Key Achievements

Celebrating 10 years of Sustainability East

Sustainability East started life in 1998 as The Sustainable Development Round Table for the East of England, an independent organisation with representation from a wide range of sectors, to 'bring sustainable development to the heart of policy making in this fast-growing region'. Its aim was to consider important issues for the region which others were not tackling.

Much of the early work focused on natural resource issues. We were the first organisation to identify that water resources were a key concern for the region - an issue which is now being taken seriously alongside other regional infrastructure pressures. We also recognised the potential our region has for generating renewable energy, particularly from wind. Following extensive research and consultation, we were able to promote and adopt the highest regional targets for renewable energy generation by 2010, which the region is on course to achieve.

We were also the first organisation to research and produce an extensive study on adaptation to climate change, recognising that whatever was done to mitigate it, we were in any case going to have to learn to live with some of the consequences. We produced practical guidance for local authorities, businesses and other service providers, and as a spin-off to this research, educational guides were produced for teachers for curriculum key stages 2 and 3.

Other 'firsts' included the production of an on-line sustainability appraisal toolkit, based on the region's sustainable development framework, and the first themed strategy, for the construction sector, addressing this sector as being particularly resource intensive.

Within the last year alone Sustainability East has used a grant from DEFRA to fund a range of regional initiatives aimed at raising the bar for sustainable working practice amongst local businesses and agencies. These projects included a carbon modelling framework where a CO2 emissions inventory for the East of England was compiled. This scheme encompassed three CO2 reduction scenarios which provided Local Authorities with a baseline for their individual targets and assisted them with developing their own climate change action plans.

The work of Sustainability East also helped influence regional policy makers and construction practitioners on what form of house building should be promoted in the region. Working in partnership with Sustainable Construction East, Sustainability East held a technical debate on the most effective construction techniques in meeting the challenges of climate change. They also produced an information booklet to help small to medium sized construction enterprises make smarter, more sustainable choices.