A Sustainable Society

What is sustainability / sustainable development?
How can cities become sustainable?
Jean’s work on sustainability
Related sustainability initiatives and events


What is sustainability / sustainable development?
The term sustainability has no legal definition but in 1987 the World Commission on Environment and Development, chaired by the Prime Minister of Norway, Mrs Gro Harlem Bruntland, published a report ‘Our Common Future (The Bruntland Report), which brought the concept of sustainable development onto the international agenda. 

It also provided the most commonly used definition of sustainable development describing it as: “development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

The principle has been incorporated in the Maastricht and Amsterdam treaties on European Union, as well as in the Rio Declaration and Agenda 21, adopted by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), meeting in Rio de Janeiro 3 – 14th June 1992.  The European Community and its Member States subscribed to the Rio Declaration and Agenda 21 and committed themselves to the rapid implementation of the principal measures agreed at UNCED.

Click here to download Jean’s briefing in the concept of Sustainable Development.

The aim of a sustainable development strategy is to achieve a successful integration of environmental, economic and social policy.  The economy should serve the needs of society, while both economy and society can only exist within a healthy, natural environment.

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How can cities become sustainable?
One of the big challenges currently facing cities like London is to consider strategies for how they can best be sustainable – environmentally, socially and economically.  Europe’s biggest cities such as London can also play an important role in improving Europe’s sustainability overall.

Jean ran a series of seminars on the role of European Cities in achieving sustainability considering four themes: climate protection, waste minimisation, urban planning and impact assessment, planning for traffic, transport and air quality.  

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Jean’s work on sustainability
At the core of all Jean’s work is the goal of creating a “sustainable society” which encompasses economic, environmental and social sustainability.  A healthy society can only exist if these three mutually – dependent elements are integrated into policy making.

Jean actively contributes to the European Parliament’s debate on sustainable development and has previously drafted an opinion on behalf of the Employment and Social Affairs Committee which focussed on the role of the EU’s chemicals strategy in sustainable development.

Click here for Jean’s contribution to a European Parliament debate on sustainability - May 2001

Click here for Jean’s speeches on sustainability to the Parliament - March 2001 and April 2001

Click here to download a briefing by Jean Lambert MEP and Caroline Lucas MEP evaluating the Sustainability Summit in Johannesburg in summer 2002.

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Related sustainability initiatives and events
European Sustainable Cities and Towns Campaign
Sponsored by the European Commission, the objective of this campaign is to encourage and support local authorities in working towards sustainability by promoting development towards sustainability at the local level through Local Agenda 21 and similar processes.

Energie-Citie
An association of European local authorities, mainly municipalities.  One of the aims of the association is to provide its members with information on the promotion of sustainable local energy policies.

International Council for Local Environment Initiatives (ICLEI) 
ICLEI is the international environmental agency for local governments. Its mission is to build and serve a worldwide movement of local governments to achieve tangible improvements in global environmental and sustainable development conditions through cumulative local actions.

Stockholm Partnership for Sustainable Cities
In focus for the Stockholm Partnerships for Sustainable Cities are the respective roles of industry, local government and communities in enabling sustainable urban development, and how these roles evolve and influence each other.  Stockholm Partnerships aims at bringing together stakeholders from local government, business and non-governmental organisations from all over the world to try – in a collective effort – to bring new energy into the process.

Climate Action Network Europe
CAN is a coordinating office, based in Brussels, for environmental groups in Western Europe working on climate change issues. It is a non-profit organisation receiving funding in the present financial year from Commission of the European Communities, the Dutch Government and the Belgian Government. CAN Europe runs an information service on climate change and coordinates policy on climate change at a European level as well as liaising with other groups in the global organisation of Climate Action Network.

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