Sustainable Development and the Public Sector

GPS 3004

Gregory Borne

2 Part Lecture

1. Sustainable Development (this week)

2. Public Sector Organisations (next week)

We will take a journey from the international to the local level

Part One: TodayLearning Outcomes

• You will:• Understand the basics of Sustainable

Development• Understand how the concept has evolved

during the past 30 years • Appreciate it as a fundamentally contested

concept • Begin to see how it is applicable to the public

sector

Outline

1. Background to SD 2. Political evolution and time line 3. Perspectives 4. A Systems approach5. UK Context

1. Background to SD

• Some Introductions

Sustainable development

• Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Brundtland 1987-Our Common Future )

• Development?• Needs?• Compromise?

Problems with Sustainable Development

• Oxymoron- Contradiction in terms • Fuzzy concept –means all things to all people

No real world relevance, ineffective for policy development

• Worse still - A means for continuing legitimisation of global strategies of development which will continue the hegemony of the northern industrialised countries

Advantages of Sustainable Development

• Acceptance- of the unsustainable nature current developmental pathways –creation of global risks such as global warming

• Focal Point- A concept that disparate organisations and institutions can come together around and try to look for solutions

• Orchestration of the sciences – Promotes inter-disciplinarity –New world views that reflect real world problems

Sustainable Development• Not just an academic subject of study but:

– a paradigmatic shift in the way we look at the world, nature and humankind;

– a change that requires rigorous thinking about the interconnections and interdependencies between the physical, the social and the intellectual worlds

We will return to perspective on sustainable development later in the lecture

2. Evolution

Time Line 1962 •Rachel Carson publishes "Silent Spring". Detrimental effects of pesticides on the environment, particularly on birds. Carson accused the chemical industry of spreading disinformation, and public officials of accepting industry claims uncritically.

1968 –•Paul Ehrlich publishes book "Population Bomb" “The battle to feed all of humanity is over. In the 1970s hundreds of millions of people will starve to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now. At this late date nothing can prevent a substantial increase in the world death rate”• The Club of Rome. Its goal is to pursue a holistic understanding of and solutions to the 'world problematique'. •The UN General Assembly authorizes the Human Environment Conference to be held in 1972.

1972 Pivotal Year Picture of the Earth by the crew of the Apollo 17

•United Nations Conference on Human Environment held in Stockholm •United Nations Environment Programme•Club of Rome publishes "Limits to Growth". •OPEC oil crisis fuels limits to growth debate? (what impact did this have on public services globally)

1980 - Independent Commission on International Development publishes "North:South - A Programme for Survival" (Brandt Report). It asks for a re-assessment of the notion of development and calls for a new economic relationship between North and South. 1982 - The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea is adopted. It establishes material rules concerning environmental standards as well as enforcement provisions dealing with pollution of the marine environment.1983 - World Commission on Environment and Development forms. Chaired by Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, the commission works for three years to weave together a report on social, economic, cultural, and environmental issues.1987 - "Our Common Future" Brundtland Report published. It ties problems together and, for the first time, gives some direction for comprehensive global solutions. It also popularizes the term "sustainable development". 1987 - Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer is adopted1988 - Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change established with three working groups to assess the most up-to-date scientific, technical and socio-economic research in the field of climate change. 1992 - U.N. Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro. It results in the publication of Agenda 21 the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Rio Declaration, and a statement of non-binding Forest Principles. 2002- WSSD – World Summit on Sustainable Development 2012-Rio + 20 – Institutional change for sustainable development/ Green economy

1980-2012

Time Line

Sustainable Development Timeline

Most recent Rio + 20

Institutional ChangeGreening the economy Sustainable Development Goals

Millennium Development Goals to Sustainable Development Goals

SDG differ in three main ways.• First, MDGs centred around seven

social goals and just one environmental goal. Long-term social and economic improvement will need closer attention to be paid to the environment.

• Second, whereas MDGs focused on developing countries, SDGs need buy-in from all nations.

• Third, MDGs were hastily assembled without thorough analysis.

Sustainable Development Goals

Sustainable Development GoalsStill being decided but Jeffrey Sacks believes the goals should cover the following

• SDG 1 - By 2030 all the worlds people will have access to safe water, sanitation, nutrition, primary health services. Basic infrastructure including , electricity, roads, and connectivity to the global information network

• SDG 2- All nations adopt economic strategies that increasingly build on sustainable best practice technologies, market incentives and individual responsibility. Low carbon energy systems, sustainable urban areas and stabalisation of the worlds population through voluntary fertility choices

• SDG 3- Social inclusion - Every country will promote the well being and capabilities of all their citizens, enabling all citizens to reach their potential. There is discussion here of improved measurement and base lining as well a reporting on life satisfaction. Special attention is given to youth and the elderly. Sachs talks about the inadequacy of traditional measures of economic prosperity such as Gross Domestic Product. Bhutan is used as an example where it has introduced 'Gross National Happiness'.

