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The questions and answers below are intended only as a starting point for the development of the environmental contract. Please amend or add to them as you think necessary. 

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What is this environmental contract for?

We believe that the environmental problems we face, particularly climate change, represent the gravest threat to human life and prosperity, and to the natural resources and assets on which it depends.

We believe that current levels of western consumption are unsustainable, and that what we cannot and will not extend to every citizen of the planet should not form the basis of our modern existence.

We believe that each of us has the capacity to play a part in tackling these problems. But too often we are dissuaded from doing so by doubts about whether our actions will make any difference, and whether they will leave us unfairly disadvantaged.

We propose this environmental contract as a way to assuage such doubts, by creating a framework which makes clear our own responsibilities towards the environment, and the responsibilities we can expect others to bear in return.

Who are the parties to the environmental contract? 

All are welcome to take part but it is too late to wait for the unconvinced. Action must begin today and from this action it is hoped that others will be inspired to play their part in the process. 

What are the principles on which the environmental contract should be based?

An environmental contract should be based on the following principles:

• Reciprocity: government won't ask citizens or businesses to do anything without saying clearly what it is going to do in return.

• Subsidiarity: environmental contracts should be negotiated at the lowest appropriate level. Sometimes that will be global or supranational, other times local.

• Equity: costs should be allocated fairly. Polluters should pay; environmental stewards should be rewarded; countries that have made a bigger historical contribution to pollution have a correspondingly greater obligation to respond to it.

• Empowerment: as far as possible environmental contracts should be designed to maintain individuals' and business' freedom to choose how to live their lives provided they bear the full cost of those choices; choices should be informed; where possible choices should 'edited' rather than removed altogether.

• Convenience: being a good environmental citizen should become the default option; wherever possible citizens should be asked to opt-out not opt-in.

What tools can be used to deliver the environmental contract?

To deliver the environmental contract, we believe policy-makers need to use a range of different approaches and tools.

These tools need to:

• Remove some barriers and put in place others
• Create the right incentive frameworks to shape individual choices
• Communicate and engage with people effectively
• Show that government practises what it preaches
• Not scare people with horror stories of environmental degradation so they feel any positive steps are pointless

Tools that remove barriers include:

• Providing simple, trustworthy and timely advice and information
• Offering more convenient personalised services and making sure that such conveniences do not increase environmental damage.

Tools that put in place barriers include:

Tools that create the right incentive frameworks include:

• Environmental taxes and charges
• Emissions trading schemes
• Regulating product standards
• Voluntary agreements
• Bonuses for good environmental practice, not just penalties

Tools that communicate and engage with people effectively include:

• Advertising campaigns
• Viral marketing
• Working through NGOs
• Environmental education classes in schools from an early age- part of citizenship lessons?

Tools that show that government practises what it preaches include:

• Sustainable public procurement with the widest possible reach
• Politicians modelling good environmental behaviours
• Public places (e.g. schools, hospitals, universities) encouraged to show environmental awareness  

What would an environmental contract for waste look like?

Citizens will:

• separate household wastes and use the facilities provided
• pay variable charges depending on the amount of waste their household produces and how much they recycle
• encourage their neighbours
• think about waste when purchasing e.g. food
• recognise the need for facilities to extract energy from waste
• respect the environment by not flytipping
• not just recycle but re-use
• get involved in clean-up volunteering

In return, government will: 

• collect your rubbish and clean streets
• provide convenient, personalised “kerbside” recycling facilities
• give simple advice to customers on what they can recycle
• create arrangements for variable charging
• place obligations on key sectors to reduce waste from their products
• reward neighbourhoods that agree to situating waste facilities in their area
• participate in trading schemes aimed at reducing landfill
• prosecute the perpetrators of environmental crime and take local flytipping seriously

Businesses will: 

• respect general and sector specific waste regulations
• pay landfill taxes
• identify opportunities to increase resource productivity and use waste as a resource
• look for ways to minimise waste, e. g. from packaging, direct mailing, etc.
•  implement a 'green dot' system making it easy for consumers to see which products have not used too much packaging (system already in place in Germany) 
• start collecting used bottles and packaging then clean it and re-use (like the milkman)
• run 'sustainability training' schemes for staff to attend - there are now several companies offering such training
• provide recycling facilities in the workplace

In return government will

• incentivise business to use less weight through landfill tax
• provide advice and support programmes
• not be afraid to legislate to deal with problems such as plastic bag use
• enforce regulations to prevent other businesses free riding
• tax breaks for collecting and re-using old material like bottles 

What would an environmental contract for energy look like?

