’s intrinsic qualities for current and future generations. It involves our collective capacity to respond to local, national and international pressures on workers, visitors and residents, their social and economic systems and the ecological systems upon which we all depend. Melbourne is Australia's second largest city and a thriving commercial centre. It is outward looking and highly creative. Melbourne is a city passionate about art, culture and sport, with striking public buildings, a multicultural cafe culture and a relaxed, outdoor lifestyle. Set on the estuarine lowlands of the Yarra River, the city’s sustainability depends on our capacity to engage with our work and include others to ensure that the City continues to be one of the most livable and sustainable cities in the world.” · note that this decision is being made by the Committee under delegation from the Council and is subject to the referral notice process. Attachment: 1. Melbourne Principles for Sustainable Cities 3 ENVIRONMENT, SUSTAINABILITY AND Agenda Item 5.1 INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE REPORT 14 October 2004 DEFINING SUSTAINABILITY REPORT Division Corporate Performance Presenter Stuart Gillespie , Acting Manager Continuos Improvement Purpose 1. To present the City of Melbourne’s second generation definition for Sustainability and Triple Bottom Line. 2. To propose an improved process to internal systems which assist sustainability reporting and decision making. Background 3. At its 12 August 2004 meeting the Committee endorsed the following actions being undertaken in support of Triple Bottom Line (TBL) implementation: “continue to support sustainable development via the Triple Bottom Line approach to reporting and decision making, maintaining the undertaking of sustainability assessments as a mandatory requirement , but no longer requiring a physical attachment with committee reports; maintain the paragraph titled ‘Sustainability’ in the committee report template; enhance Sustainability Assessments for committee reports to better meet the requirements of users; and a further report be prepared for the October 2004 meeting presenting the second generation definitions of Triple Bottom Line and sustainability and a proposal for systems and processes for reporting.” Defining Sustainability 4. Redefining sustainability for City of Melbourne staff and Councillors is an important milestone in the development of Council’s commitment to sustainable development. The origins of sustainable development for local government go back to 1992 at the United Nations conference on Environment and Development in Rio De Janeiro, (the Earth Summit). The 172 nation states, attending, including Australia signed the Rio Declaration and Agenda 21 to implement the Bruntland Report. Chapter 28 of Agenda 21 relates directly to local authorities: “Because so many of the problems and solutions being addressed by Agenda 21 have their roots in local activities, the participation and cooperation of local authorities will be a determining factor in fulfilling its objectives. Local authorities construct, operate and maintain economic, social and environmental infrastructure, oversee planning 4 processes, establish local environmental policies and regulations, and assist in implementing national and sub national environmental policies. As the level of governance closest to the people, they play a vital role in educating, mobilizing and responding to the public to promote sustainable development.” 5. The full implementation of Agenda 21 was strongly reaffirmed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg, South Africa from 26 August to 4 September 2002 at which Lord Mayor John So presented the Melbourne Principles for Sustainable Cities to the local government session. This act in itself firmly asserted Melbourne’s international participation on sustainable development. 6. The Bruntland Report (published in 1987) defines sustainable development as: “Development that meets the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs and aspirations.” 7. The Australian Federal Government published its National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development in 1992 which describes sustainability as: “Ecologically sustainable development means using, conserving and enhancing the community’s resources so that ecological processes, on which life depends, are maintained, and the total quality of life, now and in the future, can be increased.” 8. The City of Melbourne’s current definition was created through the influence of John Elkington (who coined the term TBL in 1994) when he visited Melbourne in 1999. Council’s vision for sustainability published in City Plan 2010 is sometimes understood as the phrase which defines sustainability. In fact it is a statement which describes our aspiration for prosperity, equity and quality and calls this sustainability: “Our vision is for the City of Melbourne to be a thriving and sustainable city. Melbourne City Council will work with all who have a stake in the City of Melbourne’s future to realise this vision and will simultaneous pursue economic (prosperity), social (equity) and environmental (quality)”, and that “the path to achieve sustainability is long and will take many years to travel.” 9. The Victorian Auditor General in his recent Occasional Paper: Beyond the Triple Bottom Line: Measuring and Reporting Sustainability stated: “The concept of sustainability has broader applicability than the environmental arena. In fact like good governance, sustainability is fast becoming a cornerstone of public sector management”; and “Sustainability refers to the broader concept of balancing the environmental, social