European Social Fund in England

Sustainable Development in the new ESF Programme

What is sustainable development?

Sustainable Development can be defined as:

"Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." (Brundtland Commission Report, "Our Common Future", 1987)

Sustainable development can only be achieved by designing policies and delivery arrangements which create a balance between economic, social and environmental concerns.

Why is it important?

In the next 50 years, the earth's population is likely to increase by about 50% and cumulative growth in human economic activity will place between four and six times the current level of strain on the earth's environmental capital in the form of pollution and waste use.

Increasingly, people all round the world are beginning to understand that 'business as usual' is not a sustainable option. This is reflected in the EU's strategy 'Sustainable Europe for a Better World', which was proposed at the Gothenburg European Council in 2001. In 2006 the EU adopted its renewed Sustainable Development Strategy. It forms the overall framework within which the Lisbon Strategy, with its renewed focus on jobs and growth, provides the motor of a more dynamic economy. These two strategies recognise that economic, social and environmental objectives can reinforce each other and they should therefore advance together. Sustainable development is a regulatory cross-cutting theme across all of the EU Structural Funds.

• UK SD strategy
• EU SDS

UK Government response

In 2005, the Government launched the UK's third sustainable development strategy 'Securing the Future' which set out five principles for policy-making:

• living within environmental limits
• ensuring a strong, healthy and just society
• achieving a sustainable economy
• promoting good governance
• using sound science responsibly

It also set out four priority areas for action:

• sustainable consumption and production
• climate change and energy
• natural resource protection and environmental enhancement
• sustainable communities.

All Government Departments and agencies such as the LSC have strategies which are linked to and support the 'Securing the Future' strategy.

New England and Gibraltar European Social Fund (ESF) Sustainable Development Mainstreaming Plan 2007-2013

This plan describes how sustainable development will be mainstreamed in the England and Gibraltar ESF programme during 2007-2013. It describes the action that will be taken to help ensure that sustainable development is integrated into all aspects of the programme. The approach adds value to the DWP and LSC’s own sustainable development policies and procurement strategies.

Full details of the approach to be taken are described in the ESF Sustainable Development Mainstreaming Plan 2007-2013.

What will this mean for staff delivering projects?

Clearly, the strategic priorities of jobs and skills will be the main drivers for ESF activity. However, the new programme will also have a strong emphasis on making sure that the environmental aspects of sustainable development are better integrated into delivery arrangements. Providers will be expected to prepare sustainable development policies and implementation plan covering a range of environmental issues as described in the CFO guidance section of this website.