Bridgend College supports the Sustainable Development Charter Conference

26th November 2013

A major conference on sustainability, the Sustainable Development Charter and the Future Generations Bill took place in Cardiff on 6th November and was attended by approximately 150 organisations from both public and private sectors.

The event was attended by a number of high profile speakers including, Jeff Cuthbert A.M, Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty, Peter Davies, Commissioner for Sustainable Futures, David Fitzpatrick, Chief Executive of Cynnal Cymru and Steve Kenzie, Head of the United Nations Global Compact Network Secretariat for example.

“Now, I want to reaffirm the importance that our approach to sustainable development has for the Welsh Government and its relevance for Wales and the role that the Charter network plays. Our approach to government means that we are not just thinking of the present. Reversing generations of poor health and building a strong economy when the world economy is weak – these are not short-term issues. We are committed to real improvement over the longer term. Our Future Generations Bill will aim to ensure that organisations are working hard to hand over to the next generation a country that is measurably better in terms of environment, economy, quality of life and life chances”. Jeff Cuthbert AM, Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty

Taking centre stage ‘in conversation with the Commissioner’, Andrew Gibbs, Assistant Principal for Finance and Resources and Chris Long, Health, Safety and Sustainable Development Manager gave strong and passionate responses to a series of challenging questions from both the Commissioner and the audience.

The importance of excellent governance, strong and visible leadership, understanding the drivers for change and setting challenging, long-term objectives were some of the key issues addressed during this session.

Andrew Gibbs explained the key roles that organisational culture, leadership and partnership-working play in addressing sustainability, citing well-chosen examples to reinforce this robust argument which was clearly supported by the audience.

“We had a clear intention to move understanding away from the ‘usual suspects’ (i.e. energy, water, waste) to embrace biological, social, ethical, cultural, global and financial dimensions. Sustainability will help ensure that the business is resilient and responsive to availability of resources and the demands of stakeholders. This means that the business model must be kept under close review; this means re-envisioning and re-invention and this is why we are beginning to develop a high-level decision-making framework to enable us to consider the social, environmental and economic impacts of our decisions and find the means for making balanced decisions”. Chris Long, HSSusDev Manager, Bridgend College

Future Generations Bill
The Future Generations Bill will ensure that sustainable development lies at the very heart of the public service. The bill addresses the environmental challenges we face and recognises that our environment is inextricably connected to both our communities and to our economy. It’s about making better decisions, not just for the short-term but very much focussed on the long-term; thinking systemically so that we improve our understanding of the impact on our economy, our society and our environment.

“The Welsh Government is, quite rightly, putting a strong focus on tackling poverty and promoting equality of opportunity. We’re doing this not just because it is right, but because it makes financial and economic sense. By prioritising the needs of the poorest and protecting the most vulnerable to poverty and marginalisation, sustainable development can provide a framework for these efforts. Effective interventions will be those that prioritise lifting people, and particularly children, out of poverty by impacting on learning, health and employment prospects. But attention will also be given to actions that address the lived experience of poverty. This requires a more integrated and preventative approach to addressing these challenges, which are at the heart of our approach to sustainable development”. Jeff Cuthbert AM, Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty

Thinking systemically will help Bridgend College to address the key long-term challenges that we all face and make better decisions for a more sustainable and a fairer future. We hold a great weight of responsibility on our shoulders not only for our students and staff but our local and global community too; but above all, we have a strong sense of moral duty because we know that it is simply the right thing to do.

The Challenge as a Signatory of the Charter
The new Charter will be signed within the new few weeks and members will need to set an annual challenge at a collective/partnership level.  We are already working on this.

Resources:
https://www.unglobalcompact.org/resources
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/index.php?page=view&type=1006&menu=1348&nr=218
https://www.cynnalcymru.com/charter-news
https://www.sd-charter.net/