Environment Group
Porsgrunn Challenge
Report 1999
- Recommendations
1.1
In this analysis of the questionnaire on the Porsgrunn Challenge and on
sustainability, the following recommendations are made. The first four of
them concern the stocktaking process and the political endorsement of the
challenge. The following seven of the recommendations relate to the analysis
of the eleven items that make up the Challenge. The last three
recommendations concern the further implementation of the Challenge.
R1 Future questionnaires should be sent
direct to all members with a covering letter to member associations
requesting their help in ensuring a response.
R2 The North Sea Commission Secretariat
should develop its politicians database to assist in raising the levels of
activity.
R3 The North Sea Commission Executive
Committee should undertake a review of ways to increase political
commitment to the ongoing work of the technical groups and the active
involvement of a greater number of members.
R4 The North Sea Commission Executive
Committee should consider the extent to which it wishes the Porsgrunn
Challenge to be formally addressed by its members
R5 There is a need for a training programme
for both Councillors and Staff to be developed and implemented to aid the
introduction of sustainability principles as core to the culture and
practice of authorities.
R6 There is a need for serious
consideration of how greater citizen empowerment can be generated to
ensure democratic legitimacy and the delivery of sustainability.
R7 There is a need for serious
consideration as to how effective partnerships involving different types
of organisations can be created.
R8 Guidance on a practical systematic
management approach to enable authorities to reduce their consumption of
resources should be a priority.
R9 Guidance on how to evaluate the
sustainability of products and on developing auditing systems to enable
monitoring of the use of sustainable products is required.
R10 The North Sea Commission should take
further steps to capitalise on its strong position compared with other pan
European Organisations.
R11 The North Sea Commission Environment
Group should prepare a good practice compendium of sustainability in
action in Regional Authorities.
R12 Consideration should be made of setting
up partnership proposals to cover the following themes as a matter of
priority:-
- Auditing and Sustainability Indicators
- Green purchasing
- Sustainable Development in Rural Areas
[including agriculture]
- Training.
R13 In order to take the practical aspects
of the Porsgrunn Challenge further, in addition to the proposed
partnerships, each country should work on a separate element or elements
which they consider to be a priority or one on which they consider they
can make a significant contribution.
R14 The Progression of the Porsgrunn
Challenge will require further explanation of the eleven items, clarifying
the actual requirements, before effective action can be achieved.
R15 The North Sea Commission should
consider reviewing the progress made by its members on the Porsgrunn
Challenge in two years time and in the meantime opportunities should be
taken to publicise the Challenge itself and any actions taken in the light
of this report.
2.0 Introduction
2.1 The Porsgrunn Challenge [set out in
Appendix 1] is a document adopted by the North Sea Commission [NSC]
Executive Committee following the 1998 Environment group conference in
Porsgrunn Norway in October 1998. It sets out a number of sustainable
development principles [the eleven items] which the Commission considers
should be incorporated into the activities of the NSC members.
2.2 The Executive Committee recognised that,
similar to other international initiatives to promote sustainability at the
regional and local level, such as the Bremen Declaration, the Valencia
Charter and the Göteborg Resolution, there was considerable difficulty in
putting principles into practice. Consequently the Porsgrunn Challenge
itself stated that changes would not occur automatically and that positive
action was required to change behaviour.
2.3 The North Sea Commission agreed to
undertake a regular sustainability stocktake of its members to ensure the
implementation of The Porsgrunn Challenge. In order to achieve this a
questionnaire was sent to all its members in June 1999 with a request to
respond by the end of July 1999.
2.4 In the letter covering the questionnaire
it was made clear that the Executive Committee recognised that no one
authority would have been able to achieve all steps suggested in the
document. One of the purposes of the questionnaire was therefore to identify
ways in which members could work together to assist in the practical
implementation of the eleven items.
2.5This report sets out the results of the
survey of sustainability work among NSC members for discussion at the 1999
annual meeting of the NSC Environment Group in Suffolk, England, in October.
It also makes a number of recommendations about future action.
