[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 8 (Wednesday, January 13, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2259-2266]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-762]


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THE PRESIDENT'S COUNCIL ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT


Twenty-First Meeting of the President's Council on Sustainable 
Development (PCSD) To Take Public Comment on the Council's 
Recommendations and Draft Report to the President

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The President's Council on Sustainable Development (PCSD), a 
Presidential advisory council with representation from industry, 
government, environmental, and Native American organizations, will 
convene its twenty-first meeting in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, 
February 10, 1999 to take public comment and finalize recommendations 
for its report to the President. A draft of the executive summary for 
this report is included below for public review. If you would like to 
read the entire report please visit our website at ``http://
www.whitehouse.gov/PCSD'' or contact the PCSD office at the address or 
phone number below. The Council will consider all comments received.
    The Council's current charter from the President is to forge 
consensus on policy, demonstrate implementation, get the word out about 
sustainable development, and evaluate progress. The Council is advising 
the President in four specific areas: (1) Domestic implementation of 
policy options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; (2) next steps in 
building the new environmental management system of the 21st century; 
(3) promoting multi-jurisdictional and community cooperation in 
metropolitan and rural areas; and (4) policies that foster the United 
States' leadership role in sustainable development internationally. The 
final report to the President will fulfill this charter and culminate 
work in all four areas.
    At the Council's last few meetings, the members have deliberated 
among themselves, listened to experts, and

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taken comments from the public on the four main topic areas described 
above of this draft report. At the February 10 meeting, the Council is 
interested in hearing from the public in the following areas:
     How can the Council improve its proposed findings and 
recommendations in the areas of climate change, metropolitan and rural 
strategies for sustainable communities, environmental management, and 
international leadership?
     Are there any major omissions among the Council's set of 
policy recommendations?
     How can the Council generally improve the report?
     How can the Council maximize exposure of the report and 
have it contribute to and influence active policy debates?
     How can the Council and the President use the report to 
engage the public and leaders from all sectors to promote sustainable 
development.
    The Council's previous recommendations to the President may be 
found in two reports: Sustainable America: A New Consensus for 
Prosperity, Opportunity and a Healthy Environment for the Future (March 
1996) and Building on Consensus: A Progress Report on Sustainable 
America (January 1997). Copies of the latter report may be ordered by 
calling 1-800-363-3732. Both may be downloaded off the Internet at 
``http://www.whitehouse.gov/PCSD''. For more information about PCSD, 
please e-mail ``[email protected]'', log onto PCSD's web site, or call 
the contact listed below. You may also check the web site for the 
National Town Meeting for a Sustainable America at 
``www.sustainableamerica.org.''

    Dates: Wednesday, February 10, 1999 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
    Place: The Ronald Reagan Building, International Trade Center, 
1300 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Polaris Rooms A and B, Washington D.C.
    Status: Open to the public. Public comments are welcome and may 
be submitted orally at the public meeting or in writing any time 
prior to the meeting until February 8. Please submit written 
comments prior to the meeting to: PCSD, Public Comments, 730 Jackson 
Place, NW, Washington, D.C. 20503, fax to: 202/408-6839, or e-mail 
directly to PCSD.[email protected] using ``PCSD Report Comments'' 
as your subject line.
    Contact: Evangeline Deshields, Chief Administrative Officer, at 
202/408-5296. Sign Language Interpreter: Please notify the contact 
if you will need a sign language interpreter.
Martin A. Spitzer,
Executive Director, President's Council on Sustainable Development.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Vision Statement

    Our Vision is of a life-sustaining Earth. We are committed to the 
achievement of a dignified, peaceful, and equitable existence. A 
sustainable United States will have a growing economy that provides 
equitable opportunities for satisfying livelihoods and a safe, healthy, 
high quality of life for current and future generations. Our nation 
will protect its environment, its natural resource base, and the 
functions and viability of natural systems on which all life depends. 
Sustainable America, p. iv

