Our Role in Sustainable Development

Sustainable Northern Ireland was set up to encourage action on sustainable development in Northern Ireland. Local authorities felt they did not have the statutory powers to deliver change on the key issues of sustainable development, and central government and its agencies (who did deliver directly in these areas) did not have the remit to work on Local Agenda 21. This meant that the key focus in the years up to the end of 2000 was enabling these bodies to work together and with their communities in order to draw up realistic plans for the future of their areas.

Previous activities have included projects funded through Better Belfast Landfill Tax Credit Scheme and the Environment and Heritage Service; a programme to promote waste management through faith communities in Belfast, a feasibility study to look at how to optimise the use of 'reusable' materials from the waste stream , and a Choose to Reuse initiaitve . Sustainable Northern Ireland also ran a community visioing project with five communities in Castlereagh.

Today Sustainable Northern Ireland's primary focus is on the activities of local government i.e. district coucnils. Sustainable development is essentially about creating sustainable communities as local government is one of the statutory authorities that has a significant presense within a wide range of communities; social, business, political and partnership delivery. This is why councils have an important role in helping to create communities that are based on the principles of sustainable development. In order to help councils embed these principles at the core of their own corportate structure, Sustainable Northern Ireland can provide a variety of help and support, including bespoke training programmes, our Sustainability Audit Matrix (SAM), guidance publications and practical support to help them develop their own Sustainable Development Implementation Plans. We encourage sustainable development thinking and action primarily within district council and the community and voluntary sector. The Sustainable Development Strategy for Northern Ireland means that many of Sustainable Northern Ireland's future activities will involve helping local authorities and others to implement sustainable development in their areas.