3.0 Analysis
A: The Process
3.1 The implementation of the Porsgrunn
Challenge was considered to be an important political step for the North Sea
Commission. Accordingly the covering letter was sent out by Bent Hansen, the
President and an endorsement of the response was required by the appropriate
politician. This was because it was recognised that the concept of
sustainability can only be progressed if politicians are actively involved.
The reason for this is that the concept involves decisions about the use of
resources and about the decision making process itself. Difficult notions
about foregoing current consumption in favour of conservation of resources
are also involved which require political decisions.
3.2 Out of some 71 regional authorities who
are members either directly or indirectly through associations 22 responses
had been received by the revised deadline. A return of 31%. The
questionnaire went out to the associations but it appears that the request
to respond was passed on. This level of response is considered to be very
encouraging. However bearing in mind the importance placed by the Executive
Committee on the implementation of the Challenge improvements to the
response rate may be achievable and desirable.
3.3 Over 54% of the responses were from
England [7] and Norway [5]. It should be noted that this reflects the
structure of the NSC membership. In practical terms this response appears
also to reflect the extent to which the concept of Local Agenda 21 has been
taken on board by England and Norway.
3.4 6 [27%] responses were endorsed by a
politician. 60% [3] of the Norwegian responses were endorsed but only 14%
[2] of those from England. 67% [3] of the responses from Scotland were
signed by the appropriate politician. It is considered that the overall
response rate and the degree of political backing requires to be improved if
there is to be a real commitment to the stocktaking exercise. The increased
involvement of politicians in the progression of NSC work is desirable and
it is suggested that they should be more direclty involved. In order to
achieve this the secretariat needs to develop its political network. It is
therefore recommended that:-
R1 Future questionnaires should be sent
direct to all members with a covering letter to member associations
requesting their help in ensuring a response.
R2 The North Sea Commission Secretariat
should develop its politicians database to assist in raising the levels of
activity.
3.5 In more general terms the status of the
NSC could be enhanced if there was a greater incentive for work to be
undertaken between Executive Committee meetings and between technical
group meetings. Hence it is recommended that:-
R3 The NSC Executive Committee should
undertake a review of ways to increase political commitment to the ongoing
work of the technical groups and the active involvement of a greater
number of members.
3.6 Only 5 [23%] authorities have endorsed
the Challenge and 9 [41%] have no intention of doing so, whilst another 2
may do so if required. There is therefore a big question as to the
political support for the eleven items in the Challenge and the status of
the Porsgrunn Challenge itself.
R4 The NSC Executive Committee should
consider the extent to which it wishes the Porsgrunn Challenge to be
formally addressed by its members
B: The Porsgrunn Challenge - Progress on
the Eleven Items
Objectives and Policies
3.7 The first two questions concern the
public commitment made to sustainable development and the ensuring that the
policies reflect the sustainability requirement to integrate policies. All
but two authorities claimed that they had made sustainability a central and
explicit objective although a significant number related to internal
documents and a number were concerned with the environmental aspect and paid
little reference to the social and economic elements. There is no
substantive evidence that sustainability is widely accepted as a core or
corporate objective.
3.8 In response to question two a few
authorities recognised the need for a corporate or overarching mechanism not
only to prepare policies that address the requirements of sustainability but
also to fulfil a quality control or monitoring function. Policy partnership
boards and cross disciplinary work groups were referred to and one authority
required all committee reports to state the sustainability implications of
the proposed policy or action. Another referred to a corporate team
reviewing all their policies.
Cross Disciplinary Structures and Internal
Awareness.
3.9 There appears to be a current phase of
organisational change to try and address the need for a more structured and
corporate approach. There is some evidence though that change could
reinforce the separation of "environmental" and "social"
responsibilities. There is a fairly wide acceptance of the need for multi
disciplinary teams for specific projects referred to in one response as
mutual projects.
3.10Half of the authorities undertook no
training of either staff of politicians although a number were considering
developing or introducing programmes. One authority referred to staff being
trained on the job another to the fact that staff involved in parks gardens
and other green areas were part of a training programme. There were four
authorities that had included sustainability in an induction programme for
councillors. Other "training" referred to were seminars and talks
"on green subjects". Only one authority had a coherent
sustainability training programme that consisted of three/four separate
sessions and had encompassed over 16,000 staff members.
