Chairman

It was announced to members at the 22 April plenary that Derek Osborn had been offered the chairmanship of the Round Table, succeeding Sir Richard Southwood. An official statement confirming that Mr Osborn had accepted the post was made shortly afterwards.

Environment Minister Michael Meacher said: "The Round Table will have a key part to play in building consensus between different parts of society about the approach to sustainability and in promoting the changes in behaviour that will be needed in all sectors of the economy. With his wide experience in the public, private and voluntary sectors Derek Osborn will be exceptionally qualified to lead the Round Table."

In response, Mr Osborn said: "I am honoured to be invited to take on this post, which I am very glad to accept. The Round Table has made an excellent start under Sir Richard Southwood's creative leadership. But there is still much to be done to embed sustainability more deeply in society and I look forward to the challenge. Internationally there will be a big build up to the 2002 review of sustainable development throughout the world ten years after the first Earth Summit at Rio. Experience of all these processes shows that they work best when they are built on a broad base of consultation and partnership between different sectors of society. I believe that the Round Table, with its strong list of members from many parts of society, is well placed to help build that active consensus on the way forward."

Derek Osborn is Chair of the European Environment Agency, of UNED/UK and of the Trustees of the Earth Centre;.is a non-executive Director of Severn Trent plc and a member of Tarmac's Environment Panel. He was Director General of Environmental Protection at the Department of the Environment, 1990-1995.

New Strategy on Sustainable Development

The Government will be launching the revised UK Strategy on Sustainable Development, and the next stage of the Are You Doing Your Bit? campaign, on 17 May. Members have been invited to a pre-briefing session and to the public launch.

Residential Meeting

The Round Table will be holding a residential meeting on 25/26 June at Warwick University. As well as discussing the new strategy and some specific topics, members will be taking forward suggestions from the Review of the First Four Years in order to make the Round Table more effective in the future.

Round Table Reports

This report was published on 23 February. It highlights the different initiatives being taken forward in parts of the UK. It urges policy makers to draw on this diversity to learn from others and to gain confidence to innovate and develop effective policies. It will be important to prepare strategies for sustainable development, to provide leadership, vision and accountability. Strategies should address issues such as the integration of economic, environmental and social issues, and the potential dangers of competition for jobs between different areas. They should contribute to the policies of the UK as a whole.

Mr Richard Caborn, Minister for the Regions, has invited Lord Cranbrook to meet two of the RDA chairmen with a particular interest in sustainable development to discuss issues raised in the report. Members also hope to meet Mr Michael Meacher before the Government formally responds to the report.

Some members met Mr John Battle, Minister for Energy and Industry, on 31 March, to press their case for the energy regulator to be given a duty in respect of sustainable development. They are now seeking a meeting with the regulator himself.

22 April Plenary Meeting

The Round Table held its second plenary meeting of the year on 22 April. Sir John Harman was in the Chair.

Mr Ewen Cameron has been appointed Chairman of the new Countryside Agency. Sir David Davies had stood down as Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Business and the Environment; he has since been replaced by Mr Chris Fay.

The Secretary of State for Scotland's Advisory Group on Sustainable Development, whose Chairman is represented by the Earl of Lindsay, would be dissolved on the date of the elections to the Scottish Parliament, 6 May. Any successor body would be for the Scottish Government to appoint.

Sir Crispin Tickell, Chairman of the Government Panel on Sustainable Development, explained the working methods of the Panel. He said it's work programme for 1999 included the following four topics:

• sequestration of carbon dioxide
• world trade, investment and sustainabledevelopment
• noise
• ethical aspects of biotechnolgy and genetically modified organisims.

The Panel would also pay particular attention to its previous recommendations on fisheries, where problems remained acute.

Mr Ewen Cameron, Chairman of the subgroup on Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, presented its final report. He said the report's key conclusion was the importance of public education and awareness of sustainable development, so as to influence those who ran small firms. Tax incentives could also play a valuable role, although their implementation raised complex issues; the Round Table had submitted proposals on this topic to the Chancellor of the Exchequer after the January plenary.

The report highlighted the variety of advice being given to SMEs and recommended co-ordination on a national and regional basis; it noted the particular role which the RDAs might play. The creation of the Small Business Service introduced new opportunities, whilst procurement policies and practices continued to have a significant impact.

The report was agreed, subject to some amendments; it is to be published on 25 May. The subgroup will consider how best to disseminate the report.

Sir Geoffrey Holland, Chairman of the Education Panel, introduced its First Annual Report. The Panel, which was to run for five years, had wide terms of reference covering all aspects of education, formal and informal. Reporting to the Deputy Prime Minister and the Secretary of State at DFEE, it covered England only; there was a separate Scottish body with which the Panel was in contact.

In its first year, the Panel had contributed to the review of the National Curriculum and to teacher education programmes and had responded to various consultation exercises. It had commissioned research on the effective use of language and benchmarks for the understanding of sustainable development; this would enable the Panel to take a strategic approach on how best to communicate sustainable development messages and especially on reducing duplication of effort.

The Panel had set out its goals for 2010, which it believed could provide a proper focus and momentum for action. These included:

• explicit policies from central Government
• standards and accreditation for institutions (eg. an award for Investors in Sustainable Development)
• education for teachers, trainers and managers
• targets for greater understanding of sustainable development.

The review, which made a number of suggestions to the Round Table, had been reproduced in the Fourth Annual Report and a copy had been sent to the Deputy Prime Minister. A subgroup set up to take forward these suggestions had made recommendations for action. Mr Brian Hanna, Chairman of that subgroup, outlined a number of strategic and operational issues.

After discussion, the Round Table agreed a number of recommendations, including to hold a residential meeting and to establish a subgroup to take forward the proposals on communicating more effectively.

Members were keen to move on quickly with a new work programme, but felt it was inappropriate to make any final decisions without the new Chairman.

Mr Graham Wynne, Chairman of the subgroup on the Future Work Programme, explained the criteria it recommended for choosing new studies. It recommended that the Round Table study three topics in the coming year, drawn from the following shortlist:

• the relationship between economic growth and sustainable development
• demand management and its links with equity
• the land use planning system
• tourism
• aspects of finance
• effectiveness of pollution control regulation.

It was suggested that risk management and the precautionary principle, perhaps linked to GMOs, was a pressing issue; but the Round Table might not be able to add significant value to a fast-moving debate. It was suggested that competitiveness be included in any demand management study.

The shortlist was provisionally endorsed, for consideration by the new Chairman before a final decision.

The Secretary would canvass members on a range of dates after consulting the new Chairman.

Secretariat