The Sustainable Development Commission is the Government's independent watchdog, reporting, amongst others, to the Prime Minister. Through advocacy, advice and appraisal, it helps put sustainable development at the heart of Government policy.

Founded in 2000, led by 18 Commissioners (and expanded in 2006 to take on a watchdog role) the SDC produces evidence-based public reports on contentious environmental, social and economic issues such as nuclear power; draws on expert opinion to advise key Ministers, policy-makers and stakeholders across Government and undertakes watchdog appraisals of Government's progress.

Rebecca Willis is an independent researcher and the SDC's Vice-Chair. Her work focuses on environmental politics and policymaking at both a national and regional level. She has researched and written on issues such as climate change, energy policy, public attitudes to the environment, government spending and taxation, and the environmental and social impact of new technologies.

As Vice-Chair for Whitehall, Rebecca represents the Sustainable Development Commission in central government, working with government ministers, advisers and officials to ensure that government policy reflects sustainability goals. Her freelance portfolio involves work with a range of organisations including the Carbon Trust, Defra, Greenpeace, English Nature and the NorthWest Regional Assembly.

While recognising the Government's commitment to sustainability, the SDC's 2007 report on its actual, measurable progress was fairly critical. What's the main blockage here?

"There are probably two main problems. The first is that government is a complex organisation and it takes time and effort to change the system.

"I think the other thing is that there hasn't been enough political attention on it so far and we're actually really pleased with the response [within Government] to our report. We think that they are going to take it a lot more seriously.

"The Government made some specific pledges in response to our findings. They've agreed to having a delivery plan; to putting sustainability targets within Permanent Secretaries' objectives; to creating the role of Chief Sustainability Officer... We think that they are really seriously putting the process in place now to improve things."

How crucial is it for Government to get its own house in order?

"It's really critical. Our work just looks at central government departments. But central government departments plus the wider public sector are huge users of resources and they have potentially enormous influence over supply chains and are also huge producers of carbon so that anything which can be done to tackle that impact is essential.

"The second thing is that government needs to do it in order for everyone else to take it seriously. If people are being told all the time to be careful about leaving lights on and then they happen to walk down Whitehall and it's ablaze with light, then they're going to feel a bit cross about that."

Where does the task of data collection fit into all this?

"Well it's crucial. The Commission had a real struggle to get the correct information out of government and government's had a real struggle to collect it. They needed a much clearer grasp of what's going on and they understand that now. But it's a prerequisite really.

"The reason data hasn't been collected well enough is because it hasn't been enough of a priority for government. If, for example, sustainability targets are written into a permanent secretary's job description - which they now will be - they'll all know that you can't manage it unless you can measure it so they will ensure that the measurement systems are in place so that Departments know if they are meeting the targets or not."

Transport and house building seem to be two particular areas where Government policy and practice are not in harmony. Is this the case?

"The Commission has concerns in both areas. In transport because it's the fastest-growing source of emissions and we haven't yet seen the kind of ambitious policy which can turn that around.

"In house-building we really welcome the commitment to zero carbon homes by 2016: it's a strict target and industry knows where it's going - it knows it's got to get there and hasn't got much time to do it and is thinking very hard about what more it can do.

"But we have a wider worry about housing which isn't just about the carbon standards of new-builds. It's also to do with ensuring that the existing housing stock is made to perform better through refurbishment and energy-efficiency measures and so on. We don't think there are the right incentives to drive that at the moment.

"And another aspect is the environmental implications of settlement patterns as a whole: even if the house is zero-carbon, if people have to drive to work or to the shops, the impact on emissions isn't going to be that great after all. So we think that government should be taking a wider look at sustainability and housing.

"The best way of achieving sustainability is to regenerate existing towns and cities and to infill new housing development within existing settlements which helps to strengthen those settlements and helps to provide the critical mass needed of bus and other services , shops and schools and so on."

What incentives are required to drive this?

"There are specific issues that we've looked at around support for energy efficiency and small-scale generation. Ofgem, the energy regulator, don't have a duty towards climate change or carbon reduction and we think it should because that would push some of these changes through the market.

"But more generally we think that there's more to be done to encourage refurbishment and regeneration of existing areas instead of new-build. So for example you pay 17.5 per cent VAT on refurbishment but not on new-build so that makes it nearly one fifth more expensive to refurbish an old house than to build a new one.

"It's difficult for developers to work within the fabric of existing developments, so they need help and support for that. But it can be done and there are some good examples. We think there should be a strong push towards promoting existing communities before we build new ones.... Perhaps the current 'stability' or change in house price inflation may give the government space to think these sorts of things through."

You are the SDC's voice in Whitehall. Are the mandarins listening?

"The role of the Commission is to act as a critical friend, so we support the government when we think it's doing the right thing and we try and nudge a bit when we think it isn't.

"Generally that's an approach that makes people listen. Sometimes we might offer advice that is quite unpalatable: on nuclear energy we disagreed with the Government on that. We didn't think there should be any new generation nuclear power stations. Government did have a debate with us and didn't agree!

"But there is an appetite there for the Commission's advice and I think that we perform a useful service for them."