R5 There is a need for a training programme
for both Councillors and Staff to be developed and implemented to aid the
introduction of sustainability principles as core to the culture and
practice of authorities.
Citizen involvement and partnerships
3.11 There is a general acceptance of the
need for consultation on development plans and projects and this extends to
monitoring how the public perceives the services provided by Councils e.g.
Citizen panels. However there are few examples of citizens being empowered
to make their own decisions within an overall framework. This is an area
where the subsidiarity element of sustainability requires much further
consideration.
R6 There is a need for serious
consideration as to how greater citizen empowerment can be generated to
ensure democratic legitimacy and the delivery of sustainability.
3.12 There is a limited number of examples of
partnerships with non governmental organisations. Instances include
"pathfinder partnerships". The marriage of different types of
organisations, including the private and voluntary and community sectors is
necessary if Sustainability is to be something more than an institutional
approach and for it to be part of the culture for local development and
regeneration.
R7 There is a need for serious
consideration as to how effective partnerships involving different types
of organisations can be created.
The Authorities' Own Actions
Consumption of Resources
3.13For a large majority of authorities the
development of a programme to reduce their own use of resources is at a very
early stage. Just under a third have taken no steps. From the questionnaire
it appears that at most only 4 authorities are tackling this issue in a
systematic way. Most authorities are aware that this is important. Examples
of ad hoc approaches and good intentions however are evident. Guidance on
how authorities can pursue this aspect would be beneficial. It would enable
them to set an example of good practice to other organisations in their
area.
R8 Guidance on a practical systematic
management approach to enable authorities to reduce their consumption of
resources should be a priority.
The Use of Purchasing Power to Develop
Sustainable Products and Processes
3.14 A third of authorities do not use its
purchasing powers to encourage sustainable products. Of those that do 60%
did not know the extent of the budget spent of the products they were trying
to encourage. Of those that did just under half estimated that less than 5%
of the budget was on such products. The most common way of evaluating
products was to ask the manufacturer or provider via a questionnaire. There
was a general interest in improving the ways in which products could be
evaluated [see paragraph 3.20].
R9 Guidance on how to evaluate the
sustainability of products and on developing auditing systems to enable
monitoring of the use of sustainable products is required.
Staff Health Requirements
3.15 Every Authority stated that they looked
after the health of their staff. This however covered a very wide range from
an occupational health approach governed by the legal system through health
and safety plans to some authorities undertaking stress audits and fitness
programmes.
Publication of the Auditing Process
3.16 Nearly two thirds of the authorities did
not audit their activities. Just over 20% stated that they published an
annual report on aspects of sustainability though the degree to which this
related to the holistic nature of the concept was not clear from the
returns. Some reports cover the natural heritage and perhaps other
environmental aspects but it appears that few cover the social/community and
economic elements of sustainability. The fact that many authorities
considered that they were at the early stages in addressing sustainability
issues is reflected in the general lack of public statements showing their
citizens the extent of progress made.
European Co-operation
3.17 Exactly 50% of the Authorities had no
other European involvement apart from membership of the North Sea
Commission. 7 [32%] mentioned direct partnerships with other authorities in
Europe on specific projects. There was a single mention for other pan
European organisations including KIMO, AER, ICLEI, ETC/CDS, The European
Sustainable Cities Campaign and the Valencia Charter implementation.
R10 The North Sea Commission should take
further steps to capitalise on its strong position compared with other
pan European Organisations.
C: The Porsgrunn Challenge - Future
Action
3.18 This section of the report is set out in
the form of four tables covering Good Practice, Assistance Required,
Proposed Partnerships and finally Other Proposed Actions.
