Residential meeting

The Round Table held a residential meeting at the University of Warwick on 25 & 26 June. The main topics discussed were as follows.

Dr Paul Ekins (Keele University and Forum for the Future) introduced a paper which addressed the Government's four key objectives for sustainable development, as set out in the recent White Paper A better quality of life, and whether the objective of high and stable levels of economic growth was compatible with the objectives concerning the environment. He concluded that, under late-industrial capitalism, it might be only through environmentally sustainable economic growth that environmental sustainability could be attained, but that this would require far greater changes in technology and consumer behaviour than had been achieved in the past.

One point made in discussion was that the new Sustainable Development Commission could be tasked with considering whether the Government's four objectives were being achieved, and in particular whether the environmental impact per unit of consumption was falling rapidly enough. This could help find the balance between environmental constraints and economic growth. It might also reveal which areas of policy were most likely to produce win-win-win solutions.

Rt Hon John Gummer MP, former Secretary of State for the Environment and now Chairman of a new international Commission on Sustainable Consumption, visited the meeting. He said that the task of achieving sustainable development was vast, but we should nevertheless be optimistic. It was important to accept the political necessity of striving for economic growth and to work pragmatically within that framework.

Mr Gummer said the prevalence of short-term thinking was a major obstacle to sustainable development; we needed to value things on a long-term basis. It was also important to manage a change away from a mainly manufacturing economy; this needed greater acceptance of a service economy and management of capital investment so that it did not automatically result in lower employment. We lived in a global society and although this provided many opportunities for concerted action, people's desire to see local change remained strong. The sustainable development message should therefore be aimed at the local and even the individual level, but without being patronising or trivial.

Dr Ekins presented a paper about the role of taxation in achieving an environmentally sustainable economy and the difficulties, both perceived and real, of social equity and competitiveness. He concluded that environmental taxes had an important part to play and that the potential difficulties could be overcome by careful design in each case.

Amongst the points made in discussion was the key distinction between competitiveness at the national level and at the sectoral or firm level. The Government should be interested in national competitiveness. An energy tax had little effect on that: the impact would come mostly at a sectoral level and energy intensive sectors would suffer. However, the very purpose of environmental taxation was to encourage a shift away from these sectors and the Government's role should be to manage this process in the least damaging way.

The Chairman introduced a paper which covered some draft notes on the White Paper prepared by a subgroup meeting on 7 June. He had been invited by the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee to give oral evidence on 6 July in connection with the Committee's inquiry into the White Paper. He invited Mr John Adams (DETR) to set out the key elements of the strategy.

Mr Adams said the White Paper was a frame-work document which set out both the concepts behind sustainable development and practical examples of policies to achieve it. Specific policy targets would be set within this framework. It was important that action was taken as a result of the strategy. The Government was preparing follow-up documents aimed at particular sectors such as health, business and the voluntary sector and guidance for the preparation of regional strategies for sustainable development. The Round Table had a role to play, not only in commenting on the strategy but also in bringing it to the attention of other key players and holding the Government and others accountable for its implementation.

The forthcoming seminar on monitoring and reporting, announced in the White Paper, might be combined with a seminar on the role of the Sustainable Development Commission; it would be helpful if the Round Table could organise this jointly with the Department. There was a need for better reporting on sustainable development by all sectors.

A number of points were made in discussion.

Mrs Hilary Hillier (DETR) gave a presentation on the Department's progress on indicators of sustainable development. The strategy had set out the 14 headline indicators and around 150 supporting indicators which would be at the core of future reports on progress. A report on these would be published in September. The Round Table could support the Government's work through:

• making recommendations on scope, weak-nesses and gaps
• providing credibility and endorsement with the wider public
• raising awareness of indicators and actions
• offering, or advising on, analysis and interpretation
• advice on target setting
• providing projections and scenarios
• providing accountability.

Miss Dinah Nichols (DETR) told members that no decisions had been made as to the role of the Sustainable Development Commission, but they would need to be made soon. Of particular importance was the need to decide what relationship the Commission would have with Government, and its degree of independence. The form of the Commission should be dictated by its function.