• SDG 4 - Governance - here Sachs talks about the role of good governance from the global to the local level, and inclusive and democratic system that empowers and avoids marginalization.

3. Perspectives

Three pillars

Three Pillars approachEmphasizes the integration between economy, environment and society

A good starting point for understanding SD but a more complex perspective is needed

• STRONG Vs WEAK SD

Strong Sustainable Development

• A radical reordering of economic, social and environmental relationships

• Changing the existing developmental processes significantly

• Alter processes of consumption and Production• Alterations to the capitalist ethos and what this

means –Capitalism doesn’t work • Eco-Centric

Weak Sustainable Development

• Operating inside the existing system but greening capatalism.

• Technological fixes – Green technology (Ecological Modernisation)

• Behavioural change – Incentives, taxation• Anthropocentric

• Why are perspectives on sustainable development important when looking at public sector organisations?

• How a problem is perceived will effect the solution

• Politics and policy is about negotiating competing view of the world

• If you view a whole system you will see that there is uncertainty and unintended consequences

4. A Systems Approach

Complex Interactive SystemSir John Kay

Kay argues: “The most complex systems come into being, and function, without anyone having

knowledge of the whole” and “While it seems to make sense to plan everything before you start, mostly, you can’t: objectives are not clearly enough defined, the nature of the problem keeps shifting, it is too complex, and you lack sufficient information. The direct approach is simply impossible.”

(J Kay, ‘Obliquity: why our goals are best achieved indirectly’, Profile, 2010)

Mervin King director Governor of the bank of England says this approach will ‘provide valuable insights into hoe successful decisions are made

Have a look at the TED talk at the following linkhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BoAtYL3OWU

Introduction to Systems Thinking

• Systems Thinking

Wicked Problems

• Why are today's problems different from previous centuries or even decades?

Climate Change –How do public organizations respond to this risk?

• Complex• Uncertain • Ambiguous• Non –linear

Public Policy is Interdisciplinary

• The very nature of these problems causes challenges traditional disciplines

• As Jeffrey Sachs recognises

• ‘The problems just refuse to arrive in the neat categories of academic departments’

• Sachs, J. (2008) Common Wealth, Economics for a Crowded Planet

A Systems Approach• A system is a perceived as a whole whose elements are

interconnected

• Systems thinking has developed a substantial body of knowledge drawn from a number of areas of study including:

• Cybernetics, ecology and complexity theory

• Emphasises the positive and the negative interactions within a system.

SchoolsHospitals

Inland RevenuePrisons

Local Councils

Social SecurityPublic Parks

Fire service

Universities

Health Centres

THE PUBLIC SECTOR

& SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT:

Understanding the links for a better world

5. UK Context

Why 2012-2015

Factors Impacting Public Sector Organisations Financial Bottom Line

– Government spending round – budget deficit of 11% = cuts of 81 billion pounds by 2014– Uncertainty over the depth and extent of the global recessions (triple dip)Political Imperative Lead up to the general election May 7 2015Legislative Transition – Consequences of Localism Act– Changes in Planning regulations and the presumption towards sustainable development (Boles

Bungs)Ideological Shift– Big Society - A full system shift– Increasing importance of sustainability and the sustainable development agenda Delivery Mechanisms– Public/ Private cooperation

Features of the Four Main Types of Public Body

1. Central Government2. Local Authorities3. National Health Service4. Public Corporations

Sustainable Development and Principle Public Bodies

1. Central GovernmentDepartment for Food Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) - Securing the future –Delivering the UK Sustainable Development Strategy 2. Local Authorities

Localism Act/ Sustainable Communities Act/Indicators and targets –Local Area Agreements

3. National Health ServiceNHS sustainable Development Unit (http://www.sdu.nhs.uk/)4.Public Corporations Royal Mail –Sustainable Development Charter (PAS 2020)BBC – Sustainable Procurement Strategy Environment Agency – Central role is to promote sustainable Development

Devolution

• Public Management in the UK is not a single System

• Privatisation and Marketization• Local decision Making • Changes in the planning system The presumption in favour of Sustainable DevelopmentBoles Bungs

BOLES BUNGS

Source: The Economisthttp://www.economist.com/blogs/blighty/2013/01/housing

Presumption in Favour of Sustainable Development

Conflict of Perceptions !!!!

Conclusion

Main Points

Sustainable Development perspectives

Connections between the global and the local

Sustainable Development is both top down and bottom up

How sustainable development relates to the public sector

Tradition way of viewing the world to a systems approach

NEXT WEEK Organisations –traditional theories and sustainable transitions

Next week

Organisations in the Big SocietyThe localism Agenda Local Government Research Orientated approachTown and Parish councils