Introduction

The Journey

    As the world stands at the threshold of the 21st century, the 
President's Council on Sustainable Development is completing its sixth 
year working together to visualize and realize a new American dream. In 
our dream of a better future, prosperity, fairness, and a healthy 
environment are inseparable threads woven into the fabric of our 
everyday life at work, at play, with our families and communities, and 
among nations.
    We began this journey in June 1993 when President Clinton asked the 
Council--a groundbreaking partnership of leaders from industry, 
government and non-profit organizations--to recommend a national action 
strategy for sustainable development. We began by exploring some of the 
most challenging issues of our day, including the rapid social, 
economic, environmental, and technological changes all about us--
locally, nationally and internationally. We struggled with many 
difficult and seemingly inconsistent ideas. We listened to, 
occasionally argued with, and learned from one another. We traveled the 
country and spoke to Americans from all walks of life. Thousands of 
people participated in workshops, conferences, Council task forces and 
our public meetings.
    By early 1996 we reached agreement on a set of common beliefs and 
recommendations and delivered them to the President in our first 
report, ``Sustainable America: A New Consensus'' for Prosperity, 
Opportunity, and a Healthy Environment for the Future. The beliefs and 
recommendations, which remain as timely as ever, are a compass for a 
more sustainable future. They are also the basis of all our work since 
then. The recommendations were comprehensive, addressing everything 
from economic and regulatory policy to natural resource management, 
from strengthening communities and education to international 
leadership. Crafted to move the nation toward sustainability, the 
recommendations were directed toward public and private sectors, as 
well as citizens.
    Upon receiving the report, the President asked us to continue our 
work. Since 1996 we have worked to implement some of our policy 
recommendations, continued to forge consensus on sustainable 
development policy, begun getting the word out about sustainable 
development to larger audiences, and encouraged efforts to evaluate and 
report on progress. Substantively, we were asked to focus on (1) 
policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (2) the next steps in 
building the new environmental management system of the 21st century, 
(3) policies and approaches to build partnerships to strengthen 
communities; and (4) policies to foster U.S. leadership in 
international sustainable development policy.
    This report presents our recommendations in each of these policy 
areas. As we did before, we worked collaboratively, overcoming 
differences of opinion and perspective to find common ground. In some 
cases, we found common ground where conventional wisdom seems to 
suggest none should exist. Our work on climate change was some of the 
most challenging. As we navigated through the often-heated public 
debates surrounding the international climate negotiations, we reached 
agreement on critical steps needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 
By listening to each other and working together we were able to 
overcome many of our differences in other policy areas as well.
    Each chapter of the report corresponds to one of the substantive 
areas in the Council's charter. In each policy area we have produced a 
concrete set of findings and recommendations for future action.
 Climate Change (Chapter 2)
    Early on, we agreed on a set of principles to guide overall United 
States climate policy.
    With accord on key issues, we then (1) developed principles for an 
incentive-based program to catalyze voluntary early action to reduce 
greenhouse gas emissions; (2) agreed on policies to spur the rapid 
development

