A report on how the Central Otago District Council can promote sustainability has been criticised by Vincent Community Board members.
The report, by council chief executive John Cooney, will be included in the council's draft annual plan and be sent to representatives of the farming sector and the viticulture, horticulture, construction and tourism industries.
Mr Cooney had proposed at last week's Vincent board meeting that the council and its community boards commit to sustainability and restoration as ‘‘non-negotiable operating principles''.
Council activities would be audited to find areas that needed attention and an audit would be carried out of Central Otago community and business activities to identify ‘‘destructive activities'' that could be eliminated and areas needing to adapt given likely environmental changes.
Board member Mary Flannery said the report was too focused on the environment and did not go far enough in ascertaining how the environment would impact on the social needs and wellbeing of the community.
She did not believe it was the council's job to design structures and systems for the operation of businesses.
Mr Cooney explained that the council could not regulate a solution to problems. ‘‘Our role is more about helping to design systems, because the council is a part of those systems. We deal with waste, we deal with roading, and transportation and waste disposal will be part of the solution,'' he said.
Board member Martin McPherson said the council could have a role in promoting sustainability by first looking at its own business practices to see where they could be changed.
‘‘Don't read this as poking our noses into other people's businesses - only our own.''
Mr Cooney said: ‘‘If we think it is worth dealing with, then we have to understand why it's happening and then design, as a community, the methods to be more sustainable.''
