APPENDIX 10
Memorandum from the Department For Environment,
Food And Rural Affairs (DEFRA)
INTRODUCTION
1. In this memorandum Defra addresses seven
specific questions EAC asked us, together with the four areas
for investigation, and four questions relating to them in the
press notice announcing the inquiry. We accept the Sustainable
Development Education Panel's definition of ESD as "the
learning needed to maintain and improve our quality of life and
the quality of life for generations to come"; emphasising
that it requires knowledge, understanding, commitment, skills,
and action.
KEY CHALLENGES
IN PROMOTING
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
2. EAC has asked What are the key challenges
which DEFRA faces in seeking to promote sustainable development?
How can education (both formal and informal) help to address
these?
3. People behave unsustainably because they
do not know about sustainable development; fail to appreciate
its significance; are not committed to a sustainable future; know
what to do but not how to do it; or because some other factor
prevents their skills leading to action. Formal and informal education
can help in each case: through general awareness raising such
as that we generated for the World Summit on Sustainable Development
(WSSD); through advancing specific knowledge such as of climate
change through Defra's website; and through developing specific
skills such as those we are piloting with our Integrated Policy
Appraisal framework. Many government activities such as consultations,
information leaflets on specific risks, and policy announcements
can have an awareness raising effect, even though that is not
their main function.
4. However it does not necessarily follow
that ESD alone will bring about the desired changes in behaviour.
There are practical considerations too. For example fuel poverty
might be a factor in the energy saving measures that a person
can in practice take, however good the education about the principles.
THE NEED
FOR INCREASED
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
5. EAC has asked to what extent a lack
of public engagement and understanding is a real obstacle to the
Government's progress on its sustainable development agenda and
have asked what studies there have been to show this.
6. Surveys show that some people do not
act as sustainably as they could. Our Survey of Public Attitudes
to Quality of Life and the Environment—2001 is a good
recent overview of trends in knowledge, understanding and action.
We found that most respondents recognised that such factors as
the destruction of forests and fuel emissions contribute to climate
change. However, they also wrongly identified the hole in the
ozone layer as a factor. Over half claimed to regularly recycle
paper and two fifths to recycle glass, though only reported paper
recycling had increased significantly over previous surveys. Some
two-fifths of respondents claimed to carry out other actions such
as cutting down their energy use, or deliberately using alternatives
to cars.
EVIDENCE OF
GOOD PRACTICE
7. EAC has asked whether there are existing
education programmes relating to sustainable development which
might be considered good practice, suggesting that these might
include in-house training schemes for ESD for employees and stakeholders
within businesses, the civil service, and other organisations.
8. We are keen to promote a permissive rather
than a prescriptive approach towards education for sustainable
development, which, as we have said, may focus on various combinations
of knowledge; action, understanding, skills, values and commitment,
each of which will require different methods. We are therefore
reluctant to commend specific programmes at the expense of many
other equally deserving initiatives.
9. The Council for Environmental Education,
in its written evidence to EAC's inquiry on UK Preparations
for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, lists exemplar
activities in formal and informal education sectors. We would
also note the programmes we support through our Environmental
Action Fund, described in this memorandum, which underwent thorough
examination before we offered grant.
10. EAC has also asked if there are elements
of successful, strategic communication programmes in other areas
which could be applied to education for sustainable development?
For example, from other Government awareness campaigns such as
those for drink driving, AIDS and smoking.
11. There are tried and tested principles
and methods of successful communication, effective marketing and
psychology which are as relevant to promoting sustainable development
as they are to other subjects. The employment of specialist information
and press officers in departments is one way in which the Government
ensures that lessons learned from AIDS, smoking and drink driving
campaigns have been applied to education for sustainable development,
and vice versa.
12. Successful communication programmes
have often relied on a mix of mechanisms including legislative,
regulatory and economic instruments, awareness raising, and partnerships
with other stakeholders in the marketplace. This helps to overcome
barriers (such as societal pressures, learned behaviours, doorstep
priorities, and social scepticism), drive action and deliver the
required outcomes.
EVIDENCE OF
EVALUATION
13. We have addressed EAC's expressed interest
in evaluation, throughout this memorandum, but would make these
general comments. Awareness raising campaigns are traditionally
evaluated by surveys before and after major bursts of campaign
activity which measure awareness and attitudinal changes (eg
"Are you doing your bit?" evaluation). Actual changes
in behaviour may be difficult to measure, particularly because
changes claimed by respondents may not be validated. Any change
(or the absence of it) may be motivated by a variety of factors,
making the effectiveness of awareness in bringing about that change
difficult to demonstrate.
