6. Development Goals for the State Services

The Ministry for the Environment leads or contributes to a significant amount of policy advice that directly relates to the transformation of the state sector and the environmental sustainability of New Zealand. Some specific Ministry initiatives related to the six Development Goals for the State Services are highlighted below.

Employer of choice

The Ministry for the Environment is working to become an employer of choice by developing and implementing programmes and tools to improve staff engagement, capability and performance. These include:

a competency framework using the research-based Lominger competency model
new performance management and remuneration and recognition systems
introduction of the Gallup Q12 employee engagement survey which allows benchmarking across the public sector. (Until now the Ministry has used its own staff climate survey to measure staff satisfaction)
using the findings of the Pay and Employment Equity Review completed in July 2007 to inform human resources and organisational development projects.

Networked state services

Initiatives to provide information and services through the use of technology include:

the web portal www.sustainability.govt.nz that provides access to information and advice on household sustainability, using discussion forums, mixed media and interactive tools, and links to other sites or places to find information. As at 26 June 2008 the portal had: 104,650 total visits and 79,645 unique visitors since its launch in December 2007.
making available to other government agencies the satellite imagery and IT environment required for the Land Use and Carbon Accounting System, which is being developed to help meet New Zealand’s Kyoto Protocol obligations. An all of government licence was negotiated for the satellite imagery.

Value for money state services

The Ministry is focused on using resources in an efficient, appropriate and environmentally sustainable way. Initiatives to contribute to this goal in 2007/08 included:

appointment of an Internal Auditor
review of internal policies, procedures and practices and establishment of a project to update and improve them
development of a sustainable building toolkit that will help government agencies improve the environmental performance of buildings over their entire life-cycle.

Co-ordinated state agencies

The Ministry for the Environment’s activities are often closely connected with the work of other government agencies in the natural resources, economic and social sectors. Activities that have helped improve co-ordination across state agencies include:

a Deputy Secretaries Group to provide whole of government direction, coordination and governance on sustainability activities across government and a whole of government communications coordination group
leadership of the all of government approach to climate change policy, including the establishment of a Climate Change Governance Group of chief executives and taking a key role in the cross-departmental Emissions Trading Group
leadership of the Carbon Neutral Public Service programme, working with 34 core public service agencies to complete greenhouse gas emissions inventories and emissions reduction plans. More than 300 emissions reduction projects were identified in 2007/08
participation in the Auckland Government Urban and Economic Development Office, which includes staff from the Ministry of Economic Development, Ministry for the Environment, Department of Labour and the Ministry of Transport.

Accessible state services

The Ministry provides some services to the public, through:

the Household Sustainability Programme, which provided information and advice online and through stands at Home Shows and key events and conferences
funding support for environmental projects, through the administration of seven contestable funds totalling nearly $10 million per annum
the Resource Management Act freephone number (0800 RMAINFO) and query email service (rmainfo@mfe.govt.nz) to allow easy access to information about the Act. Over the year almost 700 calls and emails were responded to.

The Ministry aims to encourage public and stakeholder engagement in our work. Some ways we do this include:

the Talk Environment Roadshow in October 2007, held in 18 centres and attended by 1500 people from local government, business and the community. Feedback from the meetings was incorporated into work programmes where appropriate
the Chief Executives’ Environment Forum, involving chief executives from all regional councils, Local Government New Zealand, and central government departments concerned with the environment and resource management. Four meetings were held in the 2007/08 financial year.

Trusted state services

The Ministry aims to increase knowledge and understanding of the role of public servants and to strengthen trust in our people and advice. Initiatives that contribute to this include:

developing Conflict of Interest Guidelines which will provide advice to managers and staff in identifying and managing conflicts of interest
expansion of the role of the Ministers’ Support Unit to build in-house capability and to support our Ministers.

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