The Chairman introduced a paper which posed a number of questions about the Commission and offered a possible remit for it. In discussion the following key points were made:

a) The proposed remit for the Commission should be more boldly drafted. The Commission could act as guardian of the concept of sustainable development, perhaps issuing a periodic 'state of sustainable development' report. However, there was a danger that it would not have sufficient weight to fulfil this function effectively. One of the lessons of the Review of the First Four Years of the Round Table was not to be too ambitious.

b) There was a question whether the Commission should focus on the role of Government in achieving sustainable development, or whether it should address opinion formers, stakeholders or society as a whole. The central role of Going for Green was to increase public understanding and it was important not to duplicate the effort of others. The Commission should be seen to promote dialogue rather than to provoke controversy.

c) The Commission could act as a critical friend of Government. It could identify the nexus points of key policy formers and use them to disseminate the sustainable development message most widely. It should seek to identify key policy levers to achieve sustainable development. It should engage directly with the Prime Minister, and stress the links between sustainable development and social exclusion, joined-up Government, and modernising the economy.

d) The Commission should not focus solely on indicators; these were retrospective. It would be necessary also to look ahead, seeking to identify future priorities, as the Government Panel had done. The Commission could not fulfil all the functions of monitoring but could add credibility to indicators and use them as the basis for strategic advice. Monitoring was not only about gathering statistics but analysing them; it could be a tool for advocacy and would also help the Commission in holding the Government and others accountable for progress or lack of it.

e) Some good indicators could be gained from pulling together the data already gathered but using them in different and imaginative ways. The Commission could see this as part of its role, and/or make recommendations to DETR about it. Public opinion should also be monitored.

f) The Environmental Audit Committee and the DETR itself would monitor progress; but the Commission, as a stakeholder group, would be better placed to seek consensus and provide strategic advice. True consensus building was an intensive process, which might be difficult for the Commission to fulfil. But elements of it could usefully be undertaken so as to increase the effectiveness of the Commission's work. Government would need to support this role; its detachment could undermine the process. Full involvement of civil servants in the Commission's work would be greatly valued.

g) The Commission's legitimacy could depend on the effectiveness of its consensus building. It could usefully fulfil both its monitoring role and its consensus building role by choosing the three most important topics revealed by the headline indicators, convening stakeholder dialogue and providing strategic advice on those issues.

h) It was suggested that there was a problem of legitimacy in Commission membership which could be addressed by inviting key constituencies to nominate members. But this could inhibit discussion and consensus building within the membership. On balance, it was better for members to be appointed by Ministers, provided that the process was open and transparent.

It was agreed that the Chairman should prepare a personal memorandum in the light of this discussion and submit it to the Environmental Audit Committee as the basis for the evidence session on July 6. He would invite a few members to accompany him for that.

After a short initial discussion, it was agreed to take forward work on the following five topics:

• the role of the Sustainable Development Commission;
• devolved, regional and local issues;
• indicators of sustainable development;
• land use planning;
• modernising the economy.

There was further discussion in small groups and work is now under way. Details are below.

Work Programme of the Round Table

The Round Table is to be subsumed into the new Sustainable Development Commission early in 2000. In the meantime, work on the five areas identified above is being taken forward as follows.

As agreed, the Chairman gave evidence to the Environmental Audit Committee on 6 July. He was accompanied by Dr Robin Bidwell, Mr Peter Madden and the Secretary.

A seminar is to be held on 21 September to discuss the remit and operation of the Commission and its relationships with other bodies. DETR is preparing a consultation paper which will provide a focus for discussion at the seminar.

The Chairman and some others have met representatives of the Regional Development Agencies to discuss the Round Table report Sustainable Development - Devolved and Regional Dimensions and future involvement of the Round Table in regional issues. Arising from that, and from a meeting with Mr Caborn (the DETR Minister for the Regions) it is proposed that a seminar be held on 14 September for the RDAs and other regional players, to discuss the draft Regional Economic Strategies and to share good practice between regions.

The Chairman has written to Mrs Hilary Armstrong (the DETR Minister for Local Government) urging the Government to take early action to introduce a duty on local authorities to promote the economic, social and environmental well-being of their areas. The Round Table plans to develop detailed advice on the form that such a duty should take so as best to promote sustainable development at a local level.

The Chairman plans to make visits to Edinburgh and Cardiff to meet key people in the new devolved administrations and other bodies, building on the recent RT report.

The Round Table proposes to convene a seminar on 17 November to discuss the Government's forthcoming report on indicators, before preparing advice on what further analysis of the data might be most helpful in taking the debate forward. This will also help in preparations for the new Sustainable Development Commission, one of whose key functions will be monitoring progress towards sustainable development.

This is to be a short study, feeding into a major study on this topic by the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution. The Royal Commission has issued a preliminary invitation to submit views, and it proposes to hold a seminar for interested parties in December 1999. It has been suggested that the Round Table's work should focus on these.

This is to be another short study, looking at the role of taxation and some aspects of charging in promoting sustainable development, focusing on the implications for equity and competitiveness. It is proposed to issue a report for discussion at a seminar early in 2000.

Secretariat

Justin Frishberg left the secretariat at the beginning of July; he has not yet been replaced. Clare Marshall has joined on a temporary basis, supporting work on the seminars.

The Secretariat can be contacted at: