Issue - items at meetings - Corporate Strategy Refresh

This report describes how the current Corporate Strategy has been refreshed to align with the Sustainable Community Strategy, in order to provide the Council with an improved strategic direction for the future, and asks the Executive to endorse the refreshed draft Corporate Strategy and refer it to Full Council for approval.

RESOLVED: That the content of the draft Strategy at Annex A to the report be noted, and endorsed subject to following additions:

a)Sustainable City:

By end of 2012:

· To have saved approximately an additional 1680 tonnes of carbon through the installation of 7 projects funded through Salix finance (approx. 740 t), and 940 tonnes through additional CMP SIP identified projects

Key 2009/10 milestones:

· To have completed on-going and existing projects as outlined in the CMP SIP which will save in total approximately 1374 tonnes of carbon emissions and to have commenced the implementation of 7 projects funded through Salix finance (and as identified in the Executive CMP Update March 2009).

Commitment:

· We will reduce the carbon emissions associated with the goods and services we buy from other suppliers

Target by end of 2012:

· To reduce spend on goods and services that generate large CO2 emissions

Milestone 09/10:

· Report on how to align the Sustainable Procurement Strategy with the council’s Carbon Management Strategy in achieving the objectives to reduce by 25% the council’s overall CO2 emissions by 2013.

b)Commitments

Sustainable City theme:

We will report back each year on how well we have done in reducing our energy consumption, and carbon emissions.

Effective Organisation:

· The Council will improve communication with residents

· Progress towards the 3 year targets will be reported at the end of each year of the strategy

c) Text changes to the document

Page 8 – that the Council’s new Headquarters are also fully accessible.

REASON: To ensure the inclusion of outcomes from the Procurement Strategy and to reflect the Council’s commitment to reduce its energy consumption by at least 5% each year.

RECOMMENDED:That Council approve the draft Strategy, subject to the above additions.

REASON: To improve the performance monitoring and management arrangements of corporate priorities.

Members considered a report which described how the Council’s Corporate Strategy for 2009-2012 had been refreshed, to align it better with the Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS) and Local Area Agreement (LAA), and asked them to recommend the refreshed Strategy to Full Council for approval.

The Executive had previously received a report on the progress of the refresh process, which had involved intensive sessions held by Corporate Management Team (CMT), meetings between Officers and Group Leaders, and cross-party Member workshops. In place of the existing ten priorities, the refreshed Strategy contained eight themes based on the seven themes of the SCS, plus an eighth theme - Effective Organisation.

The published version of the refreshed Strategy, aimed at Council staff and external audiences, was attached as Annex A to the report. Annex B showed the detailed accompanying ‘accountability’ spreadsheet which would be included in the back of the published version and updated each year. Each commitment in Annex B was connected with specific actions and milestones, progress on which would be monitored via the Finance and Performance reports to Executive.

Having noted the comments of the Shadow Executive on this item, it was

RESOLVED: That the content of the draft Strategy at Annex A to the report be noted, and endorsed subject to following additions:¹