Local authorities across the UK and abroad are proving that taking a sustainable approach to their operations and services delivers multiple benefits, such as improved performance, lower costs and better outcomes for their communities. Climate change or sustainability themes are embedded in national policy and appear in different guises and services areas.

Recent changes have threatened to push climate change, carbon reduction and sustainability off the priority list, as authorities handle the cuts agenda, tackle public sector reform and fight to deliver critical services with fewer resources. But actively addressing sustainability in corporate plans supports cost-effective service delivery – it is not just a “nice to have” that can be discarded when budgets are tight.

This series of briefings, new for 2015, demonstrates how many local authorities are benefitting from actively considering sustainability in their operations and services.

1. Save Carbon – Save Money

2. Generating Energy and Income

3. Decent Affordable Housing, Health & Fuel Poverty

4. Improving Public Health

5. Travel Choices

6. Transport Infrastructure

7. Economic Development

8. Supporting Communities

9. Reducing Risks