The Northern Ireland Government's independent advisory body on sustainable development
Who we are
What is the Northern Ireland Sustainable Development Commission?
The Sustainable Development Commission is the Government’s independent adviser on sustainable development, reporting to the Prime Minister, the First Ministers of Scotland and Wales, and the First and Deputy First Minister in Northern Ireland. Through advocacy, advice and capability building, we help to put sustainable development at the heart of government policy in Northern Ireland.
In Northern Ireland the SDC works closely with all government departments to develop and enhance policies which will have real environmental, social, and economic benefits. These range from issues relating to transport and health, to education and energy. In recent times the Commission has contributed to inquiries on climate change and sustainable transport as well as providing expert advice on renewable energy projects and construction skills initiatives.
Our primary audience is Government and the public sector but the Sustainable Development Commission also strongly believes that the community in Northern Ireland has a key role to play in delivering a more sustainable today and a more equitable tomorrow. With our strong traditions in manufacturing here in Northern Ireland, the SDC believes that we can become a focal point for ideas and opportunities. Encouraging this development with like minded groups in the private sector through bodies such as the Northern Ireland Green New Deal Group, we aim to make sustainable development an economic norm as well as an environmental necessity.
Working closely with these and other groups we hope to encourage innovation and best practice in sustainability, recognising that whilst Government has a central role to play, the public can be the key drivers for change. Sustainable development does not belong in the narrow confines of economic or environmental policy. It is a wider guiding principle from which we in Northern Ireland have much to gain. The benefits will not only be measured in terms of improvements in the world around us, but in the communities that bind us, and the families that sustain us.