Citizens will:

• be prepared to pay the full cost of the energy they use, adjusted for damage to health and the environment
• turn off lights, televisions, heating, computers when not in use
• turn heating down and wear more clothes in winter
• not heat water so often
• remove all phone chargers and other drains from socket when not in use
• purchase energy-efficient cars
• travel more by public transport and cycle
• think carefully before flying
• install solar panels and small wind turbines

Government will:

• provide a framework for emissions trading so that the full cost of energy to society is embedded in its price to the consumer
• switch off lights, fans, computers, heating, air conditioning in government offices overnight
• make sure public and private enterprises ensure staff switch off lights when not needed
• publicise schemes like London Cycling Campaign more widely
• provide more subsidies for solar panels, wind turbines etc.
• fund research to demonstrate which of the above energy-saving and emission-reduction options work best

Businesses will:

• publicise to staff the need to save electricity
• install energy-saving light bulbs
• make sure electric devices lapse into energy-saving mode when not used
• construct all new buildings energy-efficiently

What would an environmental contract for transport look like?

Citizens will:

• use public transport as much as possible
• use local shops and businesses rather than travelling by car

Government will:

Businesses will:

• endeavour to produce locally, to reduce transport emissions
• endeavour to employ people from local populations in order to reduce commuting
• if possible endeavour to use modern electronic communications instead of physical travel

What would an environmental contract for water look like?

Government will:

• ensure safe, clean drinking water
• set clear, stretching standards for water efficient homes and buildings
• use water efficiently on its own estate

Citizens will

•  use water efficiently

Businesses will

•  use water efficiently
• encourage staff to economise on water use

Ares is a free open source file sharing program that enables users to share any digital file including images, audio, video, software, documents. The latest versions of ares free music downloads support Bittorent protocol and shoutcast radio stations.

If online sales are any indication, the number of people who are actively shopping online is also on the rise. According to Forrester Research, online sales reached a staggering $172 billion in 2005--a number they predict will rise to $329 billion by 2010! For motivated individuals looking for some of the best online home based business opportunities

How can one country or a few countries create a Water Contract for the entire world? I live in Brazil, the country with the largest reservoir of drinkable water in the world. The Government here is not as much concerned with water as you British are; the Government here has other priorities, like Education, Health, Violence , etc (read @ http://www.v-brazil.com/ Social Issues). Meanwhile, the water reservoirs are gradually being degraded. You are concerned with cleaning glasses, while the buckets of water are dirty.

What do you think?

Although we are interested in the look of the final contract, we are also interested in the various opinions and debates that contribute to it. This is the place to capture them: questions you have, things you agree or disagree with in the main text or facts you think others should be aware.

Related topics

• A role for ordinary citizens in UK sustainable development
• To free up the discussion, first free our data

What is this environmental contract for?

We believe that the environmental problems we face, particularly climate change, represent the gravest threat to human life and prosperity, and to the natural resources and assets on which it depends.

We believe that current levels of western consumption are unsustainable, and that what we cannot and will not extend to every citizen of the planet should not form the basis of our modern existence.

We believe that each of us has the capacity to play a part in tackling these problems and that action by individuals will be needed. But too often we are dissuaded from doing so by doubts about whether our actions will make any difference, and whether they will leave us unfairly disadvantaged.

We propose this environmental contract as a way to overcome such doubts, by creating a framework which makes clear our own responsibilities towards the environment, and the responsibilities we can expect others to bear in return and the actions we can expect them to undertake.

Who are the parties to the environmental contract?

The contract is between citizens and their government. All are welcome to take part but it is too late to wait for the unconvinced. Action must begin today and from this action it is hoped that others will be inspired to play their part in the process.

What are the principles on which the environmental contract should be based?

An environmental contract should be based on the following principles:

• Reciprocity: government won't ask citizens or businesses to do anything without saying clearly what it is going to do in return, without committing to provide the necessary infrastructure, information and support systems and without explaining clearly why something needs to be done.
• Subsidiarity: environmental contracts should be negotiated at the lowest appropriate level. Sometimes that will be global or supranational, sometimes national, other times local.
• Equity: costs and benefits should be allocated fairly. Polluters should pay; environmental stewards should be rewarded; those who have made a bigger historical contribution to pollution have a correspondingly greater obligation to respond to it.
• Empowerment: as far as possible the environmental contract should be designed to encourage individual action; choices should be informed; and options judged unacceptable through a transparent and democratic process should be excluded.
• Convenience: being a good environmental citizen should become the easy option, enabling environmentally friendly behaviour to be the default; wherever possible citizens should be made to opt-out of environmentally unfriendly behaviour not obliged to opt-in.