Table C1 : Good Practice
Coastal Zone Planning - Telemark
Fylkeskommune
Community Involvement - Aberdeenshire Council
Co-operation with businesses and trade Unions - Hordaland Fylkeskommune
Energy reduction - Västra Götaland Region
Environmental management - Aarhus Amt
Green Purchasing - Telemark Fylkeskommune
Health Awareness - Suffolk County Council
Partnership working - Durham County Council
Partnerships - Bremen
Pesticide Reduction - Sønderjyllands Amt
Shipcoatings - Land Lower Saxony
Spatial Planning - Sogn og Fjordane Fylkeskommune
Staff environmental training Scheme - Västra Götaland Region
Staff Sustainable Champions Training programme - Suffolk County Council
Sustainable transport - Aberdeenshire Council
Training programme - Moray Council
3.19 A large number of authorities as set out
in table C1 are willing to share good practice with other members. However
whilst this will be of assistance on a one to one basis Table C4 indicates
that there is a consensus view that the NSC should share good practice on a
more formal basis.
R11 The NSC Environment Group should
prepare a good practice compendium of sustainability in action in
Regional Authorities.
Table C2 : Assistance Required
Auditing - Telemark Fylkeskommune
Auditing and Indicators - Aberdeenshire Council
Auditing and reporting - Bremen
Environmental Impact assessment - Aarhus Amt
Green purchasing - Aberdeenshire Council
Green Purchasing - Västra Götaland Regionen
Renewable Energy - Moray Council
Rural transport - Moray Council
Sustainability Indicators - Suffolk County Council
Sustainability Indicators - Telemark Fylkeskommune
Sustainable development in Rural Areas - Sogn og Fjordane Fylkeskommune
Synthetic materials Industry - Land Lower Saxony
Training and Awareness raising - Aberdeenshire Council
Training for Staff and Councillors - Hordaland Fylkeskommune
Waste minimisation - Moray Council
Table C3 : Proposed Partnership working
Auditing - Telemark Fylkeskommune
Auditing and Indicators - Aberdeenshire Council
Biodiversity - Aberdeenshire Council
Citizens participation - Bremen
Coastal Zone management - Aust-Agder fylkeskomune
Environmental Management systems - North Tyneside Council
Environmental Management - Aarhus Amt
Green purchasing - Aberdeenshire Council
Green Purchasing - Västra Götaland Region
Sustainability Indicators - Suffolk County Council
Sustainability Indicators - Telemark Fylkeskommune
Sustainable agriculture - Provincie Fryslân
Sustainable development in Rural Areas - Sogn og Fjordane Fylkeskommune
Sustainable tourism - Provincie Fryslân
Synthetic materials Industry - Land Lower Saxony
Table 3 [cont]
Training and Awareness raising -
Aberdeenshire Council
Training for Staff and Councillors - Hordaland Fylkeskommune
Transport - Västra Götaland Region
Transport - North Tyneside Council
Waste - Aberdeenshire Council
Water technology - Provincie Fryslân
3.20 Tables C2 and C3 provide a basis for
identifying a number of potential partnerships to provide not only
assistance to members but also as a basis for future proactive working to
raise the profile of the NSC.
R12 Consideration should be made of
setting up partnership proposals to cover the following themes as a matter
of priority: -
- Auditing and Sustainability Indicators
- Green purchasing
- Sustainable Development in Rural Areas
[including agriculture, tourism and possibly transport]
- Training.
3.21 The above priorities also reflect the
current deficiencies in progress on the Porsgrunn Challenge principles. One
further potential partnership proposal may be that of sustainable transport.
Table C4 : Other Actions that the NSC should
be taking
- Good Practice Compendium[6]
- Benchmarking[1]
- Economic assessment of Sustainability[1]
- Participation in Expo 2000 [1]
- Implication of diversification of the
rural economy[1]
3.22 The proposals for other actions
have been incorporated in the recommendations and reflect a general concern
on the behalf of members of the need for examples of progressing
sustainability to be widely available to assist in putting the principles of
the Porsgrunn Challenge into practice.
4.0 Conclusions
4.1 The overall impression from the returned
questionnaires is one of good intentions which are not being generally
supported by a systematic or managed approach. Unfortunately the ability for
a more detailed analysis is not possible due to the diversity of the quality
of responses largely as a result of the different contexts in which the
authorities are working.
R13 In order to take the practical
aspects of the Porsgrunn Challenge further, in addition to the proposed
partnerships, each country should work on a separate element or elements
which they consider to be a priority or one on which they consider they
can make a significant contribution.