14. The ultimate test of education for sustainable
development is that we develop in a direction of greater sustainability.
At the end of the day the contribution of ESD will be manifested
in changes to the 15 indicators of the UK Sustainable Development
Strategy, eight of which are moving in a positive direction and
for only one of which there is unequivocal data that it is moving
the wrong way. One of our challenges in developing a strategy
for education for sustainable development in England will be to
link activity meaningfully to those indicators.
15. One lower level indicator in Quality
of Life Counts is awareness in schools of sustainable development.
This was based on research we commissioned in 1999 for SDEP, and
it appeared to suggest that there were higher levels of both provision
and awareness than some practitioners expected. SDEP felt that
this might be an artefact of the specific questions asked, but
it could also reflect more effective teaching and learning than
they had suspected.
THE NEED
FOR A
NATIONAL STRATEGY
FOR EDUCATION
FOR SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
16. EAC has posed the question is there
a need for a national strategy for education for sustainable development?
and asked would additional infrastructure be required to deliver
a coherent, national strategy? Defra believes that the case
for a strategy has merits and, with DfES, has commissioned SDEP
to develop a draft strategy, which Ministers will receive later
this month. This draft is likely to form the basis of a document
on which the Government plans to consult widely.
17. We will convene a cross-Whitehall group
of officials, and a wider sounding board of relevant stakeholders
to develop the draft strategy further. Among the issues we will
consider is the relationship that this strategy has to others,
such as that for Sustainable Consumption and Production. We cannot
therefore yet answer EAC's question of what longer-term infrastructure,
if any, might prove necessary, either nationally or locally, to
deliver a strategy. This will be determined alongside the development
of the strategy itself.
JOINT WORKING
ON EDUCATION
FOR SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
18. EAC has noted that Defra has lead
responsibility for promoting sustainable development and says
that it wishes to know how do Defra and DfES share the workload/responsibility
in the area of ESD to ensure that sustainable development is promoted
in line with the Government's Sustainable Development Strategy?
19. Successive annual reports on our UK
Sustainable Development Strategy show that Defra and DfES are
two of many departments with significant roles to play in promoting
ESD. The Cabinet Sub Committee ENV(G), commonly known as the Green
Ministers Committee, is one way in which the Government co-ordinates
its work at the highest level.
20. There are broad areas in which Defra
and DfES respectively lead. Defra's role is mainly towards awareness
raising through public campaigns. DfES leads in formal education
institutions, in the workplace through Sector Skills Councils,
and in youth work. Defra and DfES operate closely together, with
working level contacts from Grade 3 to Higher Executive Officer
in these two areas. Examples include Growing Schools, Our World
and the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority's website on ESD
for teachers.
21. At times Defra has been particularly
well placed to contribute to learning in schools about sustainable
development. For example our global warming website contains material
suitable for pupils of different ages, teachers and parents, and
we have sent out over 4,000 copies of our global warming information
pack for children and young people.
22. Another example is in respect of the
Biodiversity Strategy for England which we published last October.
We are setting up an Understanding And Awareness Stakeholders
Group to prioritise education and information needs and to develop
and carry out a workplan over the next three years. We also plan
to involve young people in developing biodiversity policy.
23. Our Rural Affairs Forum for England
works alongside the Forum for Rural Children and Young People,
an umbrella body of national organisations interested in improving
outcomes for children and young people in rural England. The children's
forum tabled its first paper at the Rural Affairs Forum meeting
last November, setting out areas for the Forum to consider, and
will be making a presentation to the Forum, hopefully at its April
meeting.
PARTNERSHIP IN
SUPPORT OF
THE SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT EDUCATION
PANEL
24. Another example of effective joint working
is the secretariat which EAC has noted that Defra and DfES provide
to the Government's SDEP. EAC has asked how are the responsibilities
for the secretariat divided and what resources does DEFRA contribute
to this arrangement? Defra and DfES Ministers have made appointments
to the Panel together, and the Panel has reported to them jointly.
Officials of both departments attended every SDEP meeting and
the departments have taken turns, alternating every six months,
in accommodating and servicing meetings. The departments have
also evenly divided the work of servicing Sub Groups. In its Fifth
Report, which is about to be published, the Panel expresses "its
gratitude to the members of our Secretariat - from Defra and DfES—for
all the help they have given us individually and collectively.
