Research Article

The United Kingdom's sustainable development strategies: leading the way or flattering to deceive?

  1. Duncan Russel*

Article first published online: 18 MAY 2007

DOI: 10.1002/eet.449

Issue

European Environment

European Environment

Special Issue: Sustainable Development Strategies in Europe: Taking Stock 20 years after the Brundtland Report; Edited by R. Steurer and A. Martinuzzi, Research Institute for Managing Sustainability (RIMAS), Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, Vienna, Austria

Volume 17, Issue 3, pages 189–200, May/June 2007

Additional Information

How to Cite

Russel, D. (2007), The United Kingdom's sustainable development strategies: leading the way or flattering to deceive?. Eur. Env., 17: 189–200. doi: 10.1002/eet.449

Author Information

  1. Centre for Social and Economic Research on the Global Environment, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK

*Centre for Social and Economic Research on the Global Environment, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 18 MAY 2007
  2. Article first published online: 18 MAY 2007
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 12 MAR 2007
  4. Manuscript Revised: 15 JAN 2007
  5. Manuscript Received: 1 OCT 2006

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Keywords:

  • United Kingdom;
  • sustainable development;
  • strategy

Abstract

The United Kingdom (UK) is at the vanguard of European Union (EU) states pursuing strategies for sustainable development (SD). It has a long history of environmental policy coordination dating from the early 1990s, and in 1994 it became the first EU member to publish a SD strategy. This paper charts the development of the UK's successive SD strategies. It demonstrates that the pursuit of SD has been increasingly supported by apparent high-level political backing and an expansive array of administrative processes, mechanisms and tools. However, despite this favourable environment, the analysis in this paper shows that SD, to date, has not significantly influenced UK policy making. Progress has been particularly hampered by: inconsistency in the government's definition of SD; questions over whether political backing is sustained and committed; and poor integration between the different administrative mechanisms, tools and processes to pursue SD. Consequently, SD is struggling to make headway against the dominance of traditional economic concerns in UK decision making. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

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