(1) Public sector sustainability practices

(1.1) Sustainability and local government

Article: Sustainability and local government in Australia

(1.2) Public procurement

Article: Public procurement practices to progress sustainability outcomes

(1.3) Global Environmental Outlook 5 (GEO5) and local government

UNEP News item:

Report and case examples:

(2) Sustainability accounting and reporting

(2.1) Management accounting

Article: Management accounting in Australian local government

(2.2) Global Reporting Initative

Web site: GRI reporting in the public sector (Australia focus)

(3) Use of Ecological Footprint as a sustainability measurement and management tool:

(3.1) Cardiff - Wales

Article:   
Collins, A & Flynn, A 2007, 'Engaging with the Ecological Footprint as a Decision-Making Tool: Process and Responses.', Local Environment, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 295-312.

Abstract: Since the initial development of the Ecological Footprint in the early 1990s, the concept has gained increased interest amongst academics and practitioners internationally. In the UK, it is estimated that some 60 to 70 Ecological Footprint studies were undertaken between 1999 and 2004. Although the majority of interest in Ecological Footprinting has come from local government, a recent study has found that government officers involved in the formulation of council policy have not been able to engage with the Ecological Footprint as a process or use the results to inform policy decisions. This paper analyses how an Ecological Footprint has been developed for Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The approach used to construct an Ecological Footprint for Cardiff has been significantly different to that which had been used previously in the UK, as it has involved a unique consortium of researchers at Cardiff University and policy development officers at Cardiff Council checking the quality of data used in the Footprint calculation, and developing a range of policy scenarios.

Article:
Collins, A, Flynn, A, Wiedmann, T & Barrett, J 2006, 'The Environmental Impacts of Consumption at a Subnational Level.', Journal of Industrial Ecology, vol. 10, no. 3, Summer, pp. 9-24.

Abstract: This article analyzes the environmental effects of resource consumption at a subnational level (by Cardiff, the capital city of Wales), using the Ecological Footprint as a measure of impact assessment. The article begins by providing a short critique of the Footprint methodology and the limitations of methods traditionally used to calculate national Footprint accounts. We then describe the Footprint methodology developed by the Stockholm Environment Institute to overcome some of these problems and used as the basis of the Reducing Wales’ Ecological Footprint project, of which the Cardiff study has been a part. The main portion of this article focuses on presenting and discussing the Footprint results for Cardiff. The Ecological Footprint of household consumption in Cardiff will be presented using the international Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (COICOP). Based on the results, we found that the areas of consumption that are a priority for Cardiff in terms of reducing resource use are food and drink, passenger transport (car and aviation), domestic fuel consumption, waste, and tourism. We also discuss how these findings have been presented to the Cardiff Council. We report on the initial reactions of policy officers to the Footprint results and how the Council plans to use them to influence policy decisions relating to sustainability. Finally, in the Conclusions section, we briefly explain the value of applying the Ecological Footprint at a subnational level and its value as an evidence-based tool for sustainability decision making.

(3.2) Siena - Italy:

Article:  
Bagliani, M, Gallic, A, Niccoluccic, V & Marchettinic, N 2008, 'Ecological Footprint Analysis Applied to a Sub-National Area: The Case of the Province of Siena (Italy)', Journal of Environmental Management, vol. 86, pp. 354-364.

Abstract: This work is part of a larger project, which aims at investigating the environmental sustainability of the Province of Siena and of its communes, by means of different indicators and methods of analysis. The research presented in this article uses ecological footprint and biocapacity as indicators to monitor the environmental conditions of the area of Siena, thus complementing previous studies carried out using Emergy, greenhouse gases balance and other methods. The calculations have been performed in such a way as to enable a disaggregation of the final results according to the classical categories of ecologically productive land and of consumption, but also according to citizen’s and public administration’s areas of influence. This information allows us to investigate in detail the socioeconomic aspects of environmental resource use. Among the notable results, the Siena territory is characterized by a nearly breakeven total ecological balance, a result contrasting with the national average and most of the other Italian provinces. Furthermore, the analysis has been carried out at different spatial scales (province, districts and communes), highlighting an inhomogeneous territorial structure consisting of subareas in ecological deficit compensated by zones in ecological surplus.

(3.3) South Australia

Report:  
Agrawal, M, Boland, J & Filar, JA u.d., The Ecological Footprint of South Australia, University of South Australia, Adelaide.

About this report: This report was commissioned by the South Australian Government and shows both the Ecological Footprint for South Australia (global hectares per capita) and the components that make up this footprint measure. The data provides a basis for policy directed to reducing SA's footprint. Whether the data is being used and policies developed is another question.