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and deployment of climate-friendly technologies in the next 10-15 
years; and (3) stimulated opportunities to realize the broader benefits 
and global opportunities of climate change mitigation strategies.
 Environmental Management (Chapter 3)
    Our report on environmental management builds on the earlier work 
of the Council and of others to improve the existing system and build a 
new, more effective, flexible and accountable one. It goes beyond our 
earlier efforts by recognizing that we are reaping some benefits and 
learning a great deal from existing reforms, but that most reforms were 
not designed to promote sustainable development. This report begins to 
answer the question, what would environmental management look like if 
we did? We do so by identifying the attributes of an environmental 
management framework designed for sustainable development and 
recommending the critical steps that can be taken to move the existing 
environmental management framework toward one that is more sustainable.
 Metropolitan and Rural Strategies for Sustainable Communities 
(Chapter 4)
    This report on building sustainable communities directly follows 
from our earlier work. It goes a step further by suggesting that the 
many successful efforts promoting more sustainable communities have 
seven common characteristics. It also goes further by acknowledging 
that although we are witnessing more activities and successes, most 
sustainable community development initiatives face daunting technical, 
financial, and institutional obstacles. In order to fulfill the promise 
of sustainable communities, we addressed a fundamental question: How 
can we, as a nation, help sustainable community initiatives ``get over 
the hump'' from inspiration to implementation? In response, we 
developed a framework for implementation highlighting five strategic 
opportunities for sustainable community development--``green 
infrastructure,'' land use and development, community revitalization 
and reinvestment, rural enterprise and community development, and 
materials reuse and resource efficiency--and three types of tools and 
resources that can overcome major implementation obstacles: information 
and technical assistance, economic incentives and financial assistance, 
and local capacity and partnerships.
 International (Chapter 5)
    In our earlier work, we identified key international sustainable 
development issues and the importance of leadership for the United 
States. Our recent work has been more focused. Specifically, we have 
examined how international private capital flows affect sustainable 
development, particularly in investments in developing countries. We 
convened stakeholders to discuss key issues in the prospective 
Multilateral Agreement on Investment and on a structure for 
facilitating capital flows to developing countries to help them embark 
on a clean development path in the context of climate change. We have 
also begun outreach to other National councils on sustainable 
development.
    In all of our work, we saw connections between the specific policy 
issues we were asked to study; and whenever possible, we made those 
connections. We know, for example, that community development decisions 
has implications for greenhouse gas emissions, just as reducing 
greenhouse gas emissions have implications for community development. 
We know that an environmental management system that creates incentives 
for sustainable development will provide incentives for greenhouse gas 
emissions and community reinvestment. A more prosperous, healthy, and 
equitable future for our children requires all of us, as individuals 
and institutions, to understand and make these types of connections 
whenever we can.
    We have several hopes for this report and for the future. Our 
recent experiences reaffirm the Council's view that collaboration, 
individual responsibility and stewardship are cornerstones for a path 
to a more Sustainable America. The Council is very much a mirror of 
America. Because this report is more of a handbook for people and 
organizations struggling to improve our quality of life than are either 
of our earlier reports, we hope readers will use it that way. The 
content of the report as much reflects the ideas and innovations we 
have seen and heard about, as it provides direction and recommendations 
on specific policy areas that we believe can immediately move us in a 
more sustainable direction. Many specific ideas and suggestions can be 
found in the body of the report.
    We present this report to the President knowing the challenges to 
improve our quality of life are as great as ever. But as we said 3 
years ago, ``We view this challenge with considerable optimism * * * 
But optimism is not complacency.'' Vigilance and perseverance will be 
needed if we are to meet these local, national and global challenges.
    On May 2-5, 1999, the PCSD and its partners 1 will hold 
a National Town Meeting for a Sustainable America. The event will use 
the ideas in this report and those from tens of thousands of Americans 
who are joining together with us to demonstrate how we can make America 
a more sustainable, livable place.

Sustainable America, A Reprise

Challenges
    As we said in Sustainable America in 1996, ``these are remarkable 
times.'' Market economies have continued to spread around the globe, 
even as they experience unprecedented growing pains. The overall flow 
of trade, investment, and people moving across international borders is 
increasing. Communication, manufacturing, agricultural, and 
transportation technologies continue to change how we work and play, 
and what we produce and consume. Information and knowledge are now 
hallmarks of our economy and increasingly the world economy. Energy and 
raw material efficiency per unit of economic output continue to 
increase, even as overall consumption and resource use increases.
    We recognized the significant benefits and challenges from growing 
economies, population and demand for goods, services, food and space. 
The world's growing economic output continues to raise more people from 
poverty and create opportunity, but also creates growing disparities 
between rich and poor. Growing population and affluence increase demand 
for materials and land, in turn creating pollution, depleting finite 
resources, and stressing natural systems and the communities dependent 
on those resources.
    In our travels across America, we spoke with thousands of Americans 
from all walks of life to hear about their concerns and aspirations. We 
were humbled and inspired by what we learned. From them, we learned how 
crime, congestion, education, good jobs, clean air and water are 
fundamental concerns. We learned how sustainable development remains 
abstract unless it is connected to people's daily lives and the 
communities in which they work, live and play. We saw innovation in 
communities across America and noted ``striking contrasts between 
communities struggling with dissatisfaction and despair, and 
communities where energized and

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optimistic citizens have become engaged in shaping their own future.'' 
2
    As we said three years ago,

    We believe that significant change is both necessary and 
inevitable. American society has been characterized by its capacity 
to embrace and profit from change. But how can communities be 
mobilized to leave future generations a cleaner, more resilient 
environment; a more prosperous nation; a more equitable society; and 
a more productive and efficient economy--one that is competitive 
internationally? This is especially difficult because the pace and 
extent of today's changes are unprecedented, reflecting the local 
consequences of the interaction of economic, social, and 
environmental forces at the global level.3

