Governments and Sustainability

Difficult economic times have not arrested the growth of sustainability. Despite recent economic difficulties, states and localities have increased the number of sustainability directors as well as the number of new technologies deployed to monitor energy consumption. According to a Government Technology survey of senior policymakers and managers, more than half of the respondents said their jurisdictions have appointed someone to lead sustainability efforts.

Twenty percent of respondents said they have created dashboards and metrics to monitor energy consumption in government buildings, and another 16 percent said they are considering such deployments.

National Governments Seen to be Lacking Political Will on Sustainable Development

There is a profound lack of confidence in national governments to act on climate change, these same governments are perceived to be lacking the political will to act. When experts were asked to rate a wide range of different groups on sustainable development, National governments received the worst rating. More than three quarters of sustainability experts surveyed said they think it will take an apocalyptic event to move governments forward.

According to 2012 survey released by GlobeScan and SustainAbility, more than 76 percent of sustainability experts think a major catastrophe will have to occur for national governments to take action on sustainable development. The survey was conducted by GlobeScan and SustainAbility who interviewed 1,603 sustainability experts in 117 countries.

Environmental Collaboration Transforming Government

Environmental issues are forcing governments to collaborate both internally and externally. Management of the vast number of interconnected environmental concerns demands that government collaborates both between various departments and with other governments. Focusing on collaboration between and within various agencies is a matter of efficient governance. Clearly environmental issues do not respect national boundaries. To get serious about containing climate change we must manage intra-governmental conflicts as well as transnational issues.

Sustainability Supported by Government Leadership

Tough economic times over the past few years didn’t stop states and localities from appointing sustainability directors and deploying new technology to monitor energy consumption, according to a new survey of senior policymakers and managers.

More than half of the respondents to a recent [2012] Government Technology survey said their jurisdictions have appointed someone to lead sustainability efforts. Twenty percent of respondents said they have created dashboards and metrics to monitor energy consumption in government buildings, and another 16 percent said they are considering such deployments.

The results are based on responses from 113 members of the Governing Exchange, an online community of government executives. The new survey findings track with an analysis of 2012 State of the State addresses released April 11 by the National Governor’s Association. More than 20 governors talked about energy priorities, according to the NGA, and nearly 20 mentioned environmental goals.