Many local leaders were exposed to a new way of thinking about the environment during an event for Councils participating in the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives environmental campaigns in Melbourne last month. Hunter Lovins who is a co-author of the celebrated book Natural Capitalism expounded the ideas.
She spoke about initiatives that Local Governments could undertake to benefit the economy, environment and society.
“Local Governments are best placed to facilitate sustainability within their communities, which will drive change in the industry, the wider market and at other levels of government,” Hunter Lovins said. “Communities want to live in a healthy environment. I’ve never found a community that says they really like smog or polluted water. The fact is sustainability makes sense.”
Ms Lovins is currently touring Australia and New Zealand with the Natural Edge Project to promote how organisations can fully realise the opportunities from sustainability.
Councillor David Risstrom from Melbourne City Council and Deputy President of ICLEI welcomed Hunter Lovins to the event and spoke about the leadership role of Australian Local Governments.
“There are currently 186 Australian Councils covering more than 75 per cent of our total population that have committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 20 per cent before 2010,” Councillor Risstrom said.