Pursuit of Common Goals

    Prosperity, fairness, and a healthy environment are interrelated 
elements of the human dream of a better future. Sustainable development 
is a way to pursue that dream through choice and policy. Work, wealth, 
community, and the environment are interwoven into the fabric of 
everyday life and the life of the nation. Sustainable development is 
the framework that integrates economic, environmental, and social goals 
in discourse and policies that enhance the prospects of human 
aspirations.
    The Council had hard and frequent debates about the term economic 
growth, and heard it discussed by members of the public as well, at 
almost all of our meetings. In the end, we agreed that to achieve our 
vision of sustainability some things must grow--jobs, productivity, 
wages, profits, capital and savings, information, knowledge, 
education--and others--pollution, waste, poverty, energy and material 
use per unit of output--must not. We agree on growth, and agree that it 
must be defined and measured with care. The issue is not whether the 
economy needs to grow but how and in what way.
    An economy that creates good jobs and safeguards public health and 
the environment will be stronger and more resilient than one that does 
not. A country that protects its ecosystems and manages its natural 
resources wisely lays a far stronger base for future prosperity than 
one that carelessly uses its assets and destroys its natural capital. A 
society that invests in its children and communities, equitably 
providing education and opportunity, is far more likely to prosper than 
one that allows the gap between rich and poor to widen.
    By recognizing that the economy, the environment, social equity, 
and well-being are integrally linked and by having policies that 
reflect that interrelationship, Americans can regain their sense that 
they are in control of their future and that the lives of each 
generation will be better than the last. Thinking narrowly about jobs, 
energy, transportation, housing, or ecosystems--as if they were not 
connected--creates new problems even as it attempts to solve old ones. 
Asking the wrong questions is a sure way to get misleading answers that 
result in short-term remedies for symptoms, instead of cures for long-
term basic problems.
    Seeing choices in terms of tradeoffs and balance reflects a history 
of confrontational politics. It pits vital necessities against each 
other in a false contest that inhibits exploration of the best 
solutions, those that link economic gain, ecological improvement, 
social equity, and well-being--solutions that build common purpose from 
shared goals.
    The United States is a democracy with powerful traditions of 
individual liberty. What happens in American society ultimately depends 
on the values that guide the choices that individuals make--which is a 
function of their commitment and understanding. People act according to 
their perception of the intersection of their needs and wants, their 
values and conditions, and the events that affect them. But the narrow 
and immediate interests of individuals, organizations, or government 
officials do not necessarily coincide with the long-term interests of a 
larger community at home or abroad. Although people can act in the 
interests of the larger community, they rarely do so alone. Because 
each fears losing separately, all lose together.

We Believe Statement 5

    There are certain beliefs that we as Council members share that 
underlie all of our agreements.
    We believe:
    1. To achieve our vision of sustainable development, some things 
must grow--jobs, productivity, wages, capital and savings, profits, 
information, knowledge, and education--and others--pollution, waste, 
and poverty must not.
    2. Change is inevitable and necessary for the sake of future 
generations and for ourselves. We can choose a course for change that 
will lead to the mutually reinforcing goals of economic growth, 
environmental protection, and social equity.
    3. Steady progress in reducing disparities in education, 
opportunity, and environmental risk within society is essential to 
economic growth, environmental health and social justice.
    4. The United States made great progress in protecting the 
environment in the last 25 years, and must continue to make progress in 
the next 25 years. We can achieve that goal because market incentives 
and the power of consumers can lead to significant improvements in 
environmental performance at less cost.
    5. Economic growth based on technological innovation, improved 
efficiency, and expanding global markets is essential for progress 
toward greater prosperity, equity, and environmental quality.
    6. Environmental regulations have improved and must continue to 
improve the lives of all Americans. Basic standards of performance that 
are clear, fair, and consistently enforced remain necessary to protect 
that progress. The current regulatory system should be improved to 
deliver required results at lower costs. In addition, the system should 
provide enhanced flexibility in return for superior environmental 
performance.
    7. Environmental progress will depend on individual, institutional 
and corporate responsibility, commitment, and stewardship.
    8. We need a new collaborative decision process that leads to 
better decisions; more rapid change; and more sensible use of human, 
natural, and financial resources in achieving our goals.
    9. The nation must strengthen its communities and enhance their 
role in decisions about environment, equity, natural resources, and 
economic progress so that the individuals and institutions most 
immediately affected can join with others in the decision process.
    10. Economic growth, environmental protection, and social equity 
are linked. We need to develop integrated policies to achieve these 
national goals.
    11. The United States should have policies and programs that 
contribute to stabilizing global human population; this objective is 
critical if we hope to have the resources to ensure a high quality of 
life for future generations.
    12. Even in the face of scientific uncertainty, society should take 
reasonable actions to avert risks where the potential harm to human 
health or the environment is thought to be serious or irreparable.
    13. Steady advances in science and technology are essential to help 
improve economic efficiency, protect and restore natural systems, and 
modify consumption patterns.
    14. A growing economy and healthy environment are essential to 
national and global security.
    15. A knowledgeable public, the free flow of information, and 
opportunities for review and redress are critically

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important to open, equitable, and effective decisionmaking.
    16. Citizens must have access to high quality and lifelong formal 
and nonformal education that enables them to understand the 
interdependence of economic prosperity, environmental quality, and 
social equity--and prepares them to take actions that support all 
three.