We have nothing but praise for their professionalism."
25. Table 1 gives SDEP's estimated costs
over its five years. Staff and travel costs have been equally
divided across the two departments, while consultancy and publications
costs were largely met by Defra. In addition Defra hosts website
pages for the Panel, absorbing the costs in the department's own
website management. While Panel members are not paid for their
time, the employing organisations of five current Panel members
have received grant from Defra's Environmental Action Fund during
their term of office, facilitating their participation. (Some
employing organisations received funding from DfES over the same
period, and a DfES Agency employs one member full-time.) EAC asked
specifically about Defra's manpower allocation to the Panel. This
has averaged at one-third of a Grade 7 post and one-quarter of
a Higher Executive Officer post over the life of the Panel.
Table 1:
ESTIMATED COSTS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
EDUCATION PANEL 1998-2003
| Staff | Travel
| Consultancies | Publications
| Total |
| £300,000 | £16,600
| £331,280 | £25,000
| £672,880 |
DEFRA'S
OVERALL STRATEGY
26. EAC has asked is DEFRA working to an overall strategy
for promoting sustainable development, and if so, what are the
main elements of any strategic approach which has been developed?
Our Communications Directorate is currently developing a new communications
strategy on sustainable development. It will be considering all
aspects of communications, including the use of the internet,
media relations and paid publicity. We intend to seek stakeholder's
views on proposals later in the year. One of the strategy's recommendatins
will be that education be treated as a priority communications
area, wth specific consideration given to a high profile national
schools education programme. This process will be informed by
the proposed consultation on a national strategy for education
for sustainable development.
27. We need to liase across Government, working with
partners from across civil society and taking advice from the
education sector to identify the most appropriate way of taking
sustainable development messages into schools. We will consider
a range of options, including roadshows or tours, subject to consultation
and market testing. We plan to fund any programme funded from
existing resources, making use of partnership and sponsorship
wherever appropriate and possible.
STATUS OF
"ARE YOU
DOING YOUR
BIT?"
28. EAC has asked specifically about the current status
of DEFRA's "Are you doing your bit?" campaign".
In particular EAC wants to know whether there has been an
evaluation of the campaign since the one published by the DETR
in November 2000, and which other Government departments contributed
to the "Are you doing your bit?" campaign, and in what
way? It also asks more generally whether existing awareness
raising Government campaigns such as "Are you doing your
bit?" are effective and well targeted and in what ways they
could be improved in the future.
29. The former DETR launched "Are you doing your
bit?" in 1998. Expenditure on the campaign, covering
both environmental and transport topics, was £3.4 million
in 1998-99, £7.0 million in 1999-2000 and £9.3 million
in 2000-01. In 2001-02 most of the campaign's resources were reallocated
to rural support, during the outbreak of foot and mouth disease,
and expenditure was £0.6 million. In view of the limited
resources expended, the department has not considered it cost-effective
to evaluate the campaign since the report we published in November
2000. However the Survey showed that 41% of all respondents had
heard of "Are you doing your bit?", but this rose to
58% of 18 to 24 year olds, compared with 27% of those aged 65
or over.
30. As we have noted, Defra is currently developing a
new communications strategy in this area and, in the meantime,
has made only basic financial commitments to the "Are
you doing you bit?" campaign in the current financial
year. Funding for all elements of the campaign will be withdrawn
as of 1 April 2003. Defra is considering better targeted and more
effective activity, focused on waste and energy use following
Strategy Unit reports on these issues, in place of the "Are
you doing your bit?" campaign which raised general awareness.
The distribution of budgets for public awareness activities for
the following three financial years has yet to be decided, in
the light of overall figures for the Department in this year's
Spending Review. However public awareness can be raised by other
Government-funded campaigns such as the Carbon Trust's Thank
you poster and advertising campaign being launched next month,
which links children and business, and targets both senior managers
and directors as well as the general public.
OTHER DEFRA
CAMPAIGNS
31. EAC also wishes to know what other, recent practical
schemes, projects or campaigns Defra has supported in an attempt
to engender behavioural change (which promotes sustainable development)
on the part of the public or to improve awareness/knowledge of
sustainable development, what resources have been devoted to such
schemes and how have the outputs been evaluated? This Memorandum
will begin with an example of a Defra campaign, and then describe
work by a range of agencies that we support. The recipients of
our Environmental Action Fund grant are the subject of a separate,
specific question from EAC which is addressed below, as are business
and community initiatives.
DEFRA AND
THE WORLD
SUMMIT ON
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
32. We have consistently taken advantage of a range of
opportunities to promote individual action in other projects and
public engagements. A notable case, worthy of description in some
detail, was the campaign in relation up to WSSD.
33. Before the Summit Defra co-sponsored a pre-summit
press briefing Telling Stories. This supplemented regular
media teleconferences. The aim was to stimulate media interest
in WSSD and sustainable development in general by providing a
"one-stop WSSD media shop" for UK media, bringing together
national media with organisations with a stake in WSSD, from across
government and civil society. Over 40 organisations helped the
event achieve significant immediate media coverage, including
national radio. It positioned Defra as a partner in WSSD and longer
term sustainable development issues, and also provided smaller
organisations with access to national media that otherwise would
have been out of reach, and played a part in encouraging UK media
editors to send teams to Johannesburg to cover WSSD.
34. Defra worked in association with DfID to produce
Reaching the Summit, a free case study based brochure providing
an overview of UK and international efforts to promote sustainable
development, outlining UK priorities for the World Summit. Over
25,000 copies were distributed directly, with additional reactive
mailings.
35. Together with DfES and the Devolved Administrations,
we worked with WWF to develop the Our World Project, which
offered young people around the UK the opportunity to add their
voices to the debates on environment and poverty in the lead up
to WSSD. Earth Champions aged between nine and 17 were selected
from each winning school of a Schools Challenge. Young people
were encouraged to debate issues through Our World primary
and secondary school Internet debates WWF posted messages to the
Prime Minister in advance of WSSD.
36. At the Summit itself the Secretary of State gave
35 interviews, with many more from Mr Meacher, which helped
to raise awareness of WSSD both in the UK and abroad. Over the
course of WSSD the media team turned generally hostile coverage
to positive stories. For example Charles Clover, one of the chief
sceptics of the WSSD process in the Telegraph, closed his
final report by acknowledging that WSSD may have provided the
world with the much-needed Marshall Plan for sustainable development.
In the eyes of the international press the UK delegation set new
standards for openness and availability to discuss key issues.
37. Defra negotiated joint sponsorship with Sustainable
Development Commission of a WSSD supplement in the Independent
newspaper. This featured articles by Margaret Beckett and Jonathon
Porritt alongside editorial comment on key issues, as well as
promoting an on-line internet discussion forum What does sustainable
development mean to you? that was then running on the Government's
sustainable development website, and the availability of Reaching
the Summit.
38. The WSSD campaign is not the only example. Recent
publications that have provided news platforms for awareness raising
on sustainable development have included the Sustainable Development
in Government First Annual Report published last November;
SDEP's Learning to Last sustainable development learning
guides for trade unions, professions and Sector Skills Councils;
and the Sustainable Food and Farming Strategy published in December.
We plan more such opportunities, such as the publication of the
2002 UK Sustainable Development Strategy Report.
39. At a less obvious level, officials and Ministers
work on a daily basis through normal day-to-day speaking engagements
to influence stakeholders within and outside government towards
sustainable development planning and actions.
DEFRA'S
FUNDED AND
SPONSORED BODIES
40. Defra ensures that it uses its influence on the bodies
it sponsors and resources to develop their commitment to education
for sustainable development. These bodies run a number of campaigns
and initiatives. It is only possible to give a flavour of these
here.
41. The British Waterways Board runs the Wild
over Waterways Initiative. This new national scheme to inspire
children to care for the waterways was launched in the summer
of 2002. Run in partnership with the Inland Waterways Association
and The Waterways Trust, the WOW Initiative is encouraging young
people to enjoy, protect and value Britain's canals and rivers.
WOW provides young people, teachers and their parents with a range
of themed educational initiatives, including national and local
waterway events, detailed lesson plans and a website. The second
phase, which is underway, is to develop material on key themes
including environment, heritage and sustainability and local issues.
42. This compliments locally based initiatives such as
the Outreach Initiative at Lapworth Waterway, Warwickshire; Doorstep
Greens in the Tame Valley on the on the Birmingham and Black Country
Waterway, a community boat for the Midland Waterways, and a key
role in the education work of the London Waterways Partnership.
43. Another body that Defra sponsors is ENCAMS (Environmental
Campaigns), created in 1998 as an umbrella organisation for the
former Tidy Britain Group (TBG) and Going for Green (GfG) campaign.
Defra funding of ENCAMS is currently £3.5 million. ENCAMS
carries out a number of education and awareness raising programmes
relevant to sustainable development, to some of which Defra contributes
directly through grant, while others benefit from Defra's contribution
to the company's core costs. The programmes that Defra currently
funds relate mainly to work on litter, dogs, travel, fast food
and local communities, and we support the design, delivery and
evaluation of the programmes. We are in the process of agreeing
with ENCAMS what work Defra grant will support in 2003-04.
44. The outcomes of the campaigns we support are very
impressive. 82% of respondents to the Food Litter Campaign who
do drop litter said that the advert would "definitely"
or "maybe" change their future behaviour; a regional
dog-fouling campaign resulted in an average decrease of 40% in
dog fouling across hotspot areas in the North West; and a textile
recycling campaign resulted in a 24% increase in the amount of
clothing donated to Salvation Army recycling banks.
45. Defra provides funding of nearly £24 million
to the Energy Saving Trust to run a number of programmes
to promote the sustainable and efficient use of energy to domestic
consumers and small businesses. This includes the Trust's Energy
Efficiency promotion and advertising campaign, which aims
to develop domestic consumers' understanding and knowledge of
links between energy efficiency and the environment through TV
and radio advertising, PR, a website, an energy efficiency hotline
and local activities. The Trust also part-funds a network of Energy
Efficiency Advice Centres and runs an endorsement scheme for energy
efficient products. Outputs are evaluated through a quarterly
report produced for Defra. The Trust also evaluates its own programmes
through its Board. There are now around 1,000 products endorsed
under the Trust's Energy Efficiency Recommended logo and
the Trust is expanding the scheme to cover more products and areas.
In 2001-02, the Trust's Energy Efficiency hotline and website
were contacted by 244,000 people. 148,000 consumers took action
in response to the Energy Efficiency campaign
46. English Nature educates the public on nature
conservation and sustainability through its People and Policies
Programme. Within this programme it has designed a new pilot grant
scheme "Go Wild" which it has aimed at schools and local
communities in order to promote wildlife-rich grounds and community
gardens. English Nature has a current grant of £61.3 million
of which £4.9 million supports the People and Policies Programme.
47. We have recently updated our guidance to the Environment
Agency on its education and awareness raising work. This states
that the Agency has a duty to raise awareness and educate: people
in professions directly affected by its work; those in further
education; and pupils/students through the National Curriculum,
where this offers good value for money and adds value to the work
of lead bodies in this area. The Agency has taken a key role in
developing the Professional Practice for Sustainable Development
(PP4SD) initiative with thirteen other institutions, working together
to develop and publish a framework for sustainability. One example
of its role has been helping the East Midlands Development Agency
to provide sustainable development training in early 2003 for
half its workforce and for its partners based on the PP4SD Foundation
Course. The Agency's own memorandum to EAC contains further examples
which we will not repeat here.
48. The Forestry Commission is another Defra body
which, in 2001, produced a policy statement on education and learning.
This "recognises that young people and the decisions they
make now and in the future are vital for the sustainability of
forests and woodlands." This commitment to learning will
deliver greater understanding and enjoyment of forest and woodland
environments and the diverse benefits they offer.
49. This policy is delivered through Forest Enterprise
which provides formal and informal learning opportunities
to the primary, secondary and tertiary education sectors and lifelong
learning audiences; the Forest Education Initiative working
through local cluster groups to facilitate the use of woodlands
and wood products to create a greater understanding about sustainable
development/use of woodlands; and Forest Schools which
is developing through the early years sectors and extending into
mainstream education, children with emotional and behavioural
learning difficulties and adults with mental health illnesses.
People can visit their forest school once a week to learn about
wood and how it can be used sustainably.
50. Defra established the National Waste Awareness
Initiative (NWAI) to co-ordinate the diverse of waste awareness
campaigns run by local authorities and the waste sector. Defra
assists with the administrative costs of this non-Government group
of representatives from all parts of the sector. It aims to raise
the profile of waste on the environmental agenda, and to increase
personal levels of responsibility for waste, encouraging people
to minimise, re-use and recycle. It works with local campaigns,
which are best placed to know what is happening in their locality,
providing them with nationally recognised messages and branding.
It is also engaging non-waste sectors in the campaigns.
51. NWAI's activity is underpinned by research to determine
what messages and images will have the most impact on members
of the public. Its first major campaign Rethink Rubbish,
launched in June 2002 ran in conjunction with retail sector leaders
such as Argos, Boots, major supermarket chains and 200 other organisations.
The campaign undertook a tracking study, which showed 91% in
favour of the campaign; awareness of recycling increasing from
20% to 24% over the study's duration. Attitudes do seem to be
changing, with an 8% increase in those who "try . . . but
could probably do more" and an 8% decrease in those who "have
more important things to worry about". Recipients welcomed
the campaign's partnership approach, with 82% of those surveyed
approving of the involvement of retailers.
52. The Strategy Unit's recent report Waste Not Want
Not reinforced the value of a national awareness campaign,
recommending that the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP)
take forward a national waste awareness programme. NWAI, is discussion
with WRAP on the way forward. A Ministerial Group is also considering
the report's recommendations and a Government response to its
recommendations is due to be made at around the time of the budget.
53. Defra also sponsors the rural and sustainable development
teams of the national network of nine Government Offices for
the Regions. These have had significant local impact, often
through working in partnership with local authorities on their
Local Agenda 21 initiatives or in their capacity as local education
authorities. Defra delegates a small programme budget (£50,000
in 2002-03) for the purpose of promoting the sustainable development
message. Government Offices use this budget in a variety of ways,
and typically are able to lever in further funding from partners.
Examples of activities undertaken with this budget are support
for Regional Sustainable Development Round Tables, work with Local
Strategic Partnerships to ensure that Community Strategies incorporate
sustainable development principles and work with business to encourage
sustainable practices. Some of them such as the Yorkshire and
Humberside and the East offices, have worked with schools to ensure
that the principles are properly understood by the next generation.
ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION
FUND
54. One strand of Defra activity about which EAC asked
specifically is the Environmental Action Fund. EAC noted that
understanding and awareness of sustainable development was currently
one of the Environment Action Fund priority areas and asked what
evaluation of the projects in this category Defra had undertaken,
and how have these projects influenced Defra's approach to promoting
sustainable development?
55. "Understanding and awareness of sustainable
development" is one of two explicit priorities of the EAF,
funding 36 three-year projects which started in the 2002-03 financial
year. These were funded with £2.6m of grant in 2002, and
we anticipate awarding similar amounts in the next two financial
years. Many of the 23 projects (£1.4 million grant in 2002-03
promoting "biodiversity", the EAF's other priority,
feature awareness raising and education.
56. ESD has also been an implicit aim of some earlier
EAF projects, particularly those funded in 1999-2002 for "work
promoting sustainable living". At that time an independent
review of the EAF noted, "the EAF appears to be one of
the few public sector funds that actively supports true sustainable
development education." Other past EAF projects have
addressed understanding and awareness about particular aspects
of sustainable development, such as air quality, energy, and waste
reduction.
57. Although some evaluation of these projects has occurred
already, the effectiveness of those still in progress will only
become apparent as they mature. Evaluation takes place at six
stages in EAF-funded projects' life cycles:
— Applications to the fund: policy divisions
assess applications against the Fund's criteria and for their
strategic contribution to its priority areas;
— Devising the projects work programme: successful
applicants agree a work programme with Defra input, which must
include expected outcomes;
— Quarterly claims: claims are made on a
quarterly basis (though we allow groups some flexibility in this),
accompanied by reports of progress which must reach Defra's quality
standards;
— Annual renewals: groups must satisfy Defra
that work objectives are being met, EAF rules are being complied
with, and that there are clear plans for taking the work forward
in subsequent years of funding;
— The end of the project report: groups must
provide an end of project report, which Defra, or its contracted
grant management agency must either agree with, or provide a separate
report of progress;
— Audit: each recipient group must provide
an independent auditors report, stating that all EAF funds awarded
to them have been used in accordance with EAF rules;
58. This continuous evaluation ensures that groups' work
is consistent with EAF rules and priorities, and that the project
is proceeding in accordance with an agreed work programme, which
includes the need for specific, measurable, appropriate, realistic
and time-related outcomes as well as outputs. This monitoring
framework allows Defra to be well apprised of project outcomes
throughout the life of the project.
59. The success of these projects has reinforced Defra's
awareness and support of the voluntary sector's effectiveness
in promoting sustainable development learning. Where particular
types of projects, specific groups or work engaging particular
groups have been less successful, they and we have learned from
the experience, and we ensure that grant recipients disseminated
lessons learned to other practitioners. They can also help to
inform developing policies on both ESD and the EAF.
60. The success of voluntary sector (including EAF funded
work) in working with children and young people in formal and
informal educational activities is now recognised in Defra's strategy
for children and young people. The active involvement of Defra
in the management of EAF projects has given us opportunities to
align groups' programmes with Defra priorities and secure synergies
with its activities. More widely Defra recognises that the voluntary
sector can succeed in working with groups otherwise disengaged
with sustainable development and the EAF is one of the ways that
we continue to facilitate this process.
COMMUNITY BASED
INITIATIVES
61. EAC expressed particular interest in how far ESD
has been integrated into key areas of learning such as the community.
Local authorities and the lead bodies for community based activity
for sustainable development, including education, and these fall
under the remit of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minster, and
therefore outside the scope of this memorandum. However we are
aware of, and welcome the creation last year of the Innovation
and Development Agency's Local Sustainable Development Unit, which
has the key task of mainstreaming sustainability into local government
activity and being able to demonstrate its positive impact.
BUSINESS BASED
INITIATIVES
62. Another area of learning where EAC was particularly
interested in the extent to which ESD had been integrated, was
that of business. Here again other government departments,
notably the Department for Trade and Industry, have a particularly
significant role, and DTI was one of the first departments to
set up a Sustainable Development Unit.
63. Defra leads on a number of initiatives intended to
raise awareness of sustainable development in business. A key
element of this work relates to the promotion of the business
benefits of adopting independently validated environmental management
systems, such as the global standard ISO 14001. a new British
standard BS 8555, which allows the phased implementation
of environmental management systems, to be launched in April 2003,
and especially the European Regulation EMAS (EU Eco Management
and Audit Scheme).
64. These schemes provide practical tools for business
to help them reduce their environmental impacts, safeguard their
legal compliance and reputation, stimulate more efficiency and
competitiveness, demonstrate that they are managing their operations
in an environmentally responsible way, report publicly on performance,
communicate effectively with stakeholders, including employees
, and contribute to wider sustainable development objectives.
65. We place particular emphasis on EMAS. Article 1 (2)
of the EMAS Regulation states that the objective of the scheme
is to " promote continual improvements in the environmental
performance of organisations by . . . .d) the active involvement
of employees in the organisation and appropriate initial and
advanced training that makes active participation in the tasks
referred to under (a) possible [the establishment and implementation
of environmental management systems]. Where they so request any
employee representatives shall also be involved."
66. Defra represents the UK at European Commission Steering
Committee meetings of EMAS and has cooperated with other Member
States to help draft a Commission guidance document on Employee
Participation Within the Framework of EMAS. We have appointed
the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment to act
as the Competent Body in the UK responsible for the administration
of EMAS. The Competent Body produces guidance notes, and case
studies about the scheme for business as well as supporting Defra
in the development of promotional activities, such as workshops,
seminars and conferences.
67. Since 1999 Defra has been working with the DTI, the
British Standards Institution, Forum for the Future and a multi-sectoral
group of business organisations to develop the Sigma Project
(Sustainability-Integrated Guidelines for Management). Its
objectives are to develop a management framework to help organisations
understand sustainability, provide organisations with a set of
practical tools to help companies move towards a more sustainable
way of doing business, develop a management process that incorporates
sustainability into everyday business policies, establish a means
to promote the aims of sustainable development and ensure these
objectives are communicated effectively to business stakeholders.
68. Defra and DTI have established a best practice forum
called the Pioneers Group which aims to encourage the implementation
of sectoral sustainability strategies. Collective action and promoting
sustainable development on a sectoral basis provides individual
businesses with a framework to help them identify and manage their
economic, environmental and social risks in an integrated way.
69. The Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA) is a
non-departmental public body, charged with setting up a network
of Sector Skills Councils (SSCs). The SSCs are developed by influential
groups of employers, in industry or business sectors of economic
or strategic significance, working in partnership with professions
and unions to tackle the skills and productivity needs of their
sectors throughout the UK. The SSDA has, as part of its remit
from the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, to work
with groups considering the skills implications of sustainable
development and determine ways of incorporating these in the work
of SSCs.
70. Defra has a close relationship with one of the Councils,
Lantra, the trailblazer SSC for the environmental and land-based
sector. Lantra includes sustainable development as a key area
in its business plan. Sustainable development is included in Lantra's
work to improve learning opportunities for existing and potential
members of the workforce, and to develop their skills to meet
the needs of the sector. Lantra was instrumental in developing
the publication Learning to last—Business and Sustainable
Development—a learning guide for Sector Skills Councils
with SDEP, which Defra launched in September. It is too early
to assess how successful the SSCs in general and Lantra in particular
have been, as they are relatively new, and none have been fully
licensed yet. They do, however, hold great promise for the future.
