About Sustainable Development

  • National Overview
  • West Midlands

    • National Overview

    Sustainable development is a framework for integrating economic, social and environmental policy. It requires the continuous integration of environmental, social and economic considerations into decision making.  

    A widely used and accepted international definition of sustainable development is ‘development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’ – Brundtland Commission. In global terms we are not even meeting the needs of the present let alone considering the needs of future generations - hence the need to live in a more sustainable way in environmental, economic and social terms.

    There is a growing realisation that the current model of economic and social development is unsustainable, and that sustainable development (as a process by which we move towards a more sustainable way of life) may offer an alternative approach to addressing the challenges the West Midlands Region face now and in the future. The UK Sustainable Development Strategy - Securing the Future –recognises that “sustainable development principles must lie at the core of the education system, such that schools, colleges and universities become showcases of sustainable development among the communities that they serve” and highlights the key contribution of sustainable development skills in preparing both the current and future workforce for the challenges of the 21st Century.

    If, as the UK sustainable development Strategy argues, “education has a crucial role to play in both raising awareness among [young] people of sustainable development and also giving them the skills they need to put sustainable development into practice in later life”, then there is a clear need for the principal educational planning and funding agencies within regions to build a shared understanding of how best to (in the short term) address the knowledge and skills ‘mix’ necessary for sustainable development practices to emerge in the workforce, whilst (over the medium to long term) seeking to address global influences/challenges through restructuring educational policy, programmes and investments to ensure a workforce able to work, compete and succeed in a low carbon, complex and interdependent global economy.

    Although businesses, the public sector and the community in general are waking up to the fact that they need to operate more sustainably, it is difficult for all parties to translate the theoretical need for sustainability into practical, meaningful action.  Behaving sustainably involves new ways of thinking and decision-making, as well as access to new technologies and learning new skills.  Essentially, sustainable development needs to be at the heart of everything that we as a society do and it needs to be mainstreamed into our everyday lives. 

    UK Sustainable Development Strategy

    The revised UK sustainable development strategy "Securing the Future" (published in March 2005) stresses the interdependency of the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability and emphasises the UK’s international responsibilities. The strategy contains:

    • a new integrated vision building on the 1999 strategy – with stronger international and societal dimensions
    • five principles – with a more explicit focus on environmental limits
    • four agreed priorities – sustainable consumption and production, climate change, natural resource protection and sustainable communities, and
    • a new indicator set, which is more outcome focused, with commitments to look at new indicators such as on wellbeing.

    West Midlands

    The Regional Sustainable Development Framework (RSDF) was launched in July 2006; a major component of this framework is for that the West Midlands region has committed itself to be ‘carbon neutral by 2030’. In addition to the priority areas outlined in the RSDF, there are a range of other targets, plans and priorities which will contribute to moving towards a sustainable region. The Framework is designed to support regional delivery of the UK Sustainable Development Strategy ‘Securing the Future’.

    The West Midlands lags behind other regions in the UK and Europe in terms of economic growth, affected by factors such as levels of productivity and investment, and there are pockets of deprivation across the region. The structure of the region’s economy still relies heavily on manufacturing industry. The need for local economic diversification is a particular issue for some of the more rural areas of the region, where faster-growing industrial sectors are under-represented and there is a reliance on more traditional patterns of industry, particularly agriculture and related land-based activity. The shifting economic profile of the region means that the skills required of the regional workforce are changing; but the West Midlands has a high proportion of the workforce with low-level or no formal qualifications.

    The Regional Energy Strategy sets targets for increasing energy efficiency to reduce overall energy use, increasing the proportion of energy that comes from renewable sources, and exploiting the business opportunities in both energy efficiency and renewable energy for the benefit of the regional economy. The West Midlands produces very little of the energy it uses, and the Regional Energy Strategy also sets out plans to ensure a secure supply of energy in the future.

    The aim of the Framework is to help people that develop, review and implement strategies, policies and plans in the West Midlands to ensure their work contributes towards a sustainable future for the Region. The Framework is intended to be useful at local and sub-regional level as well as at regional level, and sets out differing approaches depending on whether strategies, policies and plans are subject to statutory Sustainability Appraisal or not. The Framework is designed to support regional delivery of the UK Sustainable Development Strategy ‘Securing the Future’.

    The West Midlands has a positive track record of partnership working amongst its agencies and institutions. Much policy-making has embraced the principles of sustainable development and there are many examples of good sustainable practice. However, there are a number of obstacles to overcome in the process of achieving a more sustainable future for the West Midlands.

    Sustainable Development Objectives for the West Midlands

    The headings below represent the key regional objectives and priorities around society, the environment, resources and the economy.

    1. Sustainable consumption and production

    1.1 Use natural resources such as water and minerals efficiently, including by incorporating efficiency measures into new land use and developments, redevelopment and refurbishment
    1.2 Promote and support the development of new high value and low impact technologies, especially resource-efficient technologies and environmental technology initiatives
    1.3 Promote and ensure high standards of sustainable resource-efficient design, construction and maintenance of buildings, both new build and existing stock, where possible exceeding the requirements of the Building Regulations
    1.4 Increase use of public transport, cycling and walking as a proportion of total travel in order to reduce road traffic congestion, pollution and accidents, and improve health through increased physical activity
    1.5 Ensure development is primarily focused in the major urban areas, and makes efficient use of existing physical infrastructure and reduces need to travel, especially by private car
    1.6 Encourage and enable waste minimisation, reuse, recycling and recovery to divert resources away from the waste stream, including the use of recycled materials where possible
    1.7 Encourage local sourcing of food, goods and materials
    1.8 Reward efficient resource use and encourage development of alternative and renewable resources in order to reduce dependence on fossil fuels
    1.9 Encourage corporate social and environmental responsibility, with regional organisations and agencies leading by example
    1.10 Encourage and support a culture of enterprise and innovation, including social enterprise
    1.11 Achieve a strong, stable and sustainable economy and prosperity for the benefit of all the Region’s inhabitants