Climate Change

    The risk of accelerated climate change in the next century cannot 
be ignored as the United States seeks to achieve its aspirations for 
economic growth, environmental protection, and social justice. Although 
the challenges of taking action are not inconsequential, failure to 
respond could mean that we miss opportunities to improve our quality of 
life. We can reap the benefits of acting to protect the climate as we 
strive to achieve economic, environmental, and social improvement for 
ourselves without compromising the ability of future generations to 
meet their own needs.

    Advise the President on domestic implementation of policy 
options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Council should not 
debate the science of global warming, but should instead focus on 
the implementation of national and local greenhouse gas reduction 
policies and activities, and adaptations in the U.S. economy and 
society that maximize societal benefits, minimize economic impacts, 
and are consistent with U.S. international agreements.

--PCSD Charter, April 1997

    In the course of its work on climate change, the Council benefitted 
from the wealth of scientific research, technical and economic studies, 
and policy analysis that is available on the subject. In November 1997, 
the Climate Task Force approved a set of climate principles that were 
transmitted to the President. Rather than focus on the entire range of 
issues that emerge when considering climate change, the 29 PCSD 
members, including leaders from businesses, environmental and civic 
organizations, and local and federal government, focused on developing 
consensus climate policy recommendations in three key areas:
     Principles for an incentive-based program to catalyze 
voluntary early action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions;
     Policies to spur the rapid development and deployment of 
climate-friendly technologies in the next 10-15 years;
     Stimulating opportunities to realize the broader benefits 
and global opportunities to climate change mitigation strategies.
Climate Change Key Findings
     Climate protection policy is fundamentally linked to any 
national agenda for economic growth, environmental protection, and 
social justice. If we are to achieve all of these goals together, 
climate change must be drawn onto the roadmap for the achievement of 
our other national aspirations.
     We urge timely action to reduce the risks of climate 
change. Incentives for early action, international agreements, 
accountability, flexibility, broad-based measures to encourage 
technology, and fairness are essential in any climate mitigation 
strategy.
     Many actions that protect the climate have multiple 
benefits. Action to protect the climate can help solve other social, 
economic, and environmental problems, benefit society, create global 
opportunities, and meet the needs of current and future generations.
     An incentive-based program is essential to catalyze 
voluntary early action to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions. The 
program should include broadly-based participation; encourage learning, 
innovation, flexibility, and experimentation; grant formal credit for 
legitimate and verifiable measures to protect the climate; ensure 
accountability; be compatible with other climate protection strategies 
and environmental goals; and be inspired by government leadership.
     Climate-friendly technology will play a critical role as 
we strive to achieve reduced greenhouse gas emissions as well as our 
other sustainable development goals. Rapid deployment of existing 
technologies and continued investment in research and development are 
essential elements of any strategy that aims to help the United States 
and the rest of the world secure a future of reduced greenhouse gas 
emissions to protect the climate. Because greenhouse gases are released 
from small, large, stationary, and mobile sources throughout our 
economy, a broad and diverse policy portfolio to rapidly develop and 
disseminate climate-friendly technologies is essential. the Council 
reached agreement on a solid course of action that could accelerate the 
development and deployment of climate-friendly technology in the 
agriculture, buildings, electric power, industry, and transportation 
sectors and reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in the next 10-15 
years.
     Consensus building, outreach, and inclusive approaches are 
essential components of sustainable climate action.

