Why going green shouldn’t get the red light

We’ve just five months until world leaders, economists and environmental experts arrive at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. Yet discussion of environmentally sustainable policy-making has been overwhelmed by the urgency of handling the recession.

In fact, the two need not be exclusive. Ireland is using its even worse economic position to re-calibrate the benefits achieved through government spending and recognise the benefits of moving the entire economy to a more sustainable position (in all senses of sustainability). There, investments are being marked out to make Ireland a leader in green technology.

Sustainability, often associated with using less, can therefore come with significant cost savings. The need to develop sustainable solutions can also be a catalyst for radical innovation, triggering the sort of thinking needed to devise ways to deliver public services in a way which is financially, as well as environmentally, sustainable.

Earlier this year, Digital Public (as part of the Engine Group) achieved the ISO14001 gold standard for environmental management, putting us in the premier league of companies in this regard. But perhaps, more important for us is our work with clients in this area. As well as running communications strategy for the DCSF’s Sustainable Schools programme, sustainability is now a key element of all our work. Usually that’s because our clients demand it, but we’d like to see the time arrive when it’s mandated as part of everything that Government does.

Image courtesy of: University of California http://frontiers.ucdavis.edu/9b.html