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The Government wants to build on the Pioneers Group and strengthen our work with business so as to improve our understanding of delivering long term de-coupling in key sectors whilst putting in place measures to support that transition.
Therefore, the UK Sustainable Development Strategy commits the Government to set a new Sector Sustainability Challenge to support selected projects focused on taking forward sectoral or supply chain
initiatives to put Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) into practical action.
Promoting sustainable development on a sectoral basis can add value to industry-wide measures and action by individual companies.
One of the commitments of the UK Sustainable Development Strategy, Securing The Future was for Government to set a Sector Sustainability Challenge. The Challenge supports selected projects focused on taking forward sectoral or supply chain initiatives to put sustainable consumption and production (SCP) into practical action. The Challenge was launched in August 2005. Forty bids were received, and were assessed by a panel comprising officials from Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (BERR), DEFRA and the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) against a set of agreed criteria. The Challenge is funded jointly between BERR and DEFRA.
Six organisations were awarded contracts to help deliver wider SCP objectives in a practical way. Case Studies of the successful projects can be seen here: www.defra.gov.uk/environment/business/scp/challenge.htm
This year's Challenge aims to build on what has been demonstrated so far, by again seeking to stimulate forms of practical action by sector bodies and their members for their benefit and from which others might also learn. We are looking to support projects that focus on practical action across sectors or within supply chains and particularly ones involving the development and dissemination of best practice, benchmarking or product based initiatives.
Applications should be made by 13th October 2006. Further information and application form is available at: www.defra.gov.uk/environment/business/scp/challenge.htm
Sectoral sustainability strategies provide business sectors with a framework to identify and manage economic, environmental and social risks in an integrated way, and unlock opportunities to improve competitiveness and enhance reputation.
The Pioneers Group is a best practice forum established by BERR and DEFRA to accelerate the development and implementation of sectoral sustainability strategies.
Sector sustainability: best practice strategy toolkitSector sustainability: best practice reporting toolkitare step-by-step guides for developing a sustainability strategy and sectoral reporting based on the lessons learned by the Pioneers Group.The Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) supported the Pioneers Group and has published Pioneering, an introduction to sectoral strategies, and a Self Assessment Guide, which provides a quality assurance framework for sectors to assess draft strategies against benchmarks and standards set by the SDC.