"To transmit this city, not only not less, but greater, better, and more beautiful than it was transmitted to us." For decades, professional managers have drawn inspiration from the ancient oath of the Athenian republic, taken by citizens to assert their responsibility to leave a legacy for future generations.
Today, a worldwide movement to create sustainable communities has defined such communities in terms very similar to the Athenian oath: “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” City and county managers are responding to the call to provide leadership in their communities, and guidance and support to their elected officials, in meeting this challenge.
For ICMA, sustainability means balancing the values of environmental stewardship, economic development, and social equity. ICMA members understand that a “balanced scorecard” approach is necessary to determine whether a community is achieving its objectives. City and county managers are the key executives in local government who see the community and the organization in its entirety, without being tied to one department, one interest group, or one political point of view.
For these reasons, ICMA has for many years been in the forefront of helping local governments meet the challenges inherent in building sustainable communities. To further this work, in 2007 ICMA launched the Sustainable Communities Leadership Initiative.
The leadership initiative has the following components:
- Generating a dialogue among members to define and establish the manager’s role in building sustainable communities—to participate in the conversation, members can sign up for ICMA’s Sustainability Discussion Forum.
- Establishing a Sustainability Advisory Group of ICMA members to lead the discussion and provide guidance to the organization.
- Developing management tools, establishing priorities, and measuring performance.
- Education in leading practices through publications, resources, conferences, and workshops.
On October 9, 2007, the ICMA membership adopted a Resolution on Sustainability, committing the organization and its members to several goals for building more sustainable communities.
Related ICMA sustainability initiatives include:
ICMA also addresses sustainability through:
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Contact Us
For more information about ICMA's Sustainable Communities Initative, contact Tad McGalliard at 202.962.3563 or
tmcgalliard@icma.org.