How did taking on a watchdog role in 2006 change the Commission's work?

"There are some aspects of our work which are quite clearly us acting as watchdog so where we audit the Government's own performance is firmly within that category. The work we did on Ofgem involved looking at a particular government agency and asked: 'are they structured in a way that delivers sustainable development?' and made an examination of that question. So that's a new way we've worked since becoming a watchdog.

"It does help to have an official watchdog function because you are allowed to bark as well as to wag your tail!"

What is the link between 'Sustainability' and carbon reduction?

"The SDC promotes the idea that government should be driven by sustainable development which is about meeting environmental, social and economic needs together.

"Ideally, sustainability and carbon reduction will be entirely linked: if you get the right policies you can hit them both. It's not automatic though.

"A lot of policies to reduce carbon will have economic benefits as well because there will be cost saving and they will promote low-carbon innovation and so on but from a social point of view you need to ensure that policies towards carbon reduction are socially progressive rather than regressive, especially if you hit changes to the tax system, for example. The SDC has to address this balance in all its work."

Is change going to come through macro policy and action, micro-generation or a mixture of both?

"There needs to be a virtuous circle - actually it's a virtuous triangle - between government, business and the consumer. You can't make change without the help and support of individuals but individuals operate within a framework which is set by business and government.

"An individual might want to make energy improvements in their house but to be able to afford to do that and might require financial incentive from government and they need business to provide products and services that allow them to do so.

"Green consumers can lead the market and can create demand for products to which businesses respond to but they are operating within a limited framework. We think there should be much more explicit recognition of that and a much clearer focus of government policy to achieve this triangle."

Tell us, please, about 'The Disrupters'

"As well as my Commission role I work on various environmental policy issues and The Disrupters is a report I did for NESTA (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) and the independent think-tank Demos and which profiled environmental entrepreneurs, found out what they wanted to do and assessed how much of a breakthrough it could be. We further asked them whether they were having a tough time of achieving their goals. We used that as a way into discussion with Government to see if it was doing enough to encourage low-carbon innovation.

'We called them 'The Disrupters' because we think they are people who are suggesting quite radical ways forward: not just 'we'll make this just a bit more efficient' or 'we'll shave a few more percentage points off here.' It's 'how can we think about different ways of shopping, travelling, eating which have a lower environmental impact'. We were talking to entrepreneurs who were really trying to break the mould."

What is The Commission working on right now?

"Where do I start? We are doing some interesting work with government departments and particular teams and individuals in those departments to really try and build their capability on sustainable development. We're doing that with CLG (Department for Communities and Local Government) and with the Department for Children, Schools and Families so were really getting under the skin of these departments and working very closely with them to help them along the way. It's a newer way of working for us."

And on a personal level?

"I'm based in Kendal, just outside the Lake District National Park and I've been working with regional National Park Authority to see what they could be doing to tackle climate change.

"The National Park is all about its spectacular environment - it's quite inspirational - and I would hope it could produce an inspirational response to climate change as well.

"Ideally, people who came to visit - there are 16 million annually to the Lake District - could see what low-carbon transport means in practice; this is what an eco hotel looks like and how it works. That would be a huge influence and this is the kind of thing we've been looking at." [The Lake District National Park Sustainability Report is scheduled to be published on June 16]

What advice do you have for Sustainability Managers and Officers in industry and the public sector?

"I would say first of all that they are doing an absolutely crucial job and probably quite a difficult one but an incredibly worthwhile one.

"It's important to have as many links as possible with sustainability managers in very different fields so industry and public sector are talking to each other - 'done this, it's good' - and to be constantly on the search for new ideas and inspiration.

"If you look at a lot of examples of quite radical change, things like Merton Borough Council's work on using the planning system to promote small-scale energy; if you look at what Woking Borough Council's done on similar issues, a lot of the time many of these examples trace back to particularly enthusiastic and dynamic officers.

"I think there is quite a lot of leeway for people with ideas to really take them forward and change things. From that point of view, there might be a lot more opportunity than people might think."

The Sustainable Development Commission: http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/
Rebecca Willis (including The Disrupters report): http://www.rebeccawillis.co.uk/

Low Carbon Board Report

Working Together – Public Sector Partners

Public sector bodies have an important part to play in reducing carbon emissions in a number of different ways.

Most obviously, they shape the legal and regulatory environment that companies must operate in. Some are tasked with long term economic issues such as supporting regeneration, and safeguarding the sustainability of communities.

Public sector bodies are themselves wrestling with the difficulties of reducing emissions. Because they are free of private sector concerns about protecting competitive advantage, they are often willing to share valuable insights with other organisations.

Last but by no means least; they are important customers of the private sector. Understanding their changing needs can deliver important business benefits for the private sector.

In Whitehall, the key agency driving the climate change policy agenda is the Department for the Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra), which helps to fund agencies such as The Carbon Trust and co-ordinate the activities of other central government bodies.

Promoting sustainable development

For many companies, government activities at regional, sub-regional, and local levels will be just as interesting, if not more so. In England, the nine Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) are tasked with helping to deliver carbon reduction in the business sector by managing initiatives such as Defra’s Business Resource Efficiency and Waste Programme.

