Where sustainability and best value meet

摘要

New initiatives blaze their way into local authorities with amazing frequency. Two that seem destined to stand the test of time are the concepts of best value and sustainable development. But how do they fit together? Derrick Gould analyses the relationship between the two. Before any link can be made between sustainable development and best value, it is important to define exactly what is understood by the two terms. In its document Environmental Health for Sustainable Development (1995) the Chartered Institute accepted the definitions of sustainable development as found in the Brundtland Report and in the report compiled by the World Conservation Union, UN Environment Programme and World Wide Fund for Nature, Caring for the Earth (1991). These definitions are respectively: development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs; and, improving the quality of life while living within the carrying capacity of supporting ecosystems.