Issue - meetings

SustainableAW

Meeting: 13/07/2021 - Joint Strategic Committee (Item 19)

19 SustainableAW update on progress and new targets for councils and community pdf icon PDF 279 KB

To consider a report from the Director for Digital, Sustainability & Resources, a copy is attached as item 12.

Minutes:

Before the Committee was a report by the Director for Digital, Sustainability and Resources, copies of which had been circulated to all Members and a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of these minutes as Item 12.

 

The report updated the Committee on progress made around the successful implementation of SustainableAW 2020-23, the councils’ shared framework for action on sustainability, and  presented members with an improved version of SustainableAW for the 2021-23 period. This version introduced new shared actions put forward by the wider community of groups, organisations, business and landowners. It also had new actions put forward by the councils.

 

The new actions reflected the extraordinary and coordinated level of activity across the Councils’ communities on climate and ecology which would act as a showcase for Adur & Worthing as a hub of excellent practice, and would assist in increasing engagement and momentum. It followed an extensive period of engagement with council officers and the wider community, with over 60 actions being put forward and over 200 organisations involved in the process.

 

The new plan pulled together many of the actions that were put forward at the successful community-led Zero 2030 Climate Conference (March 2020) and the Food, Land & Learning event (September 2019).

 

The plan also helped to address many of the eighteen recommendations which were put forward at the Adur & Worthing Climate Assembly. This was an important deliberative democracy process that the councils engaged in to listen to and understand the views of local residents towards climate change.

 

Approval was being sought from members to adopt the new Draft SustainableAW 2021-23, a shared action plan between council and community, which showcased much of the important climate and nature-related work going on across Adur and Worthing. 

 

SustainableAW was intended to provide a framework to address the crisis in natural ecosystems and the Climate Emergency declared by members at the Joint Strategic Committee on 9 July 2019.

 

To address the Climate Emergency, greater collaboration on climate action was proposed through enhanced engagement with community, business and public sector partners; developing joint ownership of a refined SustainableAW plan; and creating clearer methods of joint working.

 

A member asked a question about how this work was being communicated to local residents. Officers advised that information was available on the Councils’ website and that the Sustainable AW Magazine had been designed to celebrate the work undertaken and tell the story. 

 

The Committee welcomed the proposals and thanked the team for all of their work.

 

The recommendations set out in the report were proposed by Councillor Daniel Humphreys seconded by Councillor Neil Parkin and unanimously supported. 

 

Decision

 

The Joint Strategic Committee

 

1.     Noted the success of SustainableAW 2020-2023; 

 

2.     Approved the adoption of SustainableAW 2021-23; 

 

3.     Approved a report being brought back to Joint Strategic Committee in autumn 2022 with an update on progress; 

 

4.     Approved the referral of the report to the Joint Overview & Scrutiny Committee on 15 July 2021 for noting. 

 

Call In: 

 

The call-in deadline for this decision will  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19