National Governance: Still Stumbling Toward Sustainability

• Author: John C. Dernbach
• Pages: 479-496

Chapter 31

National Governance: Still Stumbling Toward

Sustainability

John C. Dernbach

Much of what is required for national governance for sustainable

development is also required for good governance in general: effec-

tive governmental institutions and national laws, a favorable invest-

ment climate, public access to information, informed and science-

based decisionmaking, public participation in governmental decision-

making, and access to justice. National governance for sustainability,

however, also requires at least three more elements, which are the top-

ics of this chapter:

•a legally grounded national-level strategic process;

•sustainable development indicators to measure progress;

•public engagement and education on sustainability.

Since 2002, U.S. progress on all three fronts has been modest at best.

The United States has made some progress toward greater strategic

efforts and interagency coordination concerning the environment

since 2002, and has developed a more sophisticated system of envi-

ronmental reporting. But the effort has been overshadowed by the fed-

eral government’s preoccupation with antiterrorism and the war in

Iraq, ideological and partisan divisions in our national political life,

and the government’s inability or unwillingness to address climate

change—perhaps the most urgent and obvious of all sustainability is-

sues. The national government was stumbling toward sustainability in

2002 (borrowing from the title of this book’s predecessor volume),

and it is still stumbling. To move ahead, the federal government must

formally integrate sustainable development into its existing strategic

efforts, develop a set of sustainable development indicators, and sup-

port and encourage efforts by the private sector and the public on be-

half of sustainability.

National Strategic Process

At the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannes-

burg in 2002, the United States and other countries agreed that nations

479

should take “immediate steps to make progress in the formulation and

elaboration of national strategies for sustainable development and be-

gin their implementation by 2005.”1The United States has made some

progress toward strategic thinking since 2002. But the federal govern-

ment still has no overall national strategy for sustainable develop-

ment, and is a long way from employing the strategic analysis and

decisionmaking required for sustainable development. Nor is there an

effective legal framework for ensuring agency adherence to sustain-

ability principles.

A sustainability strategy is a “navigation tool for identifying prior-

ity sustainability issues, prioritizing objectives, and coordinating the

development and use of a mix of policy initiatives to meet national

goals.”2It is directed at the achievement of specified goals or objec-

tives; it is a process, not merely a document; it reflects the priorities

and circumstances of the country that produces it; and it requires a

governmental coordinating or implementing body to make sure it is

properly carried out.3

Some progress toward strategic thinking has occurred under the

Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), which

obligates federal agencies to develop and implement multiyear strate-

gic plans. These plans are to include a mission statement, goals and

objectives for major agency activities, a description of how those

goals and objectives will be achieved, and an evaluation method that

measures achievement of those goals and objectives.4The GPRA also

requires each agency, as part of its annual budget submission, to pre-

pare and submit to the Office of Management and Budget a perfor-

mance plan that is consistent with its strategic plan.5In addition, the

act requires agencies to publish a report after each fiscal year compar-

ing the agency’s performance goals for that fiscal year with what was

actually achieved, evaluating successes in achieving goals, and,

where performance goals were not met, explaining why.6

According to a 2004 evaluation of GPRA by the Government Ac-

countability Office (GAO), the act has “established a solid foundation

of results-oriented performance planning, measurement, and report-

ing” for the federal government.7The GAO also concluded that

GPRA has created a closer connection between agency objectives and

the budget process, and provided a basis for reviewing agency objec-

tives, activities, and results.8Environmental and sustainable develop-

ment goals are contained in some but not all agency strategic plans.

480 AGENDA FOR A SUSTAINABLE AMERICA