Environmental Management

    It is possible to provide more prosperity and more opportunity for 
more people with less burden on the environment if we agree that is 
what we want and we are prepared to make it profitable to attain. This 
is the underlying premise of sustainable development; it is the 
assumption guiding this report.
    A 21st century environmental management framework that fosters 
sustainable development will be one that drives continuous 
environmental improvement, while respecting and creating continuous 
economic and social value. To do this, the new framework must consider, 
accept and strategically optimize the benefits of the dynamic interplay 
between people, markets, information, technology, and the natural 
world.
    One of the most important revelations of the PCSD in Sustainable 
America was that meaningful and long term solutions for environmental, 
economic and social equity problems will require new strategies that 
address the source of problems, create mutual benefit throughout 
society and the chain of commerce, and achieves multiple objectives--
environmental, economic and social--simultaneously. Building on this 
view, the PCSD sought to further identify the interrelated tools and 
strategies that need to be put into place for aligning economic and 
social equity concerns with a clean and safe environment. Sustainable 
America emphasizes some specific approaches that are necessary in 
building a new environmental management framework, but alone may be 
insufficient for simultaneously achieving the interrelated goals of 
sustainable development outlined elsewhere in the report.
    Sustainable America stands for the concept that no matter what 
environmental issue we choose to address, we must also recognize and 
understand the economic and social dimensions of the issue, and that 
they are often interrelated or connected. We must likewise, identify 
the multi-purpose solutions to these issues or problems that address 
the environmental, economic and social aspects in relation to one 
another.
    Throughout the report an attempt was made to highlight the 
objectives of a new environmental management framework with references 
to ``related activity'' or examples corresponding to

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the specific recommendations. These and other recent initiatives were 
not explicitly designed to achieve sustainable development goals, yet 
some are achieving success, but not always in the integrative way, or 
to the degree, that sustainable development requires. Read together, 
the suggested framework attributes, recommendations, and related 
activities form a compass for charting the next steps in building the 
environmental management framework of the 21st Century.

Environmental Management Key Findings

    A new environmental management framework that fosters sustainable 
development requires rethinking the nature, source, and linkage of 
problems. Currently, the definitions of environmental management and 
environmental protection are too narrow in some cases for identifying 
the true nature of problems and re-casting their potential solutions.
     A dynamic environmental management framework needs to 
understand interdependencies between communities, nature, and the 
economic world, to craft strategies that respect and use those 
interdependencies to improve environmental quality. Increasingly, 
consumer, market and regulatory behavior need to complement natural 
systems or cycles as well as each other.
     The framework can and should serve multiple purposes by 
improving business management, resource productivity, worker 
protection, community life, ecosystem health, and global awareness. 
Information garnered by the framework should be used to identify new 
social and economic opportunities (as well as responsibilities) for 
making continuous environmental improvements.
     The framework needs to reliably monitor ambient conditions 
and measure the environmental performance of activities or 
organizations that affect environmental quality, including products, 
households, services, firms, governments, and the economy. Future 
environmental effects, and potential ones, must be anticipated as well.
     The framework must make extensive use of incentives that 
provide both rewards for improving environmental outcomes and penalties 
for degrading environmental quality. Rewards can and should vary in 
value and depend upon the magnitude of the benefits.
     The capacity to protect the environment needs to grow with 
the economy, adapting and harnessing innovative environmental 
management systems, accounting practices, and market forces that 
enhance environmental performance.
     An environmental management framework must be sensitive to 
differences among people, communities, and organizations. Communities, 
like organizations, differ in size, ability, sophistication, and 
understanding of environmental issues.

FROM INSPIRATION TO IMPLEMENTATION: METROPOLITAN AND RURAL STRATEGIES 
FOR BUILDING SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Introduction

    In Sustainable America, The President's Council on Sustainable 
Development (PCSD) presented a vision of community development that 
embraced economic, environmental, and equity concerns--a vision 
informed by the collective aspirations and experiences of communities 
around the nation.

Goal Statement for Sustainable Communities

    Encourage people to work together to create healthy communities 
where natural and historic resources are preserved, jobs are 
available, sprawl is contained, neighborhoods are secure, education 
is lifelong, transportation and health care are accessible, and all 
citizens have opportunities to improve the quality of their lives.

