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Boxing clever on cuts
The gloves are finally off in the public sector cuts contest.
In the red corner, Gordon Brown led with ‘smarter government’, promising to make £12 billion in cuts, including merging or abolishing more than 120 ‘arm's length’ bodies.
In the blue corner, David Cameron parried with the announcement that Sir Peter Gershon, who headed the Government's last major Whitehall efficiency review, had been recruited to work on his plans.
Both sides want to be seen as the champion of public sector efficiency, the Tories to show that they can do more with less and that cuts wont mean worse services, and Labour to contrast their supposedly ‘smarter cuts’ with the Tories’ ‘hatchet approach’ and avoid entering the election battle looking like profligate spenders.
I think it is a good thing that this contest, which needs to be had, is coming out into the open. And while there will undoubtedly be some pain from cuts of this scale, there are also opportunities for improvement.
Initiatives like getting more services online, which could cut hundreds of millions from telephone and paperwork costs, will also have positive environmental spin-offs. Rethinking services – like health – so that they invest in prevention rather than cure would surely be sensible.
We might see some more joined-up thinking, where wider value and savings are coordinated across different services. Think of the way that food procurement in schools and hospitals often results in food being trucked long distances (generating pollution, noise and road deaths) to institutions where it does little to improve the health or wellbeing of those eating it.
Whoever is in power, there will be less money available and the public sector will have to think differently about how to fund things like low-carbon investment. Our ‘Climate Finance’ initiative [weblink] is looking at exactly this area, helping a variety of bodies pilot schemes for rolling funds, bonds, offsets and so on.
Don’t expect anyone to throw in the towel on this. The contest around cuts will go the full twelve rounds.
Peter Madden
Chief Executive
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Making budget cuts work for sustainable development
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Students on the Forum’s Masters in Leadership for Sustainable Development reflect on their local government placements and workshop.
Budget cuts threaten to undermine councils’ work on sustainable development at a time when that work is most crucial. Fresh from one month placement in a local authorities, we brought together public sector stakeholders last week to explore how to make cuts work for sustainable development.
Nigel Keohane of the New Local Government Network presented the funding landscape. This was followed by 'How to justify sustainable development projects in the current climate' by Joe Baker, Climate Change Manager at Barking and Dagenham Council and Chris Reid, Executive Head of Environmental Sustainability at Sutton council. Participants went on to role-play ‘pitches’ to council leaders in a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style setting.
The main theme emerging from the day is that since budgets won't be cut equally, it is key that councils use integrated thinking to recognise the myriad of benefits sustainability projects offer, and tap into the funding awarded to promote other goals. Whether it is improving cycle lanes to address child obesity or retrofitting home insulation to reduce fuel poverty, there is huge potential to link sustainability with other agendas.
We were also reminded that since utilising these opportunities requires getting support from diverse groups, tailoring language to the audience is crucial. While framing an issue in terms of carbon reduction may get the chief executive on side, a councillor may stare at you blank faced until you mention fuel poverty. Overall the event was an inspiring reminder that holistic thinking and creativity are going to be more important than ever before to achieve a more sustainable way of life – something future leaders in all sectors need to remember.
For more information contact Jane Wilkinson.
Click here to find out more about our Masters in Leadership for Sustainable Development.
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A new green revolution?
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It’s been a big year for agriculture and climate change, and the Forum’s Farming Futures project has been at the heart of the action.
The Low Carbon Transition Plan, launched by Government in June, recognised that nitrous oxide and methane are the main greenhouse gas culprits in the sector, and challenged the agricultural industry with the first ever reduction target: an 11% cut in emissions by 2020.
Meanwhile, the new UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP) data (UKCP09) showed farmers that hotter, drier summers, longer growing seasons, and new crops, pests and diseases are likely to be on their way; the Renewable Energy Strategy is demanding greater clean energy production; and a set of reports about food security are challenging us to think about how we can produce more food whilst simultaneously reducing our impact on the environment.
The industry is responding with a Voluntary Action Plan to reduce emissions, and has put Farming Futures - the key communications project in the sector - at the heart of it. In its third year of delivery, Farming Futures is getting the message across to farmers that a low-carbon agricultural sector can be profitable and lower risk.
