Govt3 Network meeting, Grand Hall , Parliament Buildings

(Govt3 stands for the three foundations of sustainability: economic, social and environmental.)

Thank you for the opportunity to speak here today. Welcome to you all – those of you who are long-time partners in Govt3, those who have recently made a commitment to participate, and those of you considering involvement in Govt3.

Today celebrates the commitment agencies have made to the government’s Govt3 programme. Certificates to recognise your good intentions to participate are available and can be picked up today.

However today is not only about intentions. Today is also to celebrate participating agencies’ achievements in Govt3. Congratulations for leading the charge. It takes courage to be first, to lead from the front and stride down that path towards sustainability. A number of you are much further down the road to sustainability – thanks to your involvement in the Govt3 programme. I am delighted to recognise your achievements with some special awards. I would like to acknowledge in particular the contribution of NZ Police – who have made significant staff time available to lead the development of the programme over the last 2 years.

We know Govt3 is important; we know Govt3 is gaining traction with government departments; we know Govt3 is getting publicity outside government. For example, articles on Govt3 featured in the National Business Review and the Sustainable Business Network’s magazine.

In March this year, the Cabinet received a progress report on Govt3. My colleagues and I noted the progress and number of agencies involved in the Govt3 programme. We felt so strongly about the importance of this programme, that we decided to make clear our expectation that all core public service agencies participate in Govt3.

We asked the Ministry for the Environment to implement this decision, and to seek a more formal commitment to the Govt3 programme from participating agencies. As a consequence the Ministry wrote to your Chief Executives, inviting a formal commitment to Govt3. We have had positive responses back from 29 Public Service Departments, and 9 of the 13 agencies who have previously been partners.

This is an excellent return, and I celebrate it. However today is looking to turn that commitment into progress and improvement – hence today’s celebration of achievements.

My Cabinet colleagues and I have asked for a progress report on the Govt3 programme by December 2005. We look forward to seeing the increasing commitment of government agencies turning progressively into the sorts of improvements you are about to hear from the award winners.

So Govt3 is entering its next phase - evolution from its initial voluntary approach to a more formal structure. This natural progression is important, because we will need to be measuring and assessing change in a way that allows us to demonstrate the positive improvements in the sustainability of government – for New Zealand, for my colleagues in Parliament, and particularly for Chief Executives not yet involved in the programme.

Many government agencies have already been questioning their operations and how they can be more sustainable. They are starting with simple questions like: What factors should we consider when we buy things? How can we get better value for the money we spend? What are we throwing away? Do we recycle as much as we could?

To give you some real examples that show why Govt3 is an important programme, let me give you some figures:

·The government spends $2.5 billion annually on goods and services, and the public sector as a whole spends over $5.3 billion. That is enormous purchasing power and brings enormous opportunities and responsibilities to purchase wisely and more sustainably.

·The government (including schools and hospitals) spends $130 million on energy a year; $45 million of this amount is controlled directly by staff (e.g. by turning off lights and computers etc).

·the average government office worker generates between 60 and 80 kg waste to landfill per year – which is probably their body weight!

·50 per cent of waste going to landfill from a typical office is paper

We as government need to recognise the financial clout and impact we have as buyers. And the clout and impact we have as leaders. Govt3 started because industry in particular said, “Government is not walking the talk, and is not helping us to be sustainable”.

The majority of people in New Zealand, including 35,000 public servants, want to be assured that government is spending its money on products that don’t come from sweat shops and child labour. They also want to know that the goods and services we use, and the processes that created those goods and services, have had minimal environmental impact.

So how is government setting out to become more sustainable?

We are changing our policies to move New Zealand towards sustainable development, and we are encouraging departments to think outside the square.

We are encouraging and supporting government agencies to operate sustainably and walk the talk in their day-to-day business. That’s where the Govt3 programme comes in.

Government departments are making changes, taking action and getting results. We’ll see evidence of this today when I hand out the awards.

Conclusion

Looking ahead, there are still challenges for all of us and while we are doing well now, there is still much more we can do on the path to sustainability.

The challenge for me, for you and for all of government is to keep at it, make changes and take it step by step.

Programmes such as Govt3 can help you take the journey. You do not have to go it alone and I encourage you to share your learnings with each other today.