    2. Climate change and energy

    2.1 Reduce overall energy use through increased energy efficiency
    2.2 Increase the proportion of energy generated from renewable and low carbon sources, including by micro-generation, CHP, district heating, and in transportation
    2.3 Minimise the Region’s contribution to the causes of climate change by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases from transport, domestic, commercial and industrial sources
    2.4 Implement a managed response to the unavoidable impacts of climate change, ensuring that the design and planning process takes into account predicted changes in the Region’s climate
    2.5 Land use and development that takes into account predicted changes in the Region’s climate including flood risk

    3. Natural resource protection and environmental enhancement

    3.1 Value, protect, enhance and restore the Region’s environmental assets, including the natural, built and historic environment and landscape
    3.2 Value, maintain, restore and re-create regional biodiversity, where possible using approaches that improve the resilience of natural systems such as linking fragmented habitats
    3.3 Minimise air, water, soil, light and noise pollution levels and create good quality air, water and soils
    3.4 Encourage land use and development that optimises the use of previously developed land and buildings
    3.5 Encourage land use and development that creates and sustains well-designed, high quality built environments that incorporate green space, encourage biodiversity, and promote local distinctiveness and sense of place
    3.6 Encourage local stewardship of local environments, for example by promoting best practice in agricultural management or enabling communities to improve their neighbourhoods
    3.7 Promote environmental justice, recognising that deprived areas and disadvantaged communities are more likely to be affected by environmental damage and degradation

    4. Sustainable Communities

    4.1 Enable communities to influence the decisions that affect their neighbourhoods and quality of life
    4.2 Ensure easy and equitable access to services, facilities and opportunities, including jobs and learning, and that people are not disadvantaged with regard to ethnicity, gender, age, disability, faith, sexuality, background or location
    4.3 Address poverty and disadvantage, taking into account the particular difficulties of those facing multiple disadvantage
    4.4 Improve health and reduce health inequalities by encouraging and enabling healthy active lifestyles and protecting health, as well as providing equitable access to health services
    4.5 Provide decent and affordable housing for all, of the right quantity, type, tenure and affordability to meet local needs, in clean, safe and pleasant local environments
    4.6 Reduce crime, fear of crime and antisocial behaviour
    4.7 Improve opportunities to participate in the diverse cultural, sport and recreational opportunities the West Midlands can offer locally and in the wider region
    4.8 Encourage physical development with a better balance of jobs, housing, social and cultural services and amenities within each part of the Region in order to meet local needs locally and encourage stable and sustainable communities
    4.9 Ensure that the Region’s workforce is equipped with the skills to access high quality employment opportunities suited to the changing needs of the Regional economy, whilst recognising the value and contribution of unpaid work
    4.10 Promote investment in future prosperity, including ongoing investment and engagement in learning and skills development

    Sustainable Development in the West Midlands

    There are a number of organisations within the region who have an impact on the development and delivery of the regional sustainable development strategy.

    Regional Organisations:

    Sustainability West Midlands (SWM)

    SWM has been established by regional partners as the independent regional champion for Sustainable Development and provides advice to regional policy partnerships and the region as a whole on sustainability issues. For example it has an independent relationship with the Regional Assembly acting as a critical friend on Assembly activities and documents. It also works with business and the voluntary and community sector to deliver more sustainable outcomes and to provide links with the public sector.
    SWM ’s key aims are to:

    • Review the sustainability of the region at present and identify projects and policies to improve this;
    • Identify important unsustainable trends and recommend action to reverse them;
    • Deepen understanding about sustainable development, increase awareness of the issues raised and build agreement;
    • Encourage and stimulate good practice.

    SWM produced the Regional Sustainable Development Framework on behalf of the Regional Assembly in partnership with AWM and GOWM; this was originally launched in January 2005 and updated in June 2006. 
    Other aspects of their work include the SWM Climate Change Partnership, which focuses on introducing Climate Change Adaptation into key Regional projects to distinguish it from Climate Change Mitigation on which SWM works in partnership with Energy West Midlands (see notes below). As part of that partnership and working with the Regional Housing Partnership with funding from the Energy Savings Trust, SWM launched the Sustainable Housing Action Programme which will introduce Energy Efficiency Best Practice into new and refurbished housing projects.

    Sustainability West Midlands business plan includes a number of key objectives for the region to facilitate the implementation of the five Guiding Principles outlined in the National Strategy for Sustainable Development, “Securing the Future”;

    • the Regional Sustainable Development Framework includes a commitment to increase the level of a general understanding of Sustainable Development within the region,
    • to establish working partnerships with other regional bodies and sustainability organisations to support the delivery of the SWM Business Plan,
    • in partnership with the West Midlands Regional Assembly to continually develop the Regional Sustainable Development Framework (RSDF) to enable it to become the overarching guidance for sustainability in the West Midlands.,
    • to establish members project groups to initiate, manage and contribute to projects which embody sustainability principles and to use this activity to support the development of the RSDF and of practical tools and techniques for all regional sectors,
    • to promote and raise awareness of sustainable development and of Sustainability West Midlands, and
    • to act as a network for the dissemination of sustainability best practice between regional organisations.