ProWhy

we need Sustainable Development Goals

Paula Caballero Gmez 24 May 2012 | EN | ES | FR

SDGs will focus on what drives global challenges like food security Flickr/Global Crop Diversity Trust

Rio+20 must launch SDGs to guide countries through complex development challenges,argues Colombian ministry official Paula Caballero Gmez. Despite countries' growing commitment to alternative energy and more efficient use of resources, twenty years after the Earth Summit sustainable development is still seen by many as an idea rooted in environmental concerns. This creates a fundamental disconnect between proponents of sustainability and those who, leaving environmental concerns aside, claim that commitment to human wellbeing and poverty eradication demand exclusively socioeconomic responses. Interrelated challenges Colombia is promoting SDGs together with Peru and the United Arab Emirates. But these governments do not have their own list of priority SDGs. A preliminary set of core issues has been drafted based on extensive international consultation and recommendations from many sources. posed global goals around which SDG targets, indicators and implementation methods could be focused:

Food security: production, access and nutrition Integrated water management Energy for sustainable development Sustainable and resilient cities Healthy and productive oceans Enhanced capacity of natural systems Improved efficiency and sustainability in resource use Enhanced employment and livelihood security

Colombia's vision of the SDGs is based on the fact that economic growth, environmental protection and social welfare are deeply interrelated. Take global food security, for example: it is about far more than merely reducing hunger, which is one of the main targets of MDG 1. Achieving it will demand a long-term strategy that incorporates issues as diverse as biofuels, commodity prices, crop genetic diversity, desertification, and safeguards for traditional livelihoods, to name a few. Our societies and economies are not ready for the multidisciplinary approaches required to address the economic, environmental and social dimensions of food security. But a SDG could help forge the way by outlining tangible, key elements of sustainable and sustained food production. The MDGs focused on the final result: ending hunger. SDGs would focus on the drivers that need to be tackled to achieve that final outcome. The proposed SDG on water highlights the need for such an approach, as well as the difficulties of making the case for it. Targets on water are often labeled 'environmental', despite the fact that economic productivity and human wellbeing depend on it. A tool for change In a world where natural resource scarcity and populations are rising, and demands from the expanding middle classes are growing, policy decisions will involve difficult trade-offs. Governments need to identify 'no-regret options' that deliver benefits across a range of sectors or issues. SDGs can help decision-makers do this. They can point to both constraints and opportunities for long-term planning and investment, and enable policymakers to justify their actions even if they entail higher costs than business as usual. Rio+20 can, and should, play a decisive role in launching the SDGs as a key component of a global policy framework beyond 2015. The process will require expert guidance and input, but the selection of thematic areas is a political decision that should be made at Rio. The development of each SDG requires quantitative, time-bound targets and a dashboard of descriptive indicators that countries can put into practice according to national circumstances a one-size-fits-all approach would obscure specific priorities and needs. SDG indicators will need to be tailored to different national capacities, institutional structures and mandates if they are to catalyse domestic efforts towards more integrated approaches to sustainability. In 20 years, the world has changed at a pace few could have predicted. There are new geopolitical realities and pressures on natural systems that mean business as usual is no longer an option. SDGs can be a tool to help ensure that policies guide change and manage resources in a way that keeps human development options open. That is not an environmental agenda, but it is one that factors in social and economic, as well as environmental concerns.

The impact of sustainable development on primary and social care premises

In order to meet the Government's objectives for sustainable development, primary and social care premises needs to consider methods for conserving energy and water, and reducing waste production. This has an impact on the selection of materials.

Co-location of primary, community and social care services is important in terms of reducing the transport needs of patients, and hence the polluting effects of vehicles. Ideally new premises should be located so as to reduce journey times for users. 'Sustainable development in the NHS' provides a holistic view of environmental management. NEAT has been developed to conduct the environmental impact assessments that local authority planners increasingly require as part of the planning approval process.

