Our commitment to sustainability

Content: Sustainability | Our Sustainability Policy: Environmental actitivies, Social activities and Economic activities

Sustainability has been defined as 'meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs' (Brundtland Commission 1987). This is another way of saying that humans are part of the world and not separate from it and so we have to live as part of that world.  This means we have to live within the natural environmental and the social limits that exist. If we don’t we will damage the land, water, plants and animals that we and future generations depend on to survive.

Every person, family and organisation has a responsibility to live and operate sustainably. So from the biggest corporation down to the everyday person this means:

• thinking carefully about the effects of our actions on the planet and people before we do anything.
• not using more of anything than we really need or avoiding using some things at all.
• creating less waste by reusing and recycling things.
• protect all life where possible.
• help meet all peoples basic physical needs of food, water, shelter and clothing.
• help meet all people’s social needs by treating people with respect and involving them in the community.

We have to work with the world or we will pay the price.

Our sustainability policy
We are firmly committed to making Wollongong a sustainable city, within the national and international context of sustainable development. We take our role in educating our community on the ideals and practicalities of sustainability very seriously, leading by example in implementing projects that support sustainability in our city, and lobbying our state and national governments to ensure local government has a strong voice in the sustainability debate.

It will do this through careful planning and decision-making that aims to avoid any harmful local and global effects of its actions. In all our operations and activities both internally and externally, we will take all reasonable steps through:

Environmental actitivies:

• protect and improve water, air, and soil quality by: 
  • controlling our actions, and the actions of others over which we have influence, to prevent further damage to air, water and soil resources;
  • taking all reasonable action to restore air, water and soil to as close to their natural state as is possible;
• protect and expand habitat for all forms of life by: 
  • controlling our actions, and the actions of others over which we has influence, to prevent further damage to biological resources;
  • taking all reasonable action to restore biodiversity to as close to its natural state as is possible;
  • taking all reasonable action to restore biodiversity to its pre-European coverage;
• work in harmony with natural ecosystems by: 
  • fully understanding the contributions that local natural and human systems make to our organisation and society;
  • working within the limitations of those systems (such as the water, nutrient and atmospheric cycles, as well as biological, social, and human psychologicalsystems etc), in operational and planning activities rather than modifying or exceeding them.

Social activities:

• improve the well being of all people by: 
  • protecting the standard of living of all people with regard to the basics of food, clothing, shelter, access to medical treatment and education as well as ensuring opportunities for leisure and relaxation, reasonable work conditions;
  • treating all people equally, regardless of race, language, colour, culture, religion, sex or political beliefs and supporting reconciliation with Australia’s original inhabitants;
  • safeguarding everyone’s right to life, freedom and safety and respect personal and family privacy;
  • respecting and upholding the national and international legal rights of all people;
• ensure all services, facilities and community amenities are accessible to everyone; and by: 
  • ensuring a comparable level of access for all people to services, facilities and community amenities and telling the community about these resources;
  • identifying community needs and values as a basis for ensuring a minimum standard of appropriate service delivery to the community;
  • cooperating and partnering with other organisations in the provision of services, facilities and community amenities;
  • improving the accessibility of public transport;
• encourage people to participate constructively in the community by:
  • valuing and assisting the development and expression of the opinions of groups and individuals;
  • finding solutions to local problems at the local level by providing opportunities and all relevant information to community members to enable them to fully participate in local decision making;
  • encouraging community integration and facilitating access to a range of education services, particularly those that encourage personal and social responsibility;
  • working towards a built environment that improves public amenity and captures community identity and heritage.

Economic activities:

• use resources efficiently and responsibly by: 
  • minimising our use of resources such as energy, water, petroleum, construction materials and office materials;
  • increasing the use of renewable resources as a percentage of all materials used;
  • factoring in the environmental and social as well as financial costs of projects, plans and strategies;
• help reduce the impacts of poverty; and by: 
  • identifying causes of poverty in communities and take action to remove these causes;
  • cooperating with other organisations to ensure all people can meet their basic needs. such as food, clothing, affordable housing and medical treatment;
  • facilitating community education with the goal of promoting financial self-help and self-reliance;
• encourage a strong local economy by: 
  • encouraging an innovative, diverse and competitive business community;
  • planning for future needs in order to provide modern and efficient business infrastructure and good regional transport connections;
  • focusing on local job creation by supporting existing local business and attracting businesses to the local region.