Council adopts sustainability toolkit

Efforts by Powys County Council to become a more sustainable organisation have moved a step closer after it adopted an innovative toolkit.

The council has developed a Sustainability Integration Toolkit so that it can consider and embed sustainability issues when developing council strategies, programmes and projects.

Sustainable development is one of the key principles of the Powys Change Plan and the toolkit will contribute to the Plan by supporting sustainable thinking throughout the council's programme and project development.

This innovative way of working has also been recognised by the founder of the UK’s largest sustainability charity - Forum of the Future’s Jonathan Porritt.

Cllr Ken Harris, Cabinet Member for Sustainability, said: “The council needs to raise sustainability issues at the earliest possible stage as this ensures that decisions can be modified according to the needs of the project.  Our toolkit will allow this to happen in a considered and consistent way with evidence being provided for decisions to be taken.

“The toolkit will also help us to ensure that we are ready for the requirements of the Sustainable Development Bill which is being introduced by the Welsh Government in 2013.  The Bill will ‘make sustainable development the centre of all activities and decisions of the of the Welsh Government and public bodies in Wales’.”