Places for the future: Supplementary Planning Document

Posted on: 14 March 2012
By: mackene
No Comments »
Filed under: News

Birmingham City Council is preparing a new Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) for the city which will provide guidance to developers on sustainable development. The purpose of the SPD is to provide detailed guidance for future development and investment in Birmingham in support of the Sustainable Development of the draft Core Strategy. This covers sustainable communities, green infrastructure and climate change adaptation, sustainable transport, low and zero carbon energy, water efficiency and sustainable construction and waste.

Read more online

GMS 2020: Balancing economic growth and environmental sustainability. Bangkok, 20-21 February 2012

Posted on: 13 March 2012
By: mackene
No Comments »
Filed under: Events presentations

The Asian Development Bank (ADB), together with Mekong countries, including Cambodia, China, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam, among other regional stakeholders, hosted the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Conference, which addressed several themes relating to economic growth and environmental sustainability. Presentations are available from the following sessions: decade of development, growth and impacts 2001-2010 in the GMS; food security; land, water and climate change; energy; and responses to challenges of the next decade in the GMS.

Find out more online

12th Special Session of the Governing Council / Global Ministerial Environment Forum (GC/GMEF). Nairobi, 20-22 February 2012

Posted on: 13 March 2012
By: mackene
No Comments »
Filed under: Events presentations

The 12th Special Session of the Governing Council / Global Ministerial Environment Forum (GC/GMEF) of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) will be held from 20 to 22 February 2012 at the United Nations Office in Nairobi, Kenya. The ministerial consultations during the twelfth special session will focus on emerging policy issues under the overall theme of “The environmental agenda in the changing world: from Stockholm (1972) to Rio (2012)”. Documentation from the event is available online.

Find out more online

Sharing natural, financial and knowledge-based resources towards new progress for humankind and innovation opportunities. Brussels, 21 December 2011

Posted on: 13 March 2012
By: mackene
No Comments »
Filed under: Events presentations

In preparation for Rio +20, this event saw European leaders, sustainability champions and front runners meet to discuss green economy opportunities and the international sustainability agenda. Cooperation and networking featured strongly as solutions. A report of the event is available online.

Find out more online

Mainstreaming sustainable development: one year on

Posted on: 6 March 2012
By: mackene
No Comments »
Filed under: News

A year on from publication of Mainstreaming Sustainable Development, the Coalition Government’s vision for sustainable development, Jonathan Tillson, Head of Defra’s Sustainable Development Team, introduces a series of reviews on the year’s progress.

Read more online

ISO 26000 and global governance for sustainable development

Posted on: 1 March 2012
By: mackene
No Comments »
Filed under: News

ISO 26000 is a new international standard on social responsibility and offers guidance across themes including human rights, labour, environment, consumer protection, fair operating practices and community development. This paper describes the development of the ISO 26000 standard and discusses the conflicts that emerged in relation to policy making, global governance and consequently sustainable development. The paper suggests a number of steps that could be taken to maximise the positive contributions of ISO 26000 to global governance for sustainable development and offers lessons for the analysis of other market governance.

Read more online

Cities and green growth: Case study of the Paris/Ile-de-France region

Posted on: 1 March 2012
By: mackene
No Comments »
Filed under: News

This report, developed within the framework of the OECD Green Cities programme, is a pilot case study examining the green growth potential of the Paris-Isle-de-France region. In a context of stiff international competition and internal socio-economic and environmental pressures, green growth could be an appropriate path toward revitalising the regional economy and improving environmental outcomes. Building and transportation are among the urban sectors with the greatest potential. Several emerging approaches to a more flexible form of metropolitan governance show promise, yet would benefit from greater private sector involvement throughout the policymaking process. Financing green growth will require the further greening of public revenue sources and the creation of new ones. Adapting procurement processes and pursuing innovative cooperative arrangements with the private sector could also be considered.

Read more online

Stockholm Royal Seaport: Aiming for world-class sustainability

Posted on: 29 February 2012
By: mackene
No Comments »
Filed under: News

The latest project in Stockholm´s drive for sustainable city planning is called Stockholm Royal Seaport (Norra Djurgårdsstaden). The project is very extensive, constituting one of the largest city planning projects in Europe. As such, it is also very ambitious in its goals to create a district that can function as a model for other growing cities around the world. When finished, Stockholm Royal Seaport plans to hold 10.000 new apartments and 30.000 new work places. In addition to housing and offices, the area will also include urban parks, an art gallery and a harbor for cruise ships.

Read more online

21 Issues for the 21st Century Result of the UNEP Foresight Process on Emerging Environmental Issues

Posted on: 23 February 2012
By: mackene
No Comments »
Filed under: News

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has released a report which outlines the findings of UNEP’s Foresight Process aimed at identifying and ranking the most pressing emerging environmental issues. The report outlines 21 emerging issues and provides governments, civil society and business with scientific assessments to forge a forward-looking outcome at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20). he Foresight Process concluded that the most pressing one is the need to align governance to the challenges of global sustainability. The second most pressing issue identified is the need to transform human capacities for the 21st century, and to move towards a green economy. The third most pressing issue is the need to ensure food safety and security for nine billion people. Other issues highlighted by the Foresight Panel include the need to: reconnect science and policy; catalyze rapid and transformative changes in human behavior towards the environment; develop new insights on water-land interactions; accelerate the implementation of environmentally-friendly renewable energy; integrate biodiversity across the environmental and economic agendas; manage the unintended consequences of climate change mitigation and adaptation; and develop a new approach for minimizing risks of novel technologies and chemicals.

Read more online

Environment and development challenges: The imperative to act

Posted on: 22 February 2012
By: mackene
No Comments »
Filed under: News

This paper is a synthesis of the key messages from the individual papers written by the Blue Planet Laureates, and discusses the current and projected state of the global and regional environment, and the implications for environmental, social and economic sustainability. It addresses the drivers for change, the implications for inaction, and what is needed to achieve economic development and growth among the poor, coupled with environmental and social sustainability, and the imperative of action now.

Read more online