INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the Scottish Executive's
6th Annual Report on the environmental performance of its estate.
Reducing the effect our actions and activities have on the environment remains a key element of delivering a more sustainable Government in Scotland. The Sustainable Development Strategy for Scotland outlines the key issues and actions for the future across the public, private and domestic sectors to ensure the legacy we leave is a sustainable one. No single set of actions can deliver that future but by taking a more responsible approach to managing the impacts of our own activities we are making a positive contribution.
However, building a sustainable Scotland isn't just about action by government. It needs a commitment from everyone to make the changes necessary to ensure we can meet today's needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The world does not have an unlimited supply of resources and it's the choices we make now that will have an effect on the quality of life for future generations.
As in previous years, this report provides a summary of our performance, and for the second year running it also provides the supporting data to make our reporting more open and transparent. However, this year we are also providing a vision for the future building on our current environmental targets and setting the bar for 2020.
This report is our principal way of communicating our actions and intentions to our staff, stakeholders and the wider Scottish community and I hope you appreciate the continuing concise format. It has once again been independently validated to ensure the quality and accuracy of the information reported and the methods employed in its collection.
This is a challenging agenda and a lot of hard work lies in front of us if we are to deliver on our aspirations for the long term. However, I am pleased with the progress we have made so far and am confident that we have in place the plans, processes and commitment to equip us for future success.
John Elvidge
Permanent Secretary
December 2006