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The idea of being 'sustainable' came into widespread international use in the late 1980s. It was attached to the word 'development' to mean 'meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs'.

1992 United Nations Earth Summit

There was little talk of sustainability in New Zealand public policy before the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit. This Summit produced Agenda 21, which recommended promotion of: patterns of consumption and production that reduce environmental stress and will meet the basic needs of humanity, and development of a better understanding of the role of consumption and how to bring more sustainable consumption patterns. Some New Zealand cities began to produce 'local agenda 2' plans in response.

2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clarke and a New Zealand delegation attended the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development.

2002 World Sumit on Sustainable development (opens in a new window)

The Ministry for the Environment (ME) prepared for this Summit by seeking widespread public opinion of what were the major environmental issues.

Details of the ME's findings (opens in a new window)

The New Zealand Government's commitment to sustainability

Following the 2002 World Summit, the New Zealand Government published a Sustainable Development Programme of Action.

This made a commitment to Government action in four areas:

• Energy
• Water
• Urban environment
• Young people's issues education, health and welfare

View the document in full (opens in a new window)

There are also commitments to sustainable development in the Local Government legislation (Dec 2002) behind Long-term Council Community Plans, and to using new types of indicators to measure progress.

Read the current Long-term Council Community Plan for Dunedin

Source of information

The information on this page is sourced from the Sustainable Living programme (opens in a new window).