Each RDA is also responsible for a Regional Economic Strategy (RES), which aims to engage organisations across sectors, including local government, universities, community and volunteer groups, among others.

All RESs now include mandatory assessments of the environmental effects of the strategy, and as part of the RES some RDAs are leading the development of regional climate change action plans. All RDAs are required to include carbon reduction plans within the RES, and encourage key public and private sector partners to support mandatory carbon targets and adopt further voluntary regional targets.

Some regions are developing expertise in particular areas. Renewables East, a centre of excellence in the East of England region, is helping companies diversify into the biomass and biofuels sectors. It also aims to act as a focus for expertise in offshore renewable energy, supporting the construction of wind turbines offshore, for example.

The North West Development Agency (NWDA) is taking a lead in clean technology R&D, specifically by investing 50% of the £10m required to build Joule Centre for Energy Research & Development. The Joule Centre is a collaborative project, run as a partnership between NWDA, Universities, commercial organisations and other stakeholders associated with the energy industry.

All RDAs are set to become repositories of emissions data for their regions, collating data from Regional Observatories to build an England-wide, evidence base for the low-carbon agenda.

Local priorities and initiatives

Local authorities are important partners for RDAs. For example, East Sussex County Council aims to play a co-ordinating role through its Climate Change Strategy, engaging with business, the public sector, and the community to bring more focus and structure to emissions reduction. “We’re trying to engage with the community as much as possible. It’s a County strategy, not just a Council strategy,” says Deputy Leader Councillor Tony Reid, who chairs the project board.

Reducing emissions will be only one aspect of a broad strategy aiming to improve sustainability, he says. Reducing waste is a key priority for local authorities, and East Sussex hopes to engage business through initiatives such as The Business Excellence Through Resource Efficiency programme.

Some local authorities are valuable sources of expertise in clean energy for example. Perhaps the most striking example is Southampton City Council, which has been active in this area for twenty years.

During the energy crisis of the 1970s, central government decided to investigate geothermal energy, drilling a small number of test sites around the UK, says Bill Clark, the council’s sustainability manager. “The short story is that by the time the wells had been drilled the crisis was over. Some of the sites were too remote to be useful, but the council persuaded the government not to cap the well in Southampton,” he says.

In 1987, sustainable energy specialist Utilicom was contracted to operate the well on the council’s behalf, offering energy to local customers. “It makes a small profit, split through a sharing agreement with the company. The council invests its share in other efficiency resources,” says Clark. The geothermal well still produces between 3 and 4 MW of power, he says. The council supplemented this with a gas-powered CHP generator delivering a further 5MW in 1998, and a new 1.5MW biomass boiler will come onstream this year.

The total output will be around 9MW of relatively clean energy, providing heat and cooling to more than 40 customers, including council buildings, residential housing, commercial offices, BBC TV studios, hospitals, colleges, pubs, hotels and retailers such as John Lewis, Marks & Spencers, and Asda.

Companies are drawn to participate for several reasons, says Clark. “There are long-term savings – at least a five per cent reduction in energy costs because they don’t need a boiler. It also helps reduce emissions, and helps to demonstrate a responsible attitude to energy savings.”

Although Southampton is unusual in having access to geothermal energy, other local authorities are setting up Combined Heat and Power (CHP) infrastructures, notably Birmingham City Council, and Woking Borough Council.

Exploring new ways of working

Like private sectors organisations, local authorities aim to exploit new technology, and some are looking at ways of integrating new working practices into their low carbon strategy.

Wakefield Metropolitan District Council has a programme called Worksmart, enabling staff to work more flexibly, spending more time out in the community or working from home. “We’re looking at this as a catalyst for sustainability,” says Gavin Rimmington, Business Services Manager, Strategic Procurement and e-Services.

Worksmart enables the council to dispose of old buildings that consumed energy inefficiently, but the e-services team also hopes to show colleagues how they can use resources more responsibly. E-Services staff are discouraged from printing documents and many no longer have permanent desks. As a result, some of Wakefield’s offices have reduced consumption of paper by as much as 70%, says Rimmington.

Some councils have come together to provide feedback to IT vendors, says Rimmington.“Newham is particularly active in this area, lobbying companies like Microsoft to make duplex printing the default setting for printers, or changing the default paper margins of documents to save paper,” he says.

Building trust, sharing best practice

More than 200 councils have also signed up to the Nottingham Declaration, an initiative that aims to promote good practice and co-ordinate the action of councils on sustainability. In addition to such voluntary initiatives, councils also work together through bodies such as the Local Government Association (LGA). Closer working between local government and the private sector could have significant benefits for both, suggests Paul Bettison, Leader of Bracknell Forest Borough Council, and Chair of the LGA Environment Board.

Councils could become trusted third parties on sustainability, helping organisations in all sectors to share good practice, insights and special expertise, he suggests. “What we need is for local authorities to be seen as facilitators,” he says.

Key questions:

· What clean energy alternatives are local authorities investing in?
· How can Regional Development Agencies help our low carbon strategy?
· How could partnerships the public sector improve the sustainability of our business?