On Tuesday 1 October 2019 SSN held a member event to support the Scottish Government consultation 'The role of Public Sector Bodies in tackling climate change'. The programme included a panel discussion in the morning followed by a hand's on workshop process for members to consider Public Bodies needs and roles and to input into the consultation. A report of feedback and input was produced and shared with the Scottish Government and is available below.
The Global Climate Emergency is official
So how are you approaching it? How will you respond to new net zero targets? How will your organisation up its game? Who do you need to connect with to unlock our potential?
Addressing climate change and implementing sustainable solutions is about radical collaboration and shared effort. No one is going it alone. So how do you forge the right path and focus efforts and decision making now?
This one day event featured a panel discussion and Q&A followed by networking lunch and an afternoon workshop where delegates used the three-horizons framework to understand where the public sector needs to be and what is needed in order to get there.
SSN Chair Kate Dapré, welcomed attendees and introduced the day and keynote speaker Clare Hamilton, Deputy Director, Head of Climate Change Division, Scottish Government.
Opening panel
The panel will be a lively conversation focused on critical questions prompting discussion on the public sector’s response to the global climate emergency and how to help deliver the transformation to a zero-carbon society. Panellists are invited to speak from experience and offer real examples of what has worked, what they found challenging and when partnership and collaboration played a key role.
Panellists:
- Sam Gardner, Head of Climate Change and Sustainability, Scottish Power
- George Gillespie, Executive Director of Neighborhoods and Sustainability, Glasgow City Council
- Daisy Narayanan, Director of Urbanism, Sustrans, City of Edinburgh Council
- Sharon Pfleger, Consultant in Pharmaceutical Public Health, NHS Highland
- David Wilson, Programme Director, Scottish National Investment Bank
- Chaired by John Wincott, SSN Vice Chair, Environmental Services Coordinator, Fife College
Three Horizons exercise and workshop
The aim of the workshop session is to identify transformational practice for the public sector in delivering new Net Zero targets. The 3 Horizon framework will be used as a backdrop to facilitate discussion. Delegates will work in small groups to share areas of practice and examples across sectors and will come together to map out where they need to be in order to deliver new targets against a climate emergency timeline. The workshop will be energetic and fun, drawing out discussion and give members an opportunity to investigate and share examples of solutions and live projects/actions that work, and what needs to happen to enable them further.
Lead facilitartion by Dr Alex Hilliam, Director, Hilliam Research and Analysis. Each group was supported by an additional facilitator and note taker.
- Anna Beswick, Progamme Manager, Adaptation Scotland, Sniffer
- Diane Duncan, Head of Low Carbon, Highlands and Islands Enterprise
- Dave Gorman, Director of the Department for Social Responsibility and Sustainability, University of Edinburgh
- Catriona Patterson, Green Arts Manager, Creative Carbon Scotland
- Clare Wharmby, Innovation Manager, Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation
- Ruth Wolstenholme, Managing Director, Sniffer
Outputs:
The SSN team produced a short report of feedback and findings based on the workshop and share dthis with the Scottish Government as part of the wider consultation.
Consultation materials:
The role of Public Sector Bodies in tackling climate change: A Consultation can be found on the Scottish Government's consultation hub: https://consult.gov.scot/energy-and-climate-change-directorate/role-of-public-sector-in-decarbonising/.
Our Steering Group has produced a draft submission for members. If you would like to review or use this please get in touch with us using info@sustainablescotlandnetwork.org or through the Knowledge Hub where it is posted for comment.