4.2 There is a general need for a greater
understanding of the fundamental requirements of the Porsgrunn Challenge.
R14 The Progression of the Porsgrunn
Challenge will require further explanation of the eleven items,
clarifying the actual requirements, before effective action can be
achieved.
4.3 Finally, whilst recognising the
shortcomings of the process and the fact that many members are at the early
stages of developing their approaches to sustainability, it is evident from
the responses that there is a genuine feeling that the concept is one which
merits greater commitment and further work.
R15 The NSC should consider reviewing the
progress made by its members on the Porsgrunn Challenge in two years
time and in the meantime opportunities should be taken to publicise the
Challenge itself and any actions taken in the light of this report.
Appendix 1: The Porsgrunn Challenge
Recognising the Rio Earth Summit (1992) and
in accord with the Valencia Charter (1995) and the Goteborg Resolution
(1997) the North Sea Commission acknowledges the key role of Regional
Authorities in the implementation of sustainable development and the Agenda
21 process. The North Sea Commission considers that its members should set
an example with regard to their own activities. The North Sea Commission
therefore requires each member to undertake the following steps:
- Make sustainable development a central and
explicit objective.
- Implement policies that integrate social,
economic and environmental objectives.
- Implement management structures that
encourage the integration of service delivery.
- Undertake training so that all staff and
politicians are involved in achieving sustainability objectives.
- Maximise the support and involvement of
citizens in the decision making and policy implementation processes.
- Create partnerships to implement
development policies.
- Minimise the consumption of resources.
- Encourage through its purchasing power the
use of sustainable products and processes.
- Address mental and physical health
requirements.
- Audit progress on making its own activities
and its area more sustainable
and publish the results in an annual report.
- Undertake co-operation with organisations
external to its area to encourage good practice and co-ordinated action at a
European level.
In implementing this Challenge the North Sea
Commission acknowledges that:
- changes will not occur automatically
- positive action will be required to change
behaviour
Thus it is the intention of the North Sea
Commission to undertake a regular sustainability stocktake of its members to
ensure the implementation of The Porsgrunn Challenge.
Appendix 2: The Questionnaire
THE PORSGRUNN CHALLENGE
Questionnaire on sustainability
in North Sea Commission member regions.
If you would like to receive an electronic
version of this questionnaire,
please contact the NSCEG co-ordinator
Per Hörberg,
e-mail: per.horberg@vgregion.se
BEFORE JUNE 20th
Please add additional sheets where there is
insufficient space for your reply to any question,
or modify the available space on the
electronic version.
Please return before July 31st,
1999!
Mail, fax or e-mail to:
Address: NSC secretariat, c/o Viborg Amt,
Skottenborg 26, DK-8800 Viborg, Denmark.
Fax: +45 86 62 68 62
e-mail: nsc@northsea.org
Please fill in:
Responding authority:
Address
Signed
Officer Signature Date:
Politician Signature Date:
THE PORSGRUNN CHALLENGE
Questionnaire on sustainability
in North Sea Commission member regions.
Authority:
Politician responsible:
Officer responsible:
This questionnaire follows the 11 items of
the Porsgrunn Challenge,
the sustainability document adopted by the
NSC Executive Committee.
Item 1:
Make sustainable development a central and explicit objective.
Have you made sustainable development a
central and explicit objective for your organisation? ¨ yes/no ¨
If yes, please state or enclose the relevant
(extract of) document.
Item 2:
Implement policies that integrate social, economic and environmental
objectives.
Do your policies integrate social, economic
and environmental objectives? ¨ yes/no ¨
How do you ensure that the policies you
implement integrate social, economic and environmental objectives?
Please give examples of where such
integration is taking place.
Item 3: Implement management
structures that encourage the integration of service delivery.
How do your departments work together in order to integrate their
functions?
Item 4: Undertake training so that
all staff and politicians are involved in achieving sustainability
objectives.
Do you undertake sustainability training for staff? ¨
yes/no ¨
If yes please specify.