Evidence that it's making a difference include a growing number of farmers signing up for on-farm events, on subjects from beef and sheep to renewable energy and irrigation; rising web hits on the dedicated site www.farmingfutures.org.uk; and rising profile for the project in farming media.
With an independent survey showing that 41% of farmers are now familiar with the project brand, we are now exploring new partnership opportunities for a fourth phase, and are keen to hear from anyone in the Forum’s networks who’d like to find out more or get involved.
Visit www.farmingfutures.co.uk or contact Madeleine Lewis on 020 7324 3682 or m.lewis@forumforthefuture.org.
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2 degrees webinar: Sustainable Cities Index 2009
A recording of our recent webinar on sustainable cities, presented by Helen Clarkson, Deputy director, Forum for the Future, is now available online, along with her presentation, to members of 2degrees, in the smarter cities network.
Helen discussed the Forum’s Sustainable Cities Index, which tracks progress on sustainability in Britain’s 20 largest cities - highlighting their environmental performance, quality of life and readiness for the challenges of the future. The index is intended to encourage healthy competition, stimulating discussion and giving citizens the tools to hold their leaders to account.
If you’re a member of 2degrees, click here to view the webinar.
For more information about how to join 2degrees, click here.
To download the Sustainable Cities Index 2009, click here.
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Green Futures: top stories
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With more than 16,000 readers, Green Futures magazine and website is the leading source of information, opinion and debate on progress towards sustainable development.
Banks should be social commentators, says Triodos
It is unusual for a bank to have a view on organic farming, but Triodos Bank has launched a new loan package to help to sow the seeds for organic growth.
Click here to read more.
Sustainable sci-fi: the nano world of 2020
By 2020, there’ll be billions of tiny computers embedded in pretty much everything: stuck on our food labels, woven into our clothes, even injected into our skin. Peter Madden explores the potential of a sci-fi future.
Click here to read more.
Green Skills Centre to open in former Welsh mining town
A former Welsh mining town is to lead the way on green skills, with the UK’s first dedicated training centre. The re-training offered by the centre will offer new employment prospects to locals who have been affected by both the closure of mines and the impact of the recession on the area's car component industry.
Click here to read more.
Advertising in Green Futures
"Green Futures’ strength is that it shows how profits go hand in hand with sustainability… All our corporate directors read Green Futures, and they find its content highly interesting, informative, frank and above all, relevant."
Keith Bottomley, NatWest Corporate Banking Services.
Contact Katie Shaw to learn more about the opportunities.
Click here for the Green Futures homepage.
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Event: Copenhagen Climate Change exercise
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The next UK System Dynamics Society’s annual gathering will focus on environment, and day two includes a simulation exercise challenging participants to do better than Copenhagen and negotiate commitments on behalf of the main country-groups.
Validated by the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change and used by many Copenhagen delegates, the simulation will show the impact of climate change policies on greenhouse gas levels, global temperatures and sea levels over coming decades, and the impact on human populations. Participants will gain an appreciation of how far policy may shift, and learn/rethink what their organisations can - or may have to - do to contribute to the scale of change required.
The simulation exercise, as well as the whole event, is open to anyone with a professional interest in environment and sustainability issues.
Date: 11th - 12th February 2010
Venue: London South Bank University
Organiser: UK Chapter of the System Dynamics Society
How to register: visit http://uksds2010.eventbrite.com for more information.
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Event: SDUK 2010
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Through strategically placed high-level speakers such as Professor John Beddington, Chief Scientific Adviser to HM Government and the Rt. Hon. Hilary Benn MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and in-depth workshops, SDUK2010 will examine the wide-scale adaption needed by individuals, government, communities and business alike if we are to minimise the effects of a changing climate and ensure a sustainable future for generations to come.
Key issues to be covered include the progress of the Low Carbon Transition Plan, progress made in Copenhagen on the government’s efforts to achieve a new international climate agreement, innovation and job creation in the UK and challenges of the future, amongst many more.
The conference will build on SDUK09, which saw hundreds of key decision makers gather together milestone summit in the sector.
Date: 2nd March 2010
Venue: Royal College of Physicians, London
Organiser: GovNet events
How to register: Visit http://www.govnet.co.uk/sduk/index.html for more information.
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Public Sector Update