What tools can be used to deliver the environmental contract?

To deliver the environmental contract, we believe policy-makers need to use a range of different approaches and tools.

These tools need to:

• Remove some barriers and put in place others
• Create the right incentive frameworks to shape individual choices
• Communicate and engage with people effectively
• Show that government practises what it preaches

Tools that remove barriers include:

• Providing simple, trustworthy and timely information.
• Offering convenient and well targeted personal advice and support for action.
• Providing essential infrastructure
• Equipping people with necessary skills

Tools that create the right incentive frameworks include:

• Environmental taxes and charges
• Grant schemes for working towards environmental targets
• Emissions trading schemes and other market based incentive schemes
• Product standard regulations -- and a clear forward path
• Voluntary and negotiated agreements
• removal of subsidies to environmentally unfriendly behaviour

Tools that communicate and engage with people effectively include:

• Viral marketing
• Working through NGOs and community based organisations
• Well targeted advertising campaigns

Tools that show that government practises what it preaches include:

• Sustainable public procurement
• Politicians modelling good environmental behaviours
• Setting high sustainability standards when disposing of land for development
• Adequate funding for information, advice and support services
• A clear framework for assessing and improving the sustainability performance of local and central Government

What would an environmental contract for waste look like?

Citizens will:

• separate household wastes and use the facilities provided
• pay variable charges depending on the amount of waste their household produces and how much they recycle
• use compostors to recycle garden and some household waste
• encourage their neighbours
• think about waste when purchasing e.g. food as well as using products appropriately
• recognise the need for facilities to extract energy from waste

In return, government will:

• collect your rubbish and clean streets 
• provide convenient, personalised “kerbside” recycling facilities
• give simple advice to customers on what they can recycle
• insist that recycling and waste contractors stick to a code of conduct on what is collected and what is not collected
• offer composting products to citizens on a cost recovery basis
• create arrangements for variable charging
• place obligations on key sectors to reduce waste from their products
• reward neighbourhoods that agree to situating waste facilities in their area
• participate in trading schemes aimed at reducing landfill

Businesses will:

• respect general and sector specific waste regulations
• pay landfill taxes
• identify opportunities to increase resource productivity and use waste as a resource
• reduce the use of packaging in all products
• endeavour to produce products locally

In return government will

• incentivise business to use less weight through landfill tax
• provide advice and support programmes
• enforce regulations to prevent other businesses free riding
work with the packaging industry to reduce packaging waste/ increase recyclability
work with retailers to reduce waste at source

What would an environmental contract for energy look like?

Citizens will:

insulate homes they own
buy the most efficient lights and appliances
reduce unnecessary energy use, e.g by turning off appliances when not used
choose low carbon modes of transport where available
buy the lowest carbon vehicles appropriate for their needs
drive efficiently
consider using new green technologies such as microgeneration where affordable
encourage their family, friends and neighbours to do all these things

In return government will

• ensure adequate supplies of safe, clean, affordable energy (2)
• set clear targets for reducing carbon emissions
• lead by example it its own activities and encourage local government to do likewise

specifically -

• educate and incentivise staff to turn off the lights, computers, etc. in government buildings when not in use overnight (1)

• support organisations and networks that deliver change at the local level
• continue to use the tax system to encourage subsidise energy-saving choices
• support businesses to green their consumer products and services, including through energy regulation, and
• regulate to remove from the market products that are unnecessarily energy wasters.

(1) relevant article in the Independent, 6 Oct 2006(2) copied from the contract for water.  If it applies there, why not here?  (Playing devil's advocate!)

AnEnvironmentalContractForWater

What would an environmental contract for sustainable finance look like?

Citizens will:

• understand the impact of their savings and investments on environment and society;
• spend the financial gains from their savings and investments in a sustainable manner;
• explore ways that they can use their investments to support sustainable businesses and promote one planet living;
• ensure that their voice is heard by voting at company annual general meetings in a way that supports sustainable business;
• check that their fund manager is actively voting their shares in a way that is consistent with the principles of one planet living;
• request regular reports on the responsible ownership actions of their product providers;
• ask fund managers for the portfolio of companies where their money is invested and check that the companies in these portfolios are consistent with their own principles;
• encourage neighbours to think about the environment when saving and investing.