Do you provide sustainability training/development for politicians? ¨
yes/no ¨
If yes please specify
Item 5:
Maximise the support and involvement of citizens in the decision making
and policy implementation processes.
How are you involving organisations and
individual citizens in decision making?
Please specify.
How are you involving organisations and
individual citizens in policy implementation?
Please specify.
Item 6:
Create partnerships to implement development policies.
Have you created partnerships with other
organisations to promote sustainable development policies
and implementation? ¨ yes/no ¨
If yes please specify. (For example: what
organisation(s)?)
Item 7:
Minimise the consumption of resources.
What steps are you taking to reduce your
authority´s consumption of resources?
Please specify what resource, your targets
and how much you have reduced the consumption.
List of examples: wate
Electricity
oil
coal
gas
paper
vehicles
food
other(s)
Are you changing from finite to renewable
resources? ¨ yes/no ¨
If yes please specify.
Item 8: Encourage through its
purchasing power the use of sustainable products and processes.
Do you encourage the use of sustainable
products through your purchasing policy? ¨ yes/no ¨
Please estimate the percentage of your
purchasing budget spent on sustainable products? 0-5 6-20 21-50 >50
How do you evaluate your suppliers´
production processes?
Item 9:
Address mental and physical health requirements.
Have you taken steps to improve the mental
and physical health of your staff? ¨ yes/no ¨
If yes please specify.
Item 10:
Audit progress on making its own activities and its area more sustainable
and publish the results
in an annual report.
Do you audit progress on your own
sustainability activities? ¨ yes/no ¨
Do you publish the results in an annual
report? ¨ yes/no ¨
If yes please enclose copies.
Item 11:
Undertake co-operation with organisations external to its area to encourage
good practice and co-ordinated action at a European level.
What organisations or partners do you work
with (relating to good sustainability practice and co-ordinated
sustainability action) at a European level? [please list]
FUTURE ACTION
To implement the Porsgrunn Challenge among
NSC members a lot of co-operation will be needed, and members who have
experience will be of assistance to others. This may be facilitated through
the North Sea Commission Environment Group and co-funded through various
programmes.
Q1:
Have you examples of good practice that may be of benefit to other NSC
members?
If so, please specify
Q2:
Are there any aspects on which you would like assistance?
If so, please specify.
Q3:
Would you be prepared to work with other NSC members to develop
sustainability efforts?
If so, in what field(s) would you like to get
involved?
Q4:
Are there any actions that you think the members of North Sea Commission
should be taking
in regard to Sustainable Development?
If so, please specify
Finally, two questions about the political
endorsement of the Porsgrunn Challenge:
Q1:
Has your Authority endorsed the Porsgrunn Challenge? ¨ yes/no
¨
If yes, please enclose documentation.
Q2:
Does your authority anticipate endorsing the Porsgrunn Challenge within the
near future? ¨ yes/no ¨
Appendix 3: List of Responding Authorities
- Sør-Trøndelag Fylkeskommune Norway
- Hordaland Fylkeskommune Norway
- Sogn og Fjordane Fylkeskommune Norway
- Northumberland County Council England
- Suffolk County CouncilEngland
- Kingston Upon Hull City Council England
- North Tyneside Council England
- Hartlepool Borough Council England
- Västra Götaland Region Sweden
- Chester-le-Street Council England
- Bremen Germany
- Aust-Agder Fylkeskommune Norway
- Telemark Fylkeskommune Norway
- Sønderjyllands Amt Denmark
- Aberdeen City Council Scotland
- Provincie Fryslân Netherlands
- Aberdeenshire Council Scotland
- Moray Council Scotland
- Land Lower Saxony Germany
- Nordjyllands Amt Denmark
- Durham County Council England
- Aarhus Amt Denmark
* East Midlands Council Regional
Local Government AssociationEngland
- * Rogaland Fylkeskommune
- * Dundee City Council
- * Landstinget Halland
- * Provincie West-Vlaanderen
Number of responses : 27
Please note the Authority name is as set out
on page 1 of the questionnaire unless otherwise stated. The responses are in
order of receipt - not as per the date given on the return.
*
Please note that due to late response the data is not incorporated into the
overall statistics
Start
