Shaping our world to create a sustainable prosperity for all people – in harmony with our planet – is unarguably the greatest challenge facing us as a region, country and species. So, it’s easy to see why Sustainability has been passionately embraced as one of the four strategic goals of Cardiff Capital Region. But what are the ‘specifics’ of Sustainability? How did it come to the fore? What does a sustainable world look like? And how will sustainable success be measured?

Building a sustainable future starts with ‘Us’

‘Sustainability’ brings together so many different threads. The Race to Zero is about sustainability. The journey towards a Circular economy is about sustainability. Inclusion and the pursuit of social equity is about sustainability. Decarbonised transport. Heat efficient housing. Secure supplies of homegrown food. A continually replenishing pipeline of talent. Better jobs closer to home … sustainability is the meeting place for all these pillars which, together, can support a positive future for humankind and the world we inhabit.

Given all of that, it’s easy to see why the subject has been passionately embraced as one of the four strategic goals of Cardiff Capital Region – in harmony with the UN Sustainable Development Goals of 2015 that sets out an ambitious agenda in transforming the world for people, planet and prosperity, through 17 goals that include strong governance, addressing climate change, nurturing health and wellbeing, reducing inequalities, delivering quality education and jobs, generating economic growth through industry, innovation and infrastructure – and putting in place the partnerships to deliver these goals.

What does ‘People, Planet & Prosperity’ look like?

Shaping our societies to create a sustainable prosperity for all people, in harmony with the ecosystem of our planet, is unarguably the greatest challenge facing us as a region, country and species. And achieving a state of sustainability means building a future on four non-negotiable pillars.

HUMAN SUSTAINABILITY

Human Sustainability demands investment in health and education, improvement to services, growth in nutrition, access to knowledge or development of skills. It’s a pillar that places huge responsibility on businesses; and it’s also a major opportunity for those businesses to become a key part of society’s wider wellbeing.  

SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY

Social sustainability is a world where everyone is included and no one is left behind – where healthy communities are built on modern infrastructure providing universal access to essential services, protected by accountable leadership and good governance.

ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY

If social sustainability focuses on improving social equality, economic sustainability aims to improve the standard of living. Those economic resources include sustainable sources of food, housing, education, finance and livelihoods – the absolute bedrock of modern life.

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

Environmental sustainability is critical to protect our ‘natural capital’ and human welfare. For our civilisation to thrive and prosper, it’s vital that the earth’s environmental systems are kept in balance, with natural resources being consumed at a rate where they are able to replenish themselves.

What does sustainable success look like?

The key challenge for governments is measuring the impact of hugely varying activities, assessing their performance against Environmental, Economic and Social principles – and looking to bring a balanced treatment to all three.

That balance – a so-called Triple Bottom Line – may not always be achievable in every project, but there’s a better chance of achieving this holistic goal when these three principles are applied across a portfolio of projects or an entire planned programme.

The UK Government’s policies and programmes are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including a 25 year Environmental Plan, a Clean Growth Strategy, an Industrial Strategy and a People Plan.   

Welsh Government has taken this ‘People & Planet’ approach even further: becoming the first country in the world to pass a Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act that views everything through the lens of sustainability …  engaging people across Wales in a national conversation on the ‘Wales We Want in 2050’ … legislating sustainable development as the central principle for 44 public bodies … and being instrumental in bringing together key players to carry out sustainable development at the local level.  

We share this ambition in the Cardiff Capital Region. We’re rising to the challenges (and embracing the opportunities) presented by the drive to sustainability, every day – through investments made in green game changers such as the decommissioned Aberthaw Power Station, the seam of sustainability running through our Food Challenge Fund; and the vision for sustainable talent pipelines being made a reality through the work of the CCR Regional Skills Partnership and our very own Venture skills initiatives.