As a member of a Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) you have a major
opportunity (and responsibility) to help improve the sustainability of your area.
LSPs are the key body responsible for creating a Sustainable Community Strategy.
The national Sustainable Development Strategy makes clear that:
"LSPs are pivotal to delivering sustainable communities. Making the vision of sustainable communities a reality at the local level means supporting strong local leadership and developing the right skills and knowledge."
A proactive approach? There are many things you can do to help champion
sustainability within your LSP. Here are some initial ideas - if you have further
thoughts on what can be done or what has worked successfully for your LSP we
would be delighted to hear your ideas when you feedback!
- Sustainability learning and skills: does your LSP have an up to date understanding of sustainability? An awareness raising session can help increase LSP members knowledge and understanding of the opportunities (and responsibilities) of the sustainability agenda. See also Leadership for Sustainability module.
- Community Strategies now have to evolve into genuinely sustainable community strategies and contain a sustainable vision for an area. If one has not been recently completed, request that a sustainability assessment of the strategy is undertaken. The LSP should be actively involved in the process - providing an opportunity to increase sustainability learning and identifying opportunities for achieving sustainable communities. The Checklist for Sustainable Communities & Regeneration (click here) will provide an overarching framework to assess the sustainability of the strategy.
- Local Area Agreements (LAAs) are supposed to deliver the key priorities of the Sustainable Community Strategy. As an LSP member you can champion the application of sustainable development principles when agreeing which indicators to adopt within your LAA, how ambitious targets will be and the way in which these are delivered. For more info on embedding sustainability into your LAA please download the handout from the 'Resources' section below.
In responding to the latest and most pressing sustainability challenges, as a Sustainable Development champion within your LSP you should press for:
- The adoption of an ambitious low carbon approach to all policy and practice arising from the partnership.
- An increase in the local sourcing of goods and services through the partnership.
- New build, refurbishment and regeneration that meets the highest standards of sustainable construction - helping to reduce running costs and making them more affordable in the long term.
- The local area's eco-footprint to be used as a performance indicator. Every local authority can now access (for free) information on their area's eco-footprint see www.ecologicalbudget.org.uk which can be used to inform policy and communicate resource use issues with the local community.
As an LSP member, you play a crucial role in supporting the delivery of your area's sustainable community strategy and LAA. Equally there are a variety of actions you can take to support sustainability within your local community and improve themorale and productivity of your workforce. Click on 10 Things You Can Do Today!
Links:
DEFRA case study for LSPs:
www.sustainable-development.gov.uk/advice/local/casestudies.htm#Oldham
Government guidance for Local Authorities on sustainable communities: ‘A Shared Agenda, a Share of the Action' contains advice and case studies
www.sustainable-development.gov.uk/publications/documents/sustainable-communities-guide.pdf
‘Securing the Future: Chapter 7 Making It Happen' provides an overview of government support for delivering local action
www.sustainable-development.gov.uk/publications/pdf/strategy/Chap%207.pdf
For information on empowering Community Action on Sustainability, see for details of the government funded initiative ‘Community Action 2020: Together We Can'
www.sustainable-development.gov.uk/advice/community/index.htm
