Attaining the Millennium Development Goals on environmental sustainability will require concerted efforts to advance policies at all levels of government and promote a change in lifestyles in all corners of society. In recognition of this reality, Israel’s government has sought to advance our country’s sustainable development over the past decade by increasing inter-ministerial cooperation and putting in place programs and policies to better engage the Israeli public.
One of these efforts has been the Green School Project, which Israel launched in preparation for the Johannesburg World summit on sustainable development. The project promotes the idea that day-to-day activity can make a real difference in the quality of the environment in which we live by providing a “green” accreditation to schools.
Schools receive a monetary prize for successful accreditation, which is based on three criteria: their integration of environmental subjects into the curriculum; their rational use of resources; and their contribution to the community. The Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Education, local authorities, and green bodies joined together to implement this project and tackle this cross-cutting issue.
As part of my government’s efforts to improve the sustainability of consumer choices, the Ministry of Environment has launched a public awareness campaign entitled, “Let’s Think Green.” To change individuals’ thinking about their own use of resources, this campaign educates the public about how to adopt a green lifestyle and make consumer choices that both protect the environment and save money.
Mr. Chairperson,
We can only manage what we measure. Any strive toward sustainable production and consumption must include the use of hard environmental indicators, which create a dashboard view of the economy, along with GDP and economic growth.
We must also focus on preventive measures, through which we can significantly reduce the use natural resources and save money. The private sector has an important role to play in this effort. For example, TaKaDu, an Israeli startup, partners with infrastructure companies to measure and monitor the changing pressure and flow throughout a city's water system, saving millions of dollars and huge quantities water. This company recently received the Technology Pioneer Award at the World Economic Forum.
Mr. Chairperson,
Enhanced regional cooperation on sustainable development should be supported, as countries with similar climates, and environments are well situated to assist each other.
For its part, Israel looks forward to continuing to share best practices and successful initiatives on how to address these cross-cutting issues.
Thank you, Mr. Chairperson.
Statement by
Ms. Shuli Davidovich
Counsellor
3 March 2011
Thank you, Mr. Chairperson.
