London, UK: Defra has launched a package of tools have today to help Government Departments and the wider public sector to integrate Sustainable Development (SD) into everyday working.
The package is tried and tested as Defra policy makers have been using these tools since the launch of the UK Government SD strategy Securing the Future in March 2005.
The package includes:
- Stretching the Web is an interactive policy tool which is a simple graphic, based on the Better Regulation Executive’s Impact Assessment;
- Stockwatch is a game which allows players to practise how to think sustainably in a simulated situation; and
- The Bigger Picture, a film which looks at how SD works in Defra using case studies
Environment Minister Phil Woolas said:
“Identifying the positive and negative economic, social and environmental aspects of a policy at an early stage of development is important to ensure that it will be sustainable. Encouraging all Government departments and public sector organisations to use these tools will improve policy making across the board.”
Defra says that the key benefit of Stretching the web is that it helps the user to carry out an SD assessment of their policy or project. Users rank their policy outcomes to questions about their impacts which then create a web design. This allows for easy identification of any negative impacts of the policy. Policy makers can then identify areas for further work e.g. research or engagement with partners to continue to develop the policy, and adapt their policy to have a better SD outcome.
Sustainable events guide
Defra has also published a Sustainable events guide today. This has been developed to encourage event organisers to think about the social, economic and environmental impacts from the start of organising their event, both in-house or through contractors.
A varied range of events is covered including conferences, meetings, shows, seminars or training events that are held either on site or in other locations, according to Defra. The guide contains a range of simple options to make an event more sustainable and gives tips on how to organise, save money and get the most out of attendees. It is divided according to the aspects of organising an event - transport, venue, catering, preparation etc - so that they can easily be incorporated into the organisation process from the beginning.
Further information
Various links to the SD tools are shown below:
Link to tools:
www.defra.gov.uk/sustainable/think/index.htm
Link to BRE Impact Assessment pages:
http://bre.berr.gov.uk/regulation/ria/
Link to Sustainable Events Guide:
www.sustainable-development.gov.uk/advice/sustainable-events-guide.htm