71. The Advisory Committee on Business and the Environment
(ACBE) is a committee of senior business people appointed jointly
by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
and Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in 1991. ACBE has
a remit to provide Ministers with a business perspective on environmental
policy and to engage companies to encourage improvements in environmental
performance. It is currently in the process of an independent
review which will help to valuate the initiatives described below.
72. The only specific advice to Government on ESD that
ACBE has provided has been a joint representation with TUSDAC
and SDEP on an ESD remit for the SSDA. This year ACBE has provided
advice to companies through guidance and educational material.
Realising The Value, Enhancing Business Success, which
follows on from last year's Value, Growth, Success. While
Value Growth, Success addressed strategic board level issues,
the follow up paper is aimed at the level of management below
the Board, taking the issues identified in the earlier publication
and giving advice on putting them into operation.
73. In 2002 ACBE also produced a business commentary—They
don't have fitted carpets in Barcelona—Have you considered
how a change in the UK climate will impact your business? (2002)—to
accompany the Government's detailed scenarios of how climate change
may affect the UK climate over the twenty first century. This
commentary presents key messages in terms of risks and opportunities
to UK businesses.
74. Better Returns, published last year, is ACBE's
tool for Pension Fund Managers, trustees and analysts, forming
a starting point in factoring considerations of social and environmental
performance into their investment processes, decisions and advice.
It also includes sources of further guidance.
75. The Trade Union Sustainable Development Advisory
Committee (TUSDAC) was set up in 1998 as the main forum for
consultation with trade unions on sustainable development and
related environmental policies. TUSDAC also aims to mobilise the
trade union movement to become involved in the move towards better
workplace environmental practice. The only specific advice TUSDAC
has provided to Government on ESD has been a joint representation
with ACBE and SDEP on an ESD remit for the SSDA, work which it
has since followed up with DfES and SSDA officials.
76. TUSDAC has also actively pursued its interest in
education on sustainable development in the workplace. With SDEP
and the Environment Agency, it has developed another guide in
the series we have referred to above, Sustainable Development
through Education—a learning guide for Trade Unions.
The co-chairmen of TUSDAC, Michael Meacher and John Edmonds, will
address a letter to the General Secretaries of the Unions, endorsing
the SDEP guides and promoting their use, in February 2003.
77. TUSDAC has commissioned the development of a three-day
entry-level course on environmental issues for trades union members
and a corresponding "training the trainers course".
It is currently exploring funding options for delivering these
across a broad range of trade unions. We further understand that
the members of TUSDAC will be submitting its own Memorandum to
the EAC Consultation.
78. Within Defra we take steps to educate and raise the
awareness of our staff of sustainable development and its relevance
to our work. This has included the development of Defra's own
Sustainable Development Strategy Foundation for Our Future
and its dissemination through a number of mechanisms to embed
sustainable development principles and approaches in business
planning processes. We have reported on the achievements of our
predecessor departments in successive Greening Government and
Sustainable Development in Government reports, and will continue
to do so. As well as education, initiatives like our encouragement
to staff to become school governors and the Christmas card recycling
campaign, which we have run in partnership with Tesco and the
Woodland Trust, help to show our staff how they can also make
a difference outside the world of work.
79. Defra publishes monthly Energy & Environmental
Management magazine which now contains regular information
on sustainable management. The publication goes to managers in
the business and public sectors, and January's issue included
a special supplement on Training for Sustainable Development.
80. We are pleased to report the steps that the bodies
we sponsor are taking to exemplify sustainable business practice,
including awareness raising initiatives. For example the British
Waterways Board involved staff in developing a sustainable
development commitment and strategy, and then used seminars, benchmarking,
quality measures, and appraisal to build commitment and make it
a reality.
CONCLUSION
81. Finally we would warn against the excessive pessimism
that can often inhibit action by institutions and individuals.
The Survey showed that 34% of all respondents had heard
of the term "sustainable development", this rose to
41% of those aged 45 to 64, compared with only 18% of those aged
18 to 24. This survey took place before the World Summit on Sustainable
Development, which we believe raised awareness further, particularly
in younger age groups, and it represents a significant advance
on the situation only a few years ago. The time is right to draw
the good practices and considered policies that we have helped
to develop together into a formal strategy. This will enable our
partners and us to share with us a clear understanding of what
we can jointly achieve through education for sustainable development,
and how we will do it.
February 2003
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