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What's in it for my local authority?

Focussing local government finance around sustainable development can bring significant benefits and opportunities, not only for local authorities and their partners, but also for the communities they serve.

 
Community leadership
Leadership on sustainable development sets an example both to the public and to partner organisations. Local authorities can enhance public trust and reputation, motivate their partners and the public to take action, improve levels of local engagement and participation, and help to build a common sense of responsibility around sustainability. 		  Local benefits
Local communities, economies and environments can all benefit from local government commitment to sustainable development. Procuring sustainable, local food, for example, supports the local economy, reduces food miles and associated congestion costs, cuts greenhouse gas emissions and contributes to people's health.
 
Financial benefits
More efficient use of energy and other resources can lead to direct financial savings, especially over the long-term. Environmental efficiency measures, such as insulation, recycling bins and low flush toilets, can all reduce running costs. Bigger projects can yield greater savings; Woking BC's energy efficiency fund resulted in £4.7m of cost savings over 10 years. 		  Risk management
The management of all risks, including long-term environmental, social and economic risks contributes to good organisational management. The risks of not addressing sustainability include the increasing financial costs of finite resources, such as fossil fuels, reputational risk, the risks of environmental change and increased risks to public health.
 
Value for money
Basing spending decisions against sustainability criteria is the only way to ensure value for money over the long term. This means taking a 'whole-life cost' approach that takes account of environmental, social and economic considerations. On the other hand, decisions based on up-front costs alone can sometimes be a false economy. 		  Achieving wider aims
Sustainable development is becoming increasingly important at the local level. Councils are required to contribute to sustainable development through Sustainable Community Strategies and the planning framework. A sustainable development approach also involves tackling other issues, such as climate change, health inequalities, well-being and place-shaping in an integrated, long-term way.