'Greening the environment' is a Government-wide agenda to ensure that sustainable development considerations permeate all policies. In the NHS this is focused on the operation and development of the service and estate.

Sustainable development embraces social, economic and environmental goals to ensure a better quality of life for everyone, now and for future generations. The Government agenda for sustainable development is to meet four objectives: 1. 2. 3. 4. Social progress that recognises the needs of everyone. Effective protection of the environment. Prudent use of natural resources. Maintenance of high and stable levels of economic growth and employment.

A sustainable NHS means considering environmental, social and economic implications. This will lead to:

improved working environments cost savings a better service to the community reduced environmental impacts a holistic view of all activities

In the NHS this agenda might be thought to focus on larger developments, such as hospitals, but primary care premises, taken as a whole, can make a significant contribution to the sustainability agenda. The environmental impacts of smaller premises in the NHS, which use a lot of resources and generate large quantities of clinical and other waste, can be reduced. The key objectives for achieving a sustainable NHS are:

energy conservation waste reduction healthy transport water conservation

implementation of an environmental procurement/contracts strategy

These objectives relate to drivers of change such as the 'Waste Strategy 2000' and 'Landfill Directives', and the 'Climate Change Programme'.

Energy conservation
Energy conservation is about reducing energy use, which will lead to a reduction of CO2 emissions. Factors to consider are:

high levels of insulation in walls and roofs and low emissivity windows (double glazed and with internal heat reflective coating) use of natural ventilation and lighting, where possible, to reduce the need for artificial lighting and ventilation local controls for heating and ventilation to provide for individual comfort passive solar design maximising heat and light gain and systems for passive ventilation low energy control systems for lighting

Benefits of Sustainable Development

Sustainable development addresses environmental stewardship issues, while also providing opportunities for economic growth and social responsibility. Incorporating sustainable development principles into ER3 projects allows for environmental, economic, and social benefits beyond what are usually achieved. To receive consideration for Environmentally Responsible Redevelopment and Reuse (ER3) resources and incentives, an ER3 proposal can utilize the following sustainable development principles:

Green Building Ecological Enhancements Smart Growth

Green Building
Buildings are an important part of our daily lives. Despite their importance, our built environment has negatively impacted the natural environment in many ways. In order to reduce these impacts, a concept known as green building is emerging.

Green buildings provide these benefits:

Environmental Reduce the impacts of our built environment in areas such as energy efficiency, water conservation, waste reduction, and use of environmentally-friendly materials. Economic Studies show that installing green building technologies can be cost-efficient in the long run Improving indoor environmental quality creates a healthier environment for the occupants of a building, which may help increase their productivity.

Social

Visit EPA's Green Building website for additional information.

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Ecological Enhancements
Ecological enhancements are strategies designed to improve wildlife habitat for plants and animals. Ecological enhancements restore a site to a more natural, ecologically healthy state, which increases the value of the affected ecosystem as well as the neighboring built environment. The benefits of ecological enhancements are:

Environmental Ecological controls can benefit the environment in numerous ways, such as serving as a filtration system in stormwater runoff or biodegrading environmental contaminants. Economic Remediation projects with ecological enhancements are resulting in significant costsavings. Sustainable development using ecological enhancement serves communities by preserving green space and creating opportunities for environmental education.

Social

Additional information on Ecological Enhancements is available from the Wildlife Habitat Council's website.

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Smart Growth

ER3 recognizes that Smart Growth principles are essential for environmentally responsible growth and development. Smart Growth addresses, on a broad scale, how and where development should occur. Smart Growth helps revitalize older suburbs and existing cities, thus preserving green space and offers these benefits:

Environmental Smart Growth strategies can improve air and water quality, facilitate redevelopment of contaminated properties, and preserve open space. Economic Smart Growth strategies can create jobs and expand the local tax base to create economically competitive communities. Smart Growth development creates healthy communities by creating a cleaner environment and builds stronger neighborhoods that create a greater sense of community.

Social

More Smart Growth information is available from the Agency's Smart Growth website.

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