Contact: Peter Brown, ext 6256

1. Summary

1.1 The following decision is sought:

That the Cabinet:

(i) notes the progress made to achieve the aims of the Corporate Sustainable Development Strategy during 2001/02;

(ii) endorses the revised Corporate Sustainable Development Action Plan proposed for 2002/03; and

(iii) agrees that a similar progress report be received in April 2003.

2. Reason

2.1 To maintain the County Council's commitment to achieving the aims of sustainable development and ensuring that the County Council sets a good example to the community as a service provider, consumer and major employer.

3. Other Options Considered and Rejected

3.1 None.

4. Conflicts of Interest Declared by the Decision Maker or a Member or Officer consulted - Not applicable.

5. Dispensation granted by the Standards Committee - Not applicable.

6. Reason(s) for the Matter being dealt with if Urgent - Not applicable.

Approved by: .................................. Date: ..................................

Councillor T K Thornber

Contact: Peter Brown, ext 6256

1. Summary

1.1 This report highlights Hampshire County Council's progress to develop the concept of sustainable development within its services. A review of the implementation of the Corporate Sustainable Development Strategy and related initiatives during 2001/02 is attached as Appendix 1. An updated Corporate Sustainable Development Action Plan containing recommended actions for 2002/03 is attached as Appendix 2. Appendix 3 details the pump priming funding allocated in 2001/02 to support the principles of the strategy.

2. Progress during 2001/02

2.1 On 27 February 2001 the Leader and the Chief Executive officially launched the County Council's Corporate Sustainable Development Strategy. The strategy seeks to widen awareness of the sustainable development agenda and encourage the County Council `to get its own house in order' by applying the principles of sustainability across all its operations and activities. In so doing it could set an example to the rest of the community.

2.2 The strategy's corporate action plan set out a challenging first year programme to mainstream sustainable development thinking across all the County Council's activities and services. One year on, it is now an appropriate time to review progress under the headings set out in the action plan and consider a new programme for further improvements during the coming year.

2.3 A resumé of activities undertaken during 2001/02 is set out in the attached report (Appendix 1). The key points to note are:

(i) the completion of nearly all the tasks set out in the corporate action plan for 2001/02, including progress on best value, training and departmental actions;

(ii) the continuation and establishment of a number of cross department initiatives that are seeking to mainstream sustainable development into the County Council's services and activities;

(iii) the implementation of a number of demonstration projects that will help evaluate the long term benefits of products and initiatives which would normally have difficulty in securing funding; and

(iv) the growing leadership role in working with and helping partner organisations, particularly through the Down to Earth Conference series, to realise what sustainable development means for the communities in Hampshire and how it can be achieved.

2.4 With the progress made during the past year, it is clear that the County Council is well on the way to mainstreaming sustainable development principles into its operations. Evidence from the County Council's involvement in national projects also indicates it is at the forefront of local authority progress in this field. However, it is important to maintain and build upon this momentum, and to seek good practice credentials across all operations. In particular, the County Council needs to complete work on developing monitoring systems of its own resource use and impacts.

2.5 Although not the prime concern of this report, the Cabinet may be aware that significant progress has also been made on improving the sustainability credentials of the outcomes of many of the services. During the past year this has included progress on issues such as:

(i) Natural Resource Management;

(ii) Corporate Water Action Plan;

(iii) Green Travel Plan;

(iv) Hampshire Farmers' Markets; and

(v) Sustainable Construction Framework.

3. Key Action Points for 2002/03

3.1 In order to maintain the momentum, the Sustainable Development Steering Group, comprising officers from each department, has identified a set of key actions for implementation during 2002/03. For this to have maximum effect it is important that the Cabinet considers and endorses this plan. This new action plan is attached as Appendix 2.

3.2 In the main, the action plan proposes the continuation and a second phase for the actions undertaken during the first year. The Cabinet's attention is drawn particularly to the following proposed actions.

3.3 Action point 2 details the way in which the target to establish a budget for pump priming projects for 2001/02 was met. A valuable contribution was made by the funding of projects identified by the Sustainable Development Action teams. A fund of £25,000 was made available to facilitate the trial and evaluation of a number of projects which had not been funded through mainstream budget decisions. These projects are detailed in Appendix 3. There is no provision for funding for 2002/03 but, in view of the innovative projects that took place last year, it would be advantageous to reinstate this funding if the opportunity arises.

3.4 Action points 7 to 9 relate to issues on how the County Council assesses the cost implications of sustainability in its day-to-day decisions. At present, decisions are often made with regard to a limited framework of timescale and payback periods and the costs and benefits which accrue to the community of Hampshire, rather than directly to the County Council. This is being addressed by trying to take a wider perspective of costs and benefits through assessing what is being termed as the `triple bottom line'.

3.5 The 'triple bottom line' focuses not just on the financial costs but also on the economic, environmental and social value that the projects add - or destroy. In its broadest sense, the term is used to capture the whole set of values, issues and processes that organisations must address in order to minimise any harm resulting from their activities and to create economic, social and environmental value. For the County Council, this requires integration with the aims of the corporate strategy and taking into consideration the needs of all its stakeholders, customers, employees, business partners and local communities. It is recognised that trying to assess and evaluate these costs and benefits into all financial decisions would be complex and unworkable. The aim in these action points will therefore be to produce some simple guidance and advice so that decisions can be made on a more informed basis of sustainability issues.

3.6 Finally, attention is drawn to action point 10, which addresses Member training and is directly relevant to all Members. An initial training day on `Building Sustainable Communities - Sustainability and Equalities' was run on 27 February 2002 and received good feedback from the Members in attendance. Further awareness raising will, however, be necessary to assist Members in progressing the sustainability agenda within the County Council and through the outcomes of its services. The Cabinet is asked to use its authority to approve further events to be adopted within the Member training programme and to encourage Members to attend.

4. Conclusions

4.1 The County Council is making good progress in understanding and delivering the sustainable development agenda. The action plan for 2001/02 has been successfully delivered and it is important that momentum is maintained during 2002/03. A revised action plan for 2002/03 is therefore proposed, with the recommendation that a similar progress report is presented to the Cabinet next year.

7106/PNB

APPENDIX 2

Sustainable Development Corporate Action Plan 2002/03

APPENDIX 3

The sustainable development projects which took place last year were chosen from a much larger list of ideas submitted by the Sustainable Development Departmental Action Teams. The projects were chosen under a bid process and the successful projects are shown below.