--Sustainable America, 1996

    Over the past give years of the Council's work, we have observed 
considerable innovation in how people with different interests can act 
collectively to strengthen their communities. In hundreds of 
communities and regions across America, community leaders representing 
citizens groups, elected officials, businesses, and other stakeholders 
are ``rolling up their sleeves'' to engage each other and work 
together. Whether they are restoring watersheds, creating accessible 
transportation alternatives, championing more efficient use of land, 
fostering racial and cultural tolerance, making housing more 
affordable, linking people with quality jobs, or creating new 
environmental businesses, these community leaders are improving the 
lives of today's citizens while safeguarding their communities for 
future generations. Our review of projects and programs from around the 
country suggests that successful initiatives have seven characteristics 
in common:
     They serve, invest in, and respect people
     They invest in and respect places
     They align with or create new market forces to improve 
community well-being
     They look for and build on the local assets of their 
communities
     They constructively address issues of race and class
     They build regional alliances and multi-stakeholder 
coalitions
     They are locally-driven
    There is no denying the power of example these efforts provide. 
Although we are witnessing more activities and successes, most 
sustainable community development initiatives face daunting technical, 
financial, and institutional obstacles. In order to fulfill the promise 
of sustainable communities affirmed in Sustainable America, the 
Metropolitan and Rural Strategies Task Force addressed a fundamental 
question: How can we, as a nation, help sustainable community 
initiatives ``get over the hump'' from inspiration to implementation?
    The task force developed a framework for implementation that 
highlights five ``strategic opportunity'' areas for sustainable 
community development--``green infrastructure,'' land use and 
development, community revitalization and reinvestment, rural 
enterprise and community development, and materials reuse and resource 
efficiency. We believe that investing resources in each of these five 
areas leads to a comprehensive approach to sustainable community 
development. However, communities that invest in any one of these five 
areas can benefit in their efforts to develop sustainably. The 
framework also identifies three types of tools and resources that can 
overcome major implementation obstacles: information and technical 
assistance, economic incentives and financial assistance, and local 
capacity and partnerships.

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                                                              Framework for Implementation
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                    Strategic opportunities
                                    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               Tools                                                                       Community         Rural community and
                                      Green infrastructure        Land use and,        revitalization and         enterprise         Materials use and
                                                                   development            reinvestment           development        resource efficiency
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Information and Technical
 Assistance
Economic Mechanisms and Financial
 Assistance
Local Capacity and Regional
 Partnerships
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The framework's philosophy asserts that many actors working at 
multiple levels need to take several actions, both small and large, if 
we are to more rapidly build a nation of sustainable communities. 
Numerous stakeholders--including the Federal government, State, local 
and tribal governments, the private sector, and community-based 
organizations--have already taken creative and bold steps to advance 
the use of tools and resources. Our recommendations of specific 
policies and actions, presented later in this report, acknowledge these 
efforts, but also contends that more can be done.
    In order to accelerate the pace of sustainable community 
development, we must make the most out of existing authority and 
resources. By immediately undertaking new initiatives and building upon 
initiatives already underway, communities can achieve the following 
within the next three years:
     By Year 1: Learning Through Information and Networks. In 
one year, we can enhance existing capacity by deploying new information 
toolkits and creating learning networks to rapidly enable cross-
regional innovation and partnerships. We can also begin to make a 
persuasive and credible case for action to the public and key decision-
makers through education and communications.
     By Year 2: Leveraging Markets and Financial 
Intermediaries. By year two, we can be ready to leverage economic 
mechanisms and financial intermediaries to create the crucial financial 
support needed by communities seeking to create sustainable projects. 
We can also leverage the economic mechanisms needed to create 
incentives for everybody to act in ways that enhance sustainability.
     By Year 3: Linking Institutions to Build Local Capacity 
and Partnerships. By year three, we can institutionalize strong 
regional and multi-jurisdictional partnerships and local capacity that 
will institutionalize and implement sustainable community development.
    By ``learning, leveraging, and linking,'' various stakeholders can 
work together to create communities where everyone in every generation 
can have a high quality of life.
Metropolitan and Rural Strategies Key Findings
     Urgent action is needed by communities to combat air and 
water pollution, loss of ecosystems, poverty, energy inefficiency, and 
other threats to their current and future well-being. Individuals and 
institutions that pursue sustainable community development are 
resolving these pressing challenges and are also finding new or 
rediscovering local economic, ecological, and social assets that can 
strengthen their communities.
     Place matters. More and more individuals and leaders are 
recognizing the intrinsic value of the places in which they live, work, 
and visit. Community leaders are also recognizing that place is defined 
by more than artificial jurisdictional lines. Successful initiatives 
are attempting to understand their regions--composed of ecosystems, 
economic networks, and human habitats--as a total larger than the sum 
of its parts in order to create more realistic and useful policies and 
plans. They are also recognizing that problems and challenges can be 
best tackled by networks of people with diverse backgrounds, views, and 
experiences.
     Five strategic opportunity areas for sustainable community 
development--``green infrastructure,'' land use and development, 
community revitalization and reinvestment, rural enterprise and 
community development, and materials reuse and resource efficiency--
hold particular promise and potential. We believe that each of these 
five opportunity areas can deliver significant benefits. When invested 
in collectively, the five areas comprise a comprehensive approach to 
sustainable community development.

