Wales’ Commissioner for Sustainable Futures

Peter Davies (formerly the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) Wales Commissioner) began his new role of Commissioner for Sustainable Futures on 1 April 2011.

Following the closure of the Sustainable Development Commission, at the end of March 2011, the newly appointed Commissioner for Sustainable Futures provides advice to the Welsh Government and leadership for sustainable development across Wales. 

The Commissioner’s role is supported by Cynnal Cymru, enabling the views and experiences of the wider community in Wales to be shared with the Commissioner and fed into his advice to government.

The Welsh Government has a legal duty relating to Sustainable Development and these arrangements will be essential to help it fulfil its commitment to sustainable development as its ‘central organising principle.’

The new Commissioner is helping the Welsh Government and others give the people of Wales a better quality of life both now and in the long term. He will also give a voice to future generations, who will have to live with the legacy of decisions we make today.

The Commissioner’s roles are to:

• Provide leadership for sustainable development in Wales;
• Promote sustainable development as the central organising principle in all organisations in Wales, and to promote the embedding of sustainable development into the work of sectors and communities in Wales, in line with the policy commitment within the Welsh Government’s Sustainable Development Scheme, One Wales: One Planet;
• Convene stakeholders representing relevant sectors or issues, and develop partnerships to address difficult issues based on a ‘coalition of the willing’ approach; 
• Advise the Welsh Government on the policies and approaches required to promote and implement sustainable development; and 
• Provide appropriate advice to the Welsh Government on the longer-term  arrangements for promoting and advising the Welsh Government on sustainable development in Wales.