Public sector

As community leaders, drivers of policy, and service providers, public sector organisations face sustainable development challenges every day. How to meet housing needs while reducing carbon emissions? How to deliver ever better services with fewer resources? How to plan for the provision of services and infrastructure that people need to live in a more sustainable way?

Demand for more sustainable operations is growing. Performance indicators on climate change and carbon management, new carbon trading schemes, sustainable procurement and use of resources assessments are just some of the areas coming under increasing scrutiny.

We believe sustainable development must be at the heart of public policy and delivery, creating environmental, social and economic wellbeing together. Public sector organisations can improve the quality of their services and make considerable cost savings by improving the sustainability of their operations.

Our work

We work with local authorities, regional organisations, central government and other public sector organisations in the following ways:

Futures – We help our partners develop inspiring visions and scenarios to ensure key strategies and projects are fit for purpose:

We are helping the NHS ensure that future healthcare provision can respond more effectively to climate change by adapting our Climate Futures scenarios to health; and
We have developed a vision of a low-carbon West Midlands so Advantage West Midlands and its key partners have a clear understanding of what they are trying to achieve and how to get there.

Innovation – We develop innovative tools and processes to integrate sustainable development into policy and service delivery and help our partners find new and exciting solutions to difficult challenges:

Our pioneering i-team project demonstrates how cutting edge innovation techniques can be used to improve public services and encourage behaviour change. Watch the short film to find out more; and
We are working to help our partners ensure that the £160 billion a year public sector spend builds a sustainable future. Our Buying a Better World report and toolkit has been recommended by the UK's Audit Commission and the National Health Service.

Leadership – We help organisations understand how to become leaders in sustainable development. We run organisational change and leadership programmes, capacity building, training and facilitation:

We are working to make Bristol the most sustainable city-region in the UK. Projects include: improving the energy efficiency of homes; helping businesses commit to challenging cuts in CO2 emissions; and encouraging local food production and consumption; and
We are improving the ability of school leaders to deliver sustainable development through our work with the National College for School Leaders.

Communication and networking – We seek to share our successes and the lessons we have learnt:

Our Public Sector Learning Network brings together organisations committed to taking bold action to implement sustainable development. Members work together to overcome barriers and challenges, get a heads-up on emerging sustainability topics, benefit from our unique tools, techniques and advice.

Find out more about our services for the public sector

Our partners:

Advantage West Midlands

Birmingham City Council

Bristol City Council

British Council

Carmarthenshire County Council

City of London

Cornwall County Council

Fife Council

Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council

Leeds City Council