Integrating Social Inclusion, Employment & the Environment
Filed under: Planning, Policy & Networks
Integrating Social Inclusion, Employment and the Environment: Exploring the potential for joined-up thinking
A Report Commissioned by Jean Lambert MEP (London, Green Party) and authored by Maria Adebowale and Christoph Schwarte (Capacity Global).
Statement from Jean Lambert MEP
This report explores how far EU and UK policy-making on social inclusion and employment actually does put sustainability and environmental considerations at their heart. It considers how the EU, the UK and London should "join up" thinking for truly progressive policy-making. It takes the training of young people as a focus for the analysis, using interviews with socially excluded young people in London and Hamburg as case studies.
I commissioned this report because I know, as a Green Member of the European Parliament, that the European Unions (EU) approach to providing solutions to social exclusion through employment does not, as a rule, consider the environment to be a central factor. I am arguing that, unless the environment is integrated into all employment and social inclusion strategies, social cohesion and quality of life will not be improved or sustainable and we will not meet our environmental goals.
As a full time member of the Employment and Social Affairs Committee in the European Parliament I was asked to write the Committees Opinion on the EU Sustainability Strategy. My opinion, which was supported by the Parliament, made the following recommendations:
That sustainable development encompasses environmental, social and economic dimensions;
That the objectives of creating jobs, economic development and sustainable development are complementary not contradictory;
the need for a comprehensive and coordinated approach to combating poverty and social exclusion;
that social inclusion is an essential element of sustainable development and that a minimum income and the ability to have access to essential services are key elements in such development;
that the environmental dimension be considered in all training programmes funded by the EU through the ESF and Community initiatives such as EQUAL;
that in the indicators used to arrive at qualitative assessments of educational attainment in the EU, the role of education in environmental factors should be included as this provides the basis for an environmentally aware society.
I have been keen to explore this integrated approach. As climate change targets become increasingly ambitious, the means to deliver them become essential. The UK has a poor record of requiring syllabuses to integrate the principles of sustainable development, and lacks a coherent approach to capacity building skills that are so urgently needed for implementing greener technologies. There is a tendency within the UK Government to see economic growth as the end goal in bringing the socially excluded into the work place, rather than a sustainable economy with quality of life for all.
The socially excluded, particularly those living in poverty are likely to live in the worst environments. When regeneration projects aim to move people into work, they need to integrate the physical and philosophical dimensions of environmental protection and footprint analysis from the very beginning not as an add-on. As the report says, this can be illustrated broadly: from the seemingly mundane, in terms of litter collections, to the fundamental, such as the choices local businesses make about supply chains and the understanding of individual responsibility both as workers and citizens for the global environment.
Educators know that young people have an interest in improving the quality of their environment not just through voluntary clean-ups but also through their working and life decisions. However, many young people, particularly the socially excluded, feel unable to make the connections as to how they do this, and it is the responsibility of Governments, funders, trainers and educators to make the connections clear. Given that the Government works within the overarching policy guidelines written by the European Commission, the EU has a special responsibility for setting the strategy.
This report, I hope, will represent a further step in the process of moving London, the UK and the European Union as a whole towards a more sustainable future.
Summary of report
Aims and Objectives
The principle aim is to encourage debate on how social exclusion agendas are integrated into not only social and economic concerns but environmental. To this end we have looked at key stakeholders perspectives: policy makers and socially economically groups.
The main aim of this paper has been to locate the role of environmental issues in mainstream EU policy on health and training of young people, specifically those who are perceived as economically or socially disadvantaged or marginalised, and to provide an overview of their concerns and needs. As such there are four objectives:
1. to identify broad policy on social exclusion, sustainable development and environmental sustainability;
2. to explore integration of training and health agendas with social exclusion and environmental sustainability;
3. to offer a brief comparative study between the United Kingdome (UK) and Germany;
4. to establish cross-sectoral dialogue on the perceptions and concerns of young people and policy makers.
Outline & Content
The body of the paper is set out in four parts. All four parts are complemented by a comparative study between the UK (London) and Germany (Hamburg).
Part One sets the policy scene for people who unfamiliar with the subject of sustainable development and its relationship to quality of life and social exclusion.
Part Two an overview on recent trends in EU policies on the integration of environmental concerns in social inclusion and employment strategies. On basis of the Community Action Programme to Combat Social Exclusion and the European Employment Guidelines it aims to identify relevant areas that set the background for the focus group study.
Part Three presents the main findings of discussions with young people and policy makers in England (London) and Germany (Hamburg). It provides an overview on the perceptions and concerns of the young people are located in the wider context environmental sustainability and social exclusion and how they relate to training.
Part Four conclusions and recommendations.
Findings
EU policy on social exclusion, training and environment are often developed in silos;
Little evidence of EU or national integrated thinking at a strategic level;
Lack of EU and national policy leadership leads to training that only aims to tackle economic concerns;
Training outside of traditional environmental sector jobs ignores environment or social issues;
Young people from economically and socially excluded backgrounds are concerned about localised environmental issues;
Training presents a life long learning opportunity for young people to meet their interests and concerns on environmental issues;
Training initiatives and projects need to be developed under a sustainable development perspective, specifically in regards to environmental and social issues;
Green training is a key route to accessing information, that will allow young socially and economically excluded people to participation and decision making in mainstream society
Summary of recommendations
1: The EU and member states need to develop a regional and national framework that facilitates the greening of training programmes and initiatives. These should be part of the National Action Plans and the Community Action Programme to Combat Social Exclusion.
2: Youth groups and organisations should be involved in the planning and implementation process of the greening training framework, programmes and initiatives at regional, national and local levels.
3: Funders of training programmes should take steps to ensure that training providers green all their training programmes or projects by making an environmental component of the proposal a prerequisite for funding. Funders audits on the effectiveness of projects should also include relevant qualitative and quantitative measures of how effective the training is in this area.
4: In operating training programmes, all staff should be given training and resources that allow them to include environmental issues in courses they produce and teach. All training programme syllabi should include an environmental section. In addition, trainers should be encouraged to involve young people in deciding on the delivery of information within the training course.
Copies of the report are available from the office of Jean Lambert MEP, Suite 58, Hop Exchange, 24 Southwark Street, London SE1 1TY
Email: jeanlambert@greenmeps.org.uk
Download from website: http://www.jeanlambertmep.org.uk/.