Lessons on leaving the world better than you found it

Sophie Howe is the world's only future generations commissioner, a new kind of government official tasked with advocating for the interests of generations to come and holding public institutions accountable for delivering long-term change. She describes some of the people-focused policies she's helped implement in Wales, aimed at cutting carbon emissions, increasing sustainability and promoting well-being as a national goal.

Wales is a small but progressive country,

the only country in the world
to have legislated

to protect the interests
of future generations,

the only country to have appointed
someone independent to oversee this.

Across the world, our systems
of government, of politics, of economics

have tended to act in the short term.

And often, the decisions that are taken

discount the interests
of future generations and the planet.

But in Wales, we're trying to change that

by passing a law which requires
not just our government

but all of our main public institutions

to demonstrate how they're acting
for the long-term

and how the decisions they take
don't harm the interests

of those yet to be born.

And so as a mum of five

and the world's only
future generations commissioner,

I want to share with you today
some of the lessons we've learned

about how we're trying to leave the world
better than we found it.

First of all, you must involve people
in setting long-term goals.

Ask them: What's the Wales
or the world you want to leave behind

to your children and your grandchildren?

We held a national conversation --
the Wales We Want --

and people told us,

"We want a low-carbon economy.

We want you to help us keep people well

rather than just treat them
when they're ill.

We want connected communities
and a more equal Wales."

And our government legislated
to set seven national well-being goals

to achieve that.

Each institution has to demonstrate
how they're meeting those goals,

and they're held to account by me.

You have to focus on the interconnections
between different aspects of well-being.

You need to talk often about why
it's just as important to public health

as it is to the environment

to tackle high levels of air pollution,

why diversity in the workforce

is just as important
to economic prosperity

as it is to addressing inequality.

Our institutions have a legal duty
to act beyond their immediate remit

to recognize those connections,

work with unusual suspects.

And so we're seeing hospitals in Wales
working with the National Botanic Gardens

to create spaces for nature
on their sites.

We're seeing offices
in our environmental agency

helping to find solutions
to tackle childhood adversity.

Make well-being your metrics.

Test everything you do
across the four pillars of well-being:

social, economic,
environmental and cultural.

Because for too long,

governments have tested their success
on the measures of economic growth

and increases in GVA.

But in Wales, our measures of success
are around our seven well-being goals.

So when the government
thought it was a good idea

to spend 1.4 billion pounds
building a new motorway,

a simple application
of these well-being metrics

told them that, actually,
if you want to improve people's health,

if you want to meet
your carbon emissions targets,

if you want to protect nature

and if you want to direct your resources
to those with the lowest incomes,

a much better option would be
public transport and active travel.

And so that's what they're doing.

Make it your mission to maximize
your contribution to well-being.

So when we're seeing plans
for economic stimulus in green jobs

and energy efficiency measures
in homes post-COVID,

they're really good ideas.

But make sure you target those jobs

towards those furthest
from the labor market,

because otherwise, you'll be missing
opportunities to address inequality, too.

Think about your projects holistically.

Don't save carbon by putting
solar panels on your new hospital

and then spend it in another area

by failing to consider how patients
are going to travel there sustainably.

Well, in Cardiff, our capital city,

like many others across the world,

we're blighted by high levels
of air pollution,

long commutes, congested roads

and big differences in life expectancy
between the richest and the poorest.

So what is our act doing
to make a difference?

Well, first of all, it requires
our public institutions to work together.

And so, as a result,
the public health consultant

was seconded from the health board
to the local council

to lead on the transportation strategy.

And when you apply a public health lens
to a transport problem,

you get a different set of solutions.

The public institutions
realized that between them,

they were employing
30,000 people in Cardiff,

so they're now incentivizing
their employees to travel sustainably.

We've seen a tenfold increase

in investment in safe routes
to cycle and to walk,

and we've targeted that cycling
and walking infrastructure

towards those neighborhoods who have
the highest level of air pollution

and the lowest life expectancy.

And in Cardiff, doctors
can issue prescriptions,

not just for statins,
but for free bike hire

for those who would benefit
from increasing their physical activity.

And when we've constructed
our cycling infrastructure,

we've also built in sustainable drainage,

taking away over 40,000
cubic meters of water

from an unsustainable drainage system

through nature-based solutions.

And in doing that,
we've created sites for nature,

we've cleaned and greened communities,

and we've transformed concrete jungles.

And when you travel
from this area to our city center,

you'll be met with areas
which are closed off to traffic,

where people can meet
and businesses can trade

outside the splendor
of our medieval castle.

So this is how we're embedding well-being
in what we do in Wales.

This is how we're protecting
the interests of future generations.

This is how we're acting today
for a better tomorrow.