The Northern Ireland Government's independent advisory body on sustainable development
Master Class reveals Sustainability as key to economic progress
The launch of OFMDFM’s first Sustainable Development Master Class in March, marked the opening of a comprehensive programme of sustainable development training for civil servants from across policy and operational areas of government.
Opening the Master Class, Junior First Minister, Gerry Kelly MLA maintained that: "Great economic and social development opportunities can be seized by pursuing a sustainable development agenda."
He continued: "The Executive has agreed that our primary focus over the lifetime of this Programme for Government will be on growing the economy. Today’s Master Class is very relevant in helping us appreciate that sustainable development and economic growth are not incompatible ambitions, but are in fact extremely complementary when expressed through policies of innovation, learning and equality."
In his keynote presentation ‘Driving Sustainable Development through Business’ John Cridland, Deputy Director General of the CBI to the Senior Civil Service, highlighted the requirement by civil servants that they carry out their roles in a fashion that promotes sustainable development, he stated: "There are a wealth of economic opportunities that sustainable development can offer Northern Ireland companies, ensuring the enhancement of the private sector."
He outlined the belief that:"The public sector and business are convinced that economic growth and environmental progress requires political momentum behind environmental targets to act as a catalyst to create a policy response to drive business investment in Sustainable Development."
He concluded: "One thing is clear in order to reach our 2050 targets we need a radical change, but if we continue to carry on with our present means of business we won’t even reach our 2020 targets."
