The public sector has a huge role to play in enabling Scotland to become Greener - and in turn contribute to increasing Scotland's sustainable economic growth. The Scottish Government wants to equip the public sector - through its leaders - with the knowledge, skills and awareness to deliver greener policies and services.
On May 14, 2008 the Permanent Secretary, Sir John Elvidge, hosted an evening reception for public sector leaders. It was an evening of inspiring speeches focusing on the impact Greener has on achieving the Scottish Government's overall aim of increasing sustainable economic growth.
Speakers included:
Richard Lochhead - Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment . A personal vision of what a greener Scotland will look like.
John Swinney - Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth. Highlighting the Government's purpose, Sustainable Economic Growth, and the contribution Greener will make to this.
Jonathon Porritt CBE, Chair of the Sustainable Development Commission UK. From his experience of working with government, a look at the challenges and rewards in delivering a sustainable future.
Sir John Elvidge, Permanent Secretary, Scottish Government. Setting out the role of the public sector as exemplars: what we should all take away as an action plan; and how we will be held to account.
To view the speeches please click on the links. You can also read the transcripts of the speeches.
At the May 14 event, Sir John Elvidge launched a programme of greener capacity building seminars aimed at Greener public sector leaders. The first in the series of these seminars took place on June 17, 2008.
Seminar 1 - Sustainable Places
Speaker: Peter Head. Peter is the Director for Planning and Integrated Urbanism for ARUP. He talked about Dongtan in China - the world's first planned eco-city. This is a visionary project that brings many disciplines together to create a truly greener place to work, live and play. He talked about the elements of the planning process that have real bearings on what we can achieve here in Scotland to help us create Sustainable Places. View this presentation.