Local authorities going that extra green mile for a more sustainable Scotland

Published on Wednesday 8 October 2008 21:20

THERE is a growing body of evidence suggesting local councils across Scotland, and the Scottish Government itself, are now seriously committed to an environmentally responsible stance and that this stance is really gathering momentum.

As far as the councils are concerned, green activities and green thinking are now embedding themselves deeper and deeper into council processes. Take the Sustainable Scotland Network (SSN), for example, which comprises a network of sustainable development officers and advocates from across Scottish local authorities. SSN is far more than a talking shop for those charged to take on the green agenda. In its own words, it exists to improve local governments' contribution to achieving a sustainable Scotland, and is a very serious response to the way the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 charges local authorities with the requirement to launch and maintain sustainable development initiatives.

Members are also pretty tightly tied in to the Scottish Government's greener Scotland strategy, as expressed in the two policy statements "Scotland's sustainable development strategy", and the Scottish Government's Climate Change Programme. All the local authorities have also signed up to Scotland's Climate Change Declaration. Launched in January 2007, the statement commits all 32 local authorities to work to mitigate the environmental impact of their activities.

The SSN's latest progress report for 2007 states its four main national programme priorities as:

• Best value and sustainable development

• Responding to the threat of climate change

• Ensuring local authority procurement practices support sustainable development objectives

• Supporting carbon and ecological footprinting of councils as a foundation for evidence-based policy making.

If one turns from the overarching support bodies to the activities of specific councils, there are so many instances and examples that anyone looking into them cannot but be impressed at how far into the fabric of council activity green policy-making has reached.

There are hundreds of examples one could pick from. Take the Glasgow and Clyde Valley Green Network, an ambitious 20-year programme which will link parks, walkways, woodlands and countryside along miles of path and cycle routes. The aim is to bring a whole range of social, economic and environmental benefits to the Glasgow metropolitan area, and some eight local authorities have signed up to the scheme. A scheme such as this impacts local people in all sorts of positive ways. It promotes cycling and walking, gets people out into the countryside, cherishes biodiversity and it has great sustainable tourism potential as well.

Highlands Council is now some way down the road to its first "sustainable school". The Acharacle Primary School is a timber building with high levels of thermal insulation and a minimal heating requirement. Due to open in early 2009, the school is being built with timber from Austria. According to Highland councillor Michael Foxley, it is the forerunner of future sustainable projects.

At a national level, Scotland plans to join other European countries in developing innovative transport initiatives to encourage Scots to forsake their cars for various forms of active travel (walking and cycling) or public transport. As part of this, Scotland has launched a Sustainable Travel Demonstration Communities project to showcase a range of transport initiatives.

In August, transport and climate change minister Stewart Stevenson announced seven towns and cities will receive funding for such projects. Initiatives under consideration include self-service bike rental schemes and consumer advice centres.