THE MANIFESTO ON CONVERGENCE OF HEALTH AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Click here to download the manifesto.
The Manifesto has five sections:
1. The importance of sustainable development for health
2. A commitment to work with UK Government Departments and related agencies, and the European Commission, to strengthen policy implementation
3. A commitment to take action to ensure that existing opportunities to promote sustainable development are used to best effect within the NHS and the wider public health community
4. A commitment to take action to strengthen the position of sustainable development within workforce development
5. A commitment to lead by example by implementing personal and organisational carbon audits and ecological footprint analyses
THE CONVERGENCE OF HEALTH AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT : A MANIFESTO
1. We believe that:
# Sustainable development is the integration of environmental, social, political and economic development, underpinned by equity. It meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs [the Brundtland definition].
# Natural resources and ecosystems, on which human life, and quality of life, depend, have been strained in recent decades to, and sometimes beyond, their limits, as demonstrated by climate change and the global loss of biodiversity. The economy is dependent on the ecosystem.
# Climate change is likely to have a range of impacts on health and society, such as changes in disease patterns, drought and extreme weather events, conflict over access to water, and forced migration.
# We should promote the sustainable use of finite natural resources [including, but not only, fossil fuels and water] as a major determinant of health; we should develop healthy environments, noting that environmental inequalities can generate health inequalities.
# Building on the rich history of public health in protecting the environment, sustainable development should now be mainstreamed within the NHS. The NHS can contribute to improvements in the environment and a healthy environment can promote good health.
# The reduction of carbon emissions by UK countries, organisations and communities must become a legitimate priority for public health.
# Action should be taken within an awareness of the global context, including the real poverty of billions of people, who live with the health consequences of environmental degradation on a daily basis.
2. We will work with the English Department of Health and other Government Departments, the Welsh Assembly Government, the Scottish Executive, the Department of Health for Northern Ireland, and associated agencies, and with the European Commission, to strengthen:
# UK Government action to implement energetically policies on climate change and energy, and on sustainable consumption and production [including more appropriate measures of economic success].
# Action to reduce substantially carbon emissions in a way that is fair and equitable for all countries around the globe .
# Joined-up government to ensure that sustainable development, including the responsible use of finite natural resources, is given a central place in health policies and guidance, in target-setting and in performance management.
# The development of strategies for reducing health inequalities that include environmental inequalities as determinants of health and promote environmental justice.
# Partnerships between health organisations and local authorities which promote the sustainable use of natural resources in all stages of development, from effective spatial planning of the natural and built environment, including sustainable use of transport, to appropriate building design, materials and construction.
# The inclusion of sustainable development principles and practices in all health policy documents [national, regional and local]: we will develop a ‘sustainability check’ with which to prompt policy-makers.
3. We will take action to ensure that existing opportunities to promote sustainable development, including the responsible use of finite natural resources, are used to best effect within the public health community and in the commissioning and provision of NHS services, including:
# Improved collaboration and shared objectives between organisations working in the NHS, public health, sustainability and climate change, and the sectors which impact on both.
# Promoting the ‘business case’ for the value for money of sustainable development.
# Using ‘virtuous cycle’ thinking to bring together social, environmental and economic policies to achieve synergy.
# Promoting and developing the web-based Good Corporate Citizenship Self-Assessment Model, jointly launched by the Department of Health and the Sustainable Development Commission [www.corporatecitizen.nhs.uk]; and the implementation of ‘Sustainable development: Environmental Strategy for the National Health Service’ [NHS Estates, 2005].
# Working with NHS providers and commissioners to implement sustainable: procurement, transport, capital development, energy and water use, waste management and to promote healthy workforce policies and community engagement.
# The proactive use of local forums and agreements, such as Local Strategic Partnerships and Local Area Agreements in England, sustainable communities and healthy community strategies and initiatives, and local transport strategies and plans.
# Joint working between local authority planning departments and NHS organisations, using spatial planning processes [including HIA/EIA/SEA impact assessment processes] from their earliest stages to design healthy, sustainable communities and ‘healthy urban development’.
# Implementing policies that address the objectives of health, sustainable development and sustainable communities simultaneously; for example, food and nutrition, housing, physical activity, sustainable modes of transport and mental health.
# Working with the Healthcare Commission to strengthen its recognition and regulation of action by the NHS to influence environmental determinants of health.
# Input to the Comprehensive Spending Review to advocate for sustainable policies that contribute to improved health, and contribute towards the achievement of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution’s target of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 60%.
4. We will take action nationally and locally to strengthen the position of sustainable development within workforce development, through:
# Curriculum development: including appropriate competences in National Occupational Standards, and in the competency frameworks and standards of all the professions and disciplines.
# Training and development programmes, including continuing professional development, to cover sustainable development.
# Job descriptions and person specifications including competences on sustainable development.
5. We will lead by example by:
# Undertaking carbon audits and ecological footprint analyses, and acting on the findings by implementing personal, team and organisational sustainability action plans.
# Encouraging workplace teams, departments and organisations to do likewise.
# Encouraging organisations to include sustainable development routinely in business plans.
Agreed 20th October 2006