GSA’s Mission: Sustainability, Open Government
Sustainability in Government Agencies
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY
It is easy for government, local governments especially, to get tunnel vision. They are so strapped providing fire, police, water treatment, building permits, and library services, that it can be hard for them to think about larger, longer-term issues. However, they must. No one else is in the position to do what is needed to protect our society in the long term.
That’s not to say that the other sectors don’t have an important role to play; they do. But public policy sets the playing field. Mark Roseland, in his book Towards Sustainable Communities, recommends the following principles to guide public policy:
• Sustainable development requires sustainable communities.
• Rules can and must be changed.
• Sustainability can mean less as well as more.
• Where the market works, use it.
• Where the market fails, don’t be afraid to mandate changes.
• Polluters should pay, but it is more important to prevent pollution.
• Social equity is not only desirable, it’s essential.
• Public participation is itself a sustainable development strategy.
The Melbourne Principles, created by the International Environmental Technology Centre of the UNEP, provide even more specific guidance about what government should do.
They are encapsulated in ten principles:
• Principle 1: Provide a long-term vision for cities based on sustainability; intergenerational, social, economic, and political equity; and their individuality.
• Principle 2: Achieve long-term economic and social security.
• Principle 3: Recognize the intrinsic value of biodiversity and natural ecosystems and protect and restore them.
• Principle 4: Enable communities to minimize their ecological footprint.
• Principle 5: Build on the characteristics of ecosystems in the development and nurturing of health and sustainable cities.
• Principle 6: Recognize and build on the distinctive characteristics of cities, including their human and cultural values, history, and natural systems.
• Principle 7: Empower people and foster participation.
• Principle 8: Expand and enable coordinated networks to work toward a common, sustainable future
• Principle 9: Promote sustainable product and consumption, through appropriate use of environmentally sound technology and effective demand management.
• Principle 10: Enable continual improvement, based on accountability, transparency and good governance.
