Governing the City State - Chief Minister and Treasury Directorate ...

The second model represents each sphere as having equal standing, while reflecting theinterrelationship between the elements, with sustainability achieved at the intersection.Figure 25 - The Three Spheres of SustainabilityThe sustainability policy articulated through People, Place, Prosperity promotes an ACTGovernment approach consistent with the second model.Current Sustainability Framework and ArrangementsThe Department of the Environment, Climate Change, Energy and Water was established atthe 2008 election reflecting the increasing importance of, and focus on, environmentalsustainability and climate change issues for the ACT Government. Its predecessor, the Officeof Sustainability (which incorporated a wider sustainability role as well as environment,energy and water policy and programs) was initially located in CMD but, following theStrategic and Functional Review of the ACT Public Sector and Services, was moved to theDepartment of Territory and Municipal Services.CMD continues to play its central agency role including through delivery of particularprojects such as finalising the Measuring Our Progress website, developing approaches totriple bottom line annual reporting, and updating the government’s sustainability policyPeople, Place, Prosperity. In 2010-11, proposed projects include coordinating theGovernment’s involvement in the Legislative Assembly’s Environment, Climate Change andWater Committee’s inquiry into the ecological carrying capacity of the ACT and region, andfinalising the triple bottom line assessment approach.The framework for sustainability policy is sound. There was a view expressed inconsultations, however, that while the Government has made various statements of its intentto embed sustainability into ACT Government agency operations and decision-making, thisSustainability, Housing Affordability and Transport: 298