International

    The United States of America is blessed with significant endowments 
of capital--human, social and financial. These riches enable the United 
States to be a world leader. In turn, this leadership gives the nation 
a substantial amount of economic, political, and cultural influence 
around the world. The United States must recognize this leadership 
role, and use it to help put itself, and the world on a path toward 
sustainable development.
    As a society, Americans need to appreciate that U.S. leadership is 
wide-ranging, and can be informal in nature. For instance, American 
movies and television programs are popular throughout the world. 
Through them many people are shown a higher standard of living than 
their national circumstances currently allow them to attain. These 
media images can lead to many results: dreams for a better future, 
immigration as people seek the ``American Dream,'' as well as 
dissatisfaction with their current situation leading to changes in 
local customs and cultures.

    Advise the President on the promotion of sustainable development 
in international fora, and gather and disseminate information about 
US and international sustainable development policies. Promote the 
creation and continuation of national sustainable development 
councils around the world. Additionally, given the increasing flow 
of financial capital from developed to developing countries, the 
Council shall recommend policies that encourage foreign investment 
by the U.S. Government, businesses, investors, and, as appropriate, 
multilateral institutions that are consistent with the principles of 
sustainable development.

    Given the enormous challenge of charting a path toward 
sustainability for our country, our government and our communities, the 
Council focused primarily on domestic issues during its first four 
years. The International Task Force was formed in 1997 to ensure that 
an international perspective is

[[Page 2266]]

maintained in the Council's efforts to develop a plan for America's 
path to sustainable development.
    The Task Force recognized the value of sharing knowledge across 
national borders. Lessons learned by Americans pursuing a sustainable 
future, and new technologies and processes developed in the United 
States could be of interest and use to other nations. Correspondingly 
the United States can learn from the many interesting examples of 
sustainable development found all over the world.
    The Task Force focused on how internationally private capital flows 
affect sustainable development, particularly in investments made in 
developing countries. To help develop an understanding of this complex 
set of issues, the Task Force undertook several activities. It convened 
stakeholders to discuss key issues in the prospective Multilateral 
Agreement on Investment and on a structure for facilitating capital 
flows to developing countries to help them embark on a clean 
development path. It also provided input to the United Nations effort 
to take a fresh look at how to finance development, emphasizing that 
financing should be for sustainable development and take into account 
social and environmental concerns in parallel with economic growth.

International Key Findings and Recommendations

     The United States must use its leadership role to help chart 
a path toward sustainable development both at home and abroad. In doing 
so the United States should be open to learning from other nations' 
experiences.
     The Council can benefit from information exchange with the 
international community. Efforts should be made to disseminate the 
Council's work internationally as well as to learn from other 
countries' experiments and experiences toward achieving sustainable 
development.
     New coalitions of interests are needed, both domestically and 
internationally, to build support for the changes necessary for 
sustainable development to be achieved. Without ``champions'' from all 
sectors, change will not occur.
     Multilateral agreements should integrate economic, 
environmental and equity considerations. Sustainable development is 
inherently an integrative effort. Economic agreements must consider 
environmental and social effects and environmental agreements must take 
economic and equity effects into account.
     The Council or a similar body should continue as a forum for 
thoughtful consideration of issues of sustainable development by high-
level leaders in all sectors. In having such a body, the United States 
sends a strong signal to the world that multistakeholder dialogue and 
consensus-building are important means of policy advice and 
development, and that all sectors are committed to a more sustainable 
future.
     Foreign investment, assistance, and all government activities 
should be progressively and consistently conducted in ways that promote 
recipient countries' efforts to achieve sustainable development. The 
global need for ``green'' development strategies creates new investment 
opportunities. Domestic policies should enhance America's ability to 
take advantage of these trends and support the creation and expansion 
of businesses which help improve the environment and well-being of 
citizens around the world.

Endnotes

    1. PCSD's co-sponsor of the event is the not-for-profit 
organization, the Global Environment Technology Foundation.
    2. Sustainable America, p. 3
    3. Sustainable America, p. 4
    4. Sustainable America, pp. 6-7.
    5. Sustainable America, p. v-vi.

[FR Doc. 99-762 Filed 1-12-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3125-01-P