The Future?

Living sustainably is all about looking into the future. The little things we do in our homes, our schools and our community probably won't have a major impact on our lives, but future generations will benefit from our efforts.

Preserving energy, water and biodiversity means that our children's children will be able to enjoy the same planet as we are. The most important thing to remember is that the future starts with YOU.

Resource use is at an unsustainable level in Ireland and in Europe. In the end, most of the products become waste, which then needs to be managed for recycling and disposal. This is an unsustainable trend and it is up to us to make changes in our lives to curb this link. We need to consume less through our lifestyle choices.

The future is local. Local ideas and local initiatives can all drive a sustainable existence for you, your family and your community.

Government Policy

In 2007 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) produced their third formal strategy - 2020 vision: Protecting and Improving Ireland 's Environment - which set-out a long term vision for Ireland 's environment to 2020. 

More recently, in 2012, Our Sustainable Future: A Framwork for Sustainable Development for Ireland was launched. It set out the challenges and how we might address them in making sure that our quality of life and general wellbeing can be improved and sustained in the decades to come. It also charts progress achieved since sustainable development became the global focus of attention over twenty years ago and the roles played by the United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU), in which we have been active participants in advancing the environmental and sustainable development agendas.