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| HOW did you feel when the Sustainable Development Unit (SDU) invited you to go through the Computer Aided Sustainability Evaluation Tool (CASET) system and to include the findings in your urgent policy submission? What was the first thing in your mind when you were told that the civil service was a critical partner and stakeholder in shaping the future of Hong Kong by embracing the principles of Sustainable Development (SD) in everything we did? |
Were these some of your reactions?
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"What is this all about? What am I supposed to do?"
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"I will only concentrate on my own subject area. The implications across other areas are beyond my scope of work and they are for others to worry about."
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"How can I, as an individual civil servant, make a difference and possibly shape the future? I am too busy for these high sounding ideals."
Let's do some rethinking. Why are we all here? Why did we join the Government in the first place? Of course, you are here partly because you want a stable career, and like many people you have a family to support. Pragmatic considerations aside, we have something much more basic in common — we are all, to varying degrees, committed to serving for the betterment of the community we live in.
What should we do?
The Government possesses the resources, manpower, information, mandate and authority to lead and help bring about the necessary changes in both the mindset and practices of the community with regard to SD principles. This is particularly important in face of the numerous challenges that we are confronted with in Hong Kong in the new millennium. We, as members of the civil service, are looked upon by the community as guardians to uphold the SD principles.
Irrespective of level and rank, we should allow ourselves not to see things only from the viewpoint of our own bureau or department. Only by evaluating cross-sectoral impacts and considering a wide range of implications can the quality of decision making be improved and the credibility of the Government enhanced. Each of us is working for the Government and, more importantly, the community. We are privileged in that role by being able to make a difference.
We should also reach out to stakeholders early. We need to appreciate their positions and difficulties, and bring them into our processes before the course is set. Experience tells us that it is always useful to engage people, understand different perspectives and translate the views and information gathered into meaningful input for policy formulation.
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What is the SDU?
To ensure that sustainability concepts are taken into consideration by the Government in its policy-making process, the SDU was set up under the Chief Secretary for Administration's Office in 2001. The SDU has put in place a system supported by the CASET software, whereby the sustainability of government proposals and policies will be addressed. It is not merely a tool for the preparation of policy papers, but is a necessary institutional arrangement which represents the type of mindset we should possess as civil service preparing to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
The SDU spares no effort in inculcating a thorough understanding of the principles and concepts of SD both within the Government and in the entire community. This is achieved through a variety of programmes, including conferences, seminars, briefings and training workshops.
The unit provides secretarial support to the Council for Sustainable Development, established in 2003, which has been engaging the community in discussions about an SD strategy for Hong Kong during the past few months. The Invitation and Response (IR) document 'Sustainable Development — Making Choices for Our Future', the result of the work of numerous stakeholders, was issued on July 15. The public has been invited to express their views through the interactive platform on the Sustainable Development Strategy website (www.susdev.org.hk), as well as a number of forums and workshops.
Although the present public consultation exercise will come to an end on November 12, the public engagement process on SD strategy is far from being wrapped up. It will be reviewed and repeated with new priority areas. Civil servants are key stakeholders in this process and not just observers.
New ways to meet
opportunities and threats
SD is not merely a grand, elusive ideal. On the contrary, it does not differ much from the many apparently routine tasks which we carry out in our day-to-day lives. We exercise to keep ourselves healthy; we pursue lifelong education to enhance our competitiveness; we use recycled paper to minimise the depletion of forests; we invest to maintain the vitality of our economy and so on. Without all these daily activities we would not have created the quality of life we now enjoy. The challenge is to continue to find new ways to deal with the opportunities and threats of tomorrow so as to ensure that there is a fair share for future generations.
You are part of
'TEAM SD HONG KONG'
It is always useful to talk and exchange ideas on a subject that has a significant impact on our institution and the community. Please feel free to drop by the SDU at any time or call Assistant Director of Administration (Sustainable Development)1, Vicki Kwok, at 3150 8183 for a chat. We are keen to learn from you and in the process render support to you, as you are part of our team — TEAM SD HONG KONG !
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