The Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand (EIANZ) has released a new position paper on Social Aspects of Sustainability

The six page position paper has been developed by the EIANZ Standing Committee for Policy and Practice in consultation with EIANZ members and with the assistance of Richard Hoy (Committee Chair) and Fabian Sack.

The new paper is a significant step towards addressing the shortcomings in current Australian policy and statutory commitments to “ecologically sustainable development” which often do not adequately enable consideration of the social aspects of sustainability.

These shortcomings have contributed to sub optimal policy outcomes in areas such as climate change policy and water allocation.

Among other things, the paper explores the ‘Social Obligations of Environmental Practitioners’:

The EIANZ expects every environmental practitioner to practice ethically within her or his discipline and also to ensure that the social implications of the activities to which their practices contribute are clearly communicated through a well integrated assessment process.

The EIANZ encourages certification of environmental professionals to ensure that environmental practice maintains high levels of performance on all aspects of sustainability.

The EIANZ advocates environmental practice that fully recognises the relevance of social aspects of sustainability, with particular attention to:

• Addressing the needs and interests of affected peoples
• Implementing community and stakeholder engagement processes which seek to empower affected communities; and
• Acknowledging cultural diversity and the heterogeneity of values in the community.

Download the full position paper from EIANZ here.