1. Objective

To provide a clear statement of Pittwater Council's commitment to ensuring that progress towards sustainability is an ongoing objective and to exercise community leadership on sustainable development (1) within within the Pittwater Local Government Area.

2. Definition

Sustainability or ESD in Pittwater is a process of change that is defined as "development that improves the quality of life, both now and into the future, in a way that maintains the ecological processes on which life depends". (2). In accordance with Council's obligations under the NSW Local Government Act 1993, sustainability will be promoted with regard to the principles of ecologically sustainable development (3) being:

• Intergenerational equity
• The precautionary principle
• Improved valuation, pricing and incentive mechanisms
• Conservation of biological diversity and ecological integrity

3. Policy Statement

 Pittwater Council supports the principles of the report to the World Commission on Environment and Development "Our Common Future", and believes that sustainable development is one of the most pressing issues of our time. Over the course of the 20th century, the relationship between the human world and the planet that sustains us has undergone a profound change. The demand of human progress are now depleting our planet's resources at unsustainable levels, disrupting global climate systems, causing extinction of many species of life on earth and degrading natural environments, including the unique and precious natural heritage of the Pittwater area.

Council acknowledges that it has a vital role to play at the local level in promoting sustainable development and can make a contribution towards meeting the global challenges of creating a sustainable society on our shared planet.  Council will advance and strengthen the three interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars of sustainability (4) - economicdevelopment, social development and environmental protection in the Pittwater Local Government Area.

Council will strengthen, adjust and build internal management frameworks that ensure sustainability performance improvement is integrated as a core part of Council's strategic and operational management via effective management plans, specific action plans, training, communication, monitoring and reporting. Council will systematically review its internal policies, ESD performance, processes and practices to further build the organisations capacity to deliver ongoing triple bottom line performance improvement within its own operations.

In support of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development 2005-2014, Council will take the sustainability message out to the broader community through educating, mobilizing and responding to the public to promote sustainable development.

ADOPTED 19th June 2006

 Footnotes

1. The terms sustainable development, ecologically sustainable development (ESD) and sustainability are used as interchangeable terms. The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) adopted ESD as a goal in 2002.
2. Goal of ESD as defined in Australia's National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development 1992
3. As defined int he NSW Local Government Act 1993 - principles of Ecologically Sustainable Development
4. As adopted at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 - "Johannesburg Declaration"