Delivering Sustainability in the Marine Environment - and everywhere else Bob Earll CMS – Communications & Mana

1. Delivering Sustainability in the Marine Environment - and everywhere else Bob Earll CMS – Communications & Management for Sustainability I’d like to thank Alastair Chisholm, Mike Cowling, Clive Gilbert, John Hartley, Roger Lankester, Annie Linley, Richard Pagett, Carol Somper, Ian Townend, Sharon Thompson, Cristina West

2. Key messages 1. To highlight the importance of sustainability To address the challenges we face 2. To show you a simple model for delivery 3. To highlight the problem of delivery – apparent complexity etc The need for clarity – if not us who? 4. To describe one part of a current project To produce a Delivering Sustainability diagram

3. Context I’ve organised about 150+ conferences in the last 10 years ..... 1500+ speakers ... And I listen to what people say .... All the problems we face And they talk about sustainability a great deal (not the Big Society) Why? Because actually its the only ‘ideology ‘ that makes sense to people like us

4. So what do you believe in? • Rational, evidence based management of the environment • OR Defra’s .... clean and healthy seas • OR Defra’s view of ICZM (2009) or the ecosystem approach (2007) or the CBD version • OR Sustainable communities (DCLG) • OR Stewardship OR One Planet living ... etc • Or combinations of these thing

5. Most of you have no choice .... your organisation is signed up already Virtually every statutory body operating in the coastal and marine environment has statutory duties to deliver sustainability (Cussons, 2006) and many others have codes of professional or personal ethics We have all been given the ‘freedom’ to deliver sustainability So we have .. Sustainable water, transport, procurement, energy , marine planning, rivers, forests, towns etc etc

6. You know it when you see it Conceptually its quite simple Delivering Sustainability - Four basic concepts 1. Time – Taking the long term view [Futurity] 2. Dimensions of sustainability – Econ + Env + Social + others Delivered together - Holism, Integration 3. People – Practitioners & Organisations [Participation and decision making] 4. Process - Time + Content + People -> Process; [Adaptive management] – various styles of process

7. Kyoto protocol SEA Sustainability Appraisal Sustainable Procurement Policy Sustainable Development Manuals Sustainability Benchmarking Sustainable Development Delivery Toolbox EMS BREEAM LEED National, Regional, local Strategies EIA CSR SIA Sustainability Indicators Integrated Impact Assessment CITES Ecological Footprinting Equality Impact Assessment Health Impact Assessment Ramsar Convention

8. There are however a range of problems with delivering sustainability; these include: • The apparent complexity of language, methods, approaches and ideas • The particular difficulty of being sold particular ‘brands’ of sustainability when they are essential the same e.g. the ecosystem approach, ICZM, one planet living, sustainable communities, CSR etc • Projects getting even the basic elements of delivery completely wrong by missing out key elements • This complexity diverting people from the many real practical challenges of delivery • If we can’t explain it to ourselves how on earth are other normal people supposed to get it ?

9. Beautiful Diagrams

10. Beautiful diagrams • Put things in a place - you can see where you are • Communicate relationships and knowledge • Simplify the complex • Enable gaps to be filled and cope with new knowledge

11. So, what would a systems diagram look like for Delivering Sustainability?

12. Delivering Sustainability Process – Management Language model Life cycle v Activities Time Dimensions /Content People Process Drivers Supporting Methodologies General Points These are practical methodologies That have been applied /developed over many years Often independently of being applied to sustainability There are now a growing number [50+] of methods They can be grouped into sets Examples include: Sustainability tools: Sustainability appraisal, SEA, computer methods simulations Environment EIA, EMS, Decommissioning – methodologies related to life cycle of projects Risk Assessment techniques Carbon: Audits etc; Reduction programmes Economics: Cost Benefit Analysis, Cost effectiveness analysis, Regulatory Impact assessment, ecosystem services Social: Societal Assessments, Well-being assmts [Quality of life] Health; Health Impact Assessments Participation techniques Planning and spatial planning , Change management Definitions • Methods: Approaches to Sustainability • General points • Key Idea sets – Sustainability approaches - packages of ideas, dimensions, principles • They have arisen from different sources, organisations and conventions • The approaches are broadly equivalent • They could lead directly to delivery though some are more user friendly than others • ‘Organisations’ customise / select the approach they use to meet their particular needs • Examples: Three pillars (Dimensions), CSR, Ecosystem approach, ICZM, Sustainable communities, UK – five boxes (Defra 2005), RAMSAR, One Planet Living, Unbranded, etc. Dimensions of Sustainability General points The dimensions usually include a minimum of economic + social + environment Often directly related to specific methodologies The idea of capitals can also be applied to these dimensions Environmental Social Economics Governance Science & Information Governing Principles General points The governing principles are powerful ideas Cross cutting and applicable to all the sustainability approaches They are often directly related to specific methodologies Futurity – A long term view Integration Holism Participation and Decision making Precaution Process - Adaptive management Equality

14. Methods: Approaches to Sustainability General Points • Key Idea sets – Sustainability approaches - packages of ideas • They have arisen from different sources , organisations and conventions • They including packages of key ideas content and principles • Delivery involves looking at the content and principles together i.e. as packages • Equivalence- They approaches are broadly equivalent • They could lead directly to delivery though some are more user friendly than others • ‘Organisations’ customise / select the approach they use to meet their particular needs Examples: Three pillars, CSR, Ecosystem approach, ICZM, Sustainable communities, UK – five boxes, RAMSAR convention, One Planet living etc , Unbranded: Periodic review, Making space for Water

15. The cars // Sustainability Approaches all do roughly the same job BUT They are branded differently Different languages – different audiences They are however broadly EQUIVALENT in terms of the ideas they seek to communicate

16. Equivalence [Carol Somper] • The same key ideas and principles occur in the approaches • If you know what they are all you need do is advocate their use (ie without the package label)

17. The Delivering Sustainability Project: Diagram – A start Website Process – examples • Lots of • Questions • Projects • Work • Come and have a chat • Thanks