Sustainabilty
Introduction
Welcome to Angus Council's webpage on sustainable development. These pages have been set up to give people information on what the Council is doing to implement sustainable development and to give you some tips on how you can help.
Just click on the topics down the side to find out what's happening under that heading, e.g. transport - tells you about green transport options in Angus.
What is Sustainable Development?
"Sustainable development is development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".
The World Commission of Environment and Development 1987 (the Brundtland Commission)
What the above definition really means is that we must find a way to improve the quality of life for everyone while living within the earth's carrying capacity, i.e. living within our means. Sustainable development is about considering the economic, social and environmental issues when making decisions so that the environment is given equal weight.
At the first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, more than 170 governments signed up to a plan to implement sustainable development - this plan was called Agenda 21. The Prime Minister, Tony Blair called for all local authorities in the UK to adopt Local Agenda 21 strategies by the end of 2000.
Council Action
A corporate working group for the environment was set up as far back as 1996 and since then has been working to help Angus Council lessen its impact on the environment. The working group developed an Environment Strategy Action Plan in 1999 and then produced the Local Agenda 21 "Sustainable Angus" (560 KB PDF) in 2000.