Embedding sustainable development across Government, after the Secretary of State's announcement on the future of the Sustainable Development Commission - Environmental Audit Committee Contents

Annex: Sustainable Development Commission's role, funding and activities in Scotland

SUMMARY FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AUDIT COMMITEE

1.  The Sustainable Development Commission is a company limited by guarantee, jointly owned by the UK Government and the devolved administrations, including the Scottish Government. SDC Scotland currently receives £260,000 of core funding per year for the following roles:

1. Independent scrutiny:
   1. holding the SG to account on progress in sustainable development.
2. Advisory:
   1. drawing on expert opinion (including through SDC in the rest of the UK) to input to policy development across the SG; and
   2. producing evidence-based public reports on important environmental, social and economic issues.
3. Capacity-building:
   1. establishing good working relationships with key parts of the SG to build understanding and skills for sustainable development.
4. Advocacy:
   1. encouraging a climate of opinion in which sustainable development can become a reality, promoting wider public debate and shared learning;
   2. developing effective partnerships with key networks and organisations to deliver best practice in sustainable development; and
   3. responding to SG policy initiatives.

2.  In 2009-10, SDC Scotland also received £318,000 in project funding from SG to deliver additional services, drawing on their core expertise:

1. Scottish Sustainable Development Forum secretariat (£35,000) and events (£15,000)
2. Knowledge transfer (£5,000)
3. NHS Good Corporate Citizenship Assessment Model (£58,000)
4. Climate Challenge Fund Promotion and Knowledge Transfer (£133,000) and Alliance Administration (£72,000).

3.  For Illustration, recent and ongoing activity in Scotland includes:

1. annual assessment of Scottish Government performance on sustainable development;
2. chaired and co-ordinated the Steering Group for the Education for Sustainable Development Action Plan;
3. input to the Food & Drink Leadership Forum and Zero Waste Think Tank (chairing one of its sub-groups) via Scottish Vice-Chair, Jan Bebbington;
4. ongoing input to the Zero Waste Scotland Programme Board and High Level Group Sustainable Scotland;
5. working with SG and NHS Scotland to develop and implement the Good Corporate Citizenship Assessment Model for Health Boards to manage their environmental and sustainability impacts;
6. recent Scottish studies on renewable heat and sustainable transport;
7. dissemination seminars on its Prosperity without Growth? think-piece and Low Carbon Regions Wales work;
8. assisting SG to develop an environmental and sustainability reporting system for use across the public sector;
9. co-ordinating the Scottish Sustainable Development Forum; and
10. co-ordinating the Climate Challenge Fund Supporting Alliance to deliver networking and learning (with a particular emphasis on behaviour change) between CCF communities and other key stakeholders.

3 November 2010

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Prepared 10 January 2011