Sustainability
Welcome to the sustainability page. This is where you will find local information on sustainable development issues as well as signposts to useful resources.

So what do we mean by sustainable development? A widely-used international definition is 'development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs'. In other words, making sure that everyone benefits from social and economic progress, in ways that respect the environment and take a long term view of our impact on the earth's resources.

On this page you will find:
- The Ecological Footprint for North and North East Lincolnshire
- Climate Change Report, produced on our behalf by the Centre for Urban & Regional Ecology (CURE)
- Integrated Impact Assessment Tool, and a list of completed tools for North and North East Lincolnshire
- Links to local sustainability partnerships.

More reports will be added to the site as they become available.

The Ecological Footprint
The Ecological Footprints have been developed on our behalf by Stockholm Environment Institute with Best Foot Forward. Summary reports for North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire are now available. Keep an eye on this page for news about work to reduce the size of the footprints in each area.

The Ecological Footprints estimate how much of the earth's resources we are using locally. They do this by estimating the area of productive land and sea which is required to sustain particular lifestyles and patterns of consumption. The footprints are based on local information about energy consumption, food production, travel, waste disposal and so on. The information also helps us to establish how to reduce our impact on the global environment.

The average footprint in North East Lincolnshire is 5.38 global hectares. This is the area of productive land and sea which would be required both to support the average resident's lifestyle and to cope with the pollution they generate. In North Lincolnshire the figure is 5.51 hectares.

Although both footprints are broadly similar to the UK average, they are much higher than the 2 global hectares which experts suggest the earth can sustain in the long term. The consultants point out that if everyone on earth shared the lifestyle of the average Northern Lincolnshire resident we would need nearly three planet Earths to meet everyone’s needs and cope with the resulting pollution.

To find out more, you can download the Northern Lincolnshire Ecological Footprint full report, or you may prefer to read the summary reports. The North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire summary reports are now available. You will need Adobe Acrobat, or Acrobat Reader to read the document. The full report may take up to two minutes to download, depending on your local connection speed.

Climate Change
Climate Change is an important issue for Northern Lincolnshire. Given our position on the Humber Estuary, local environmental effects, such as flooding and the loss of inter-tidal habitats, may be pronounced. While we may also be concerned about the environmental consequences in other parts of the world too, CURE, who have recently completed work on behalf of the two LSPs, also draw attention to the following additional reasons for addressing the issue:
-lower fuel bills;
-lower costs for businesses, making them competitive;
-more efficient use of resources in the public sector;
-new employment and training opportunities;
-better transport system and improved access for residents and businesses;
-improved local air quality;
-greater protection of the environment, leading to an enhanced quality of life.

Communities Count commissioned Ecological Footprints for the two LSPs of Northern Lincolnshire. Funding from Yorkshire Forward enabled Communities Count to commission this piece of work from CURE. CURE is a research establishment, based at the University of Manchester, with a strong reputation in policy related research in both mitigation and adaptation to climate change and other environmental challenges.

Two reports are now available:
1) Climate Change; Technical Report (to be uploaded soon)
2) Climate Change; Summary Report.

A brief, more accessible summary is now available for North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire.

Integrated Impact (Sustainability) Appraisal
Sustainable development is a challenge as it means finding new ways of achieving economic, social and environmental objectives, whilst at the same time considering the longer term implications of our decisions.

At an organisational level this will require an integrated approach to policy making and planning to ensure that the long term social, economic and/or environmental impacts of any new policies or developments are enhanced, and any potentially harmful effects are reduced. In order to help local agencies anticipate what these effects might be, a Sustainability / IIA Screening Tool and guidance has been developed, based on the Regional Sustainable Development Framework. Completed tools are contained within the IIA Screening Tool Database for North and North East Lincolnshire.

Sustainability Partnerships
Both North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs), have multi agency sub groups which take a lead on sustainability issues on their behalf. You can find out more about the work of these action groups in each LSP area via the following links, Jigsaw in North Lincolnshire and Sustainable Development pages in North East Lincolnshire.