Hastings District Council, New Zealand
Hastings District Council is looking to commit to an approach that will adopt the Natural Step framework as its key decision-making framework to plan for a sustainable future. Accredited TNS advisor Simon Harvey and Colin Bass of BusinessLAB have been working with both officers and councillors in Hastings to help the council understand how the Natural Step framework can be used by the local authority as a high-level decision making tool that ensures a systems-thinking approach for sustainable outcomes. “The Natural Step Framework provided us with a really powerful and simple tool to assist our decision-making processes”, explains council CEO Ross McLeod. Hastings District is currently consulting its community about “What should the future of Hastings look like?” in readiness for its next Long Term Council Community Plan (LTCCP).
The LTCCP consultation document puts forward a comprehensive case for why Hastings needs to focus on creating a sustainable future and lists a number of strategic objectives that have been formed through initial thinking using TNS. Transparency and effective community consultation means Hastings is expressly asking its community whether the council should adopt TNS as its sustainability framework and a key strategic decision-making tool.
With much of its economic activity resting on agriculture, horticulture, viticulture, related manufacturing and tourism; Hastings could well lead the way to show how the Natural Step framework can help communities in New Zealand achieve genuine progress and sustainable outcomes through a sound strategic planning process. For further information about this work, visit the video interview with council CEO Ross McLeod.