In return, government will:

• provide access to high quality information on how savings and investments impact on environment and society;
• ensure that consumers are asked whether they would want advice on one planet finance as part of their general financial advice;
• give simple advice to customers on what information they should ask financial institutions to provide;
• provide better access to information to consumers on company voting to individual investors.

The finance sector will:

• provide a range of sustainable savings and investment products that support one planet living;
• expand the range of financial products in which environmental and social factors are taken into account integrate environmental and social considerations within ‘mainstream’ financial analysis and decision making;
• be long-term in the way that it analyses companies and ensure that it does not actively encourage company directors to externalise costs on the environment;
• seek to grow assets under management in specialist sustainable and responsible investment funds (including both negatively and positively screened funds);
• bring market failures that are detrimental to sustainable development to the attention of government policy makers, and support corrective action;
• formally recognise in policy statements that there are responsibilities of share ownership that arise from electing company directors to represent their interests, including challenging and supporting these directors to ensure that the company is developing in a sustainable way;
• uphold the responsibilities of share ownership by actively voting at company annual general meetings;
• be transparent to its clients by providing information on performance, portfolio and votes;
• identify opportunities to increase resource productivity, reduce energy consumption and minimise waste.

In return government will

• give public recognition to financial institutions that practice sustainable and responsible investment;
• incentivise sustainable and responsible finance through fiscal measures;
• focus on changing investment culture and building long term sustainable mandates;
• launch a sustainable investment task force;
• enforce regulations to prevent other financial institutions free riding on the responsible ownership activity of others;
• provide advice and support programmes to the finance sector, including specific guidance for pensions schemes promoting the production of an annual report explaining what actions have been taken in support of the social, ethical and environmental clause within the Statement of Investment Principles;
• not be afraid to legislate to deal with market failures in a way that enhances long term investment returns;
• ensure that all government funds are invested in a sustainable and responsible way;
• use all future public procurement of investment services to deliver Government policy commitments to sustainable development through markets
• sustain the DEFRA/DTI/HMT focus on environmental technologies (including renewable energy, water treatment, waste management etc) and sustainable production and consumption.

See also

• A draft environmental contract for local sustainability

• A draft environmental contract for climate change

References

• the Phillis Report can be accessed via Cabinet Office news
• the original version of this article was first published on the Sustainable Community Action wiki

• A draft environmental contract for local sustainability

• This article was first published on the Sustainable Community Action wiki
• How can Community Strategies be turned into Sustainable Community Strategies? Phil Green, October 2005, comment article on the Sustainable Community Action wiki

• A role for ordinary citizens in UK sustainable developmentA role for ordinary citizens in UK sustainable development

I am unhappy with the requirement for government to, "ensure adequate supplies of safe, clean, affordable drinking water." Firstly there is no obvious definition of "adequate" or "affordable". Second, short of legislating for rainfall, I do not see how Government can "ensure" it. Perhaps if we started with the definitions we would then be able to see what powers Government could have over it. Anyone any suggestions?

Message posted on behalf of URS corporation

It is not clear why a contract would be a better tool than other regulatory tools. Also how the requirements of the contract would be enforced and what happens when either party does not fulfill their requirements is not explained.

Green purchasing would benefit from better coverage in the current draft. This would involve a commitment from citizens to consider environmental impacts when purchasing products/services and to make changes to their purchasing habits. Government would support more actively the implementation of environmental labels, the development of sustainable production means (such as organic agriculture), and awareness campaigns on green purchasing. Businesses would commit to provide more transparent and complete information on the environmental impacts of their products/services.

Could I suggest that this page is subdivided into invidual topics. My experience of trying to get collaboration through wikis is that they work best where each page covers just one topic. It also means that the structure of the knowledge is easier to change by simply changing the order of links. I look forward to contributing to the wiki, particularly on the water topic but would prefer to see it subdivided first. Or should I go ahead and move the water topic to a separate page?

Phil, Could you clarify the link between this contract and the 'main ' Environment Contract?

To all wiki users,

Admin have uploaded a newly drafted document to the Wiki. The document is entitled 'Political thought, one planet living and the environmental contract'. It was written by the Defra Science Strategy team and may be of some interest. The document has been uploaded to the Food for thought pages which can be accessed via the 'more' link in the left hand menu. regards, Admin