Council officers in the City of Melbourne now routinely assess proposals for environmental, economic and social outcomes. Staff use checklists, templates and guidelines to determine the significance of impacts. These are then quantified and qualified to enable Councillors to make informed decisions regarding capital works submissions, proposals going to Council and corporate planning.
Working in partnership with the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), the City of Melbourne developed and packaged these tools into a Triple Bottom Line (TBL) toolkit. The toolkit has been made available to other Councils. It can be used as a reference point for ideas and information, and be adapted by other Councils for their own purpose and needs.
The need for and application of TBL is being debated extensively across both the private and public sectors. Organisations are grappling with what it means and how best to apply it. TBL at the City of Melbourne is seen as core business and is being utilised as both a reporting device and an approach to decision making.
The toolkit was launched on 14 May in Sydney at the Local Government Managers Australia National Congress. It is available on line at www.iclei.org/anz/tbl/tbl.
The tools are a work in progress and will be continually reviewed and updated. Other key tools will be added during 2002/03. It is envisaged that other Councils, in applying and developing their own tools, will add these, along with their experiences, to the website and help accelerate the implementation of TBL across Local Government.
For further information contact Nicky Conway at ICLEI on (03) 9639 8688.
