What do we do: our objectives in detail
Our purpose
"To secure a healthy environment in which we and future generations can prosper."
This builds on our previous mission of enabling everyone to live within our environmental means – but makes clear the positive benefits for the economy and society of protecting and enhancing the environment. We lead for government on public sector agreement (PSA) 28 on the natural environment and are key delivery partners for DECC’s PSA 27 on climate change.
Our priorities
PSA 28: secure a healthy natural environment for everyone’s well being, health and prosperity, now and in the future.
Further information is available on the HM treasury website.
Underneath our PSA sit our three priorities:
- Secure a healthy natural environment for us all and deal with environmental risks
- Promote a sustainable, low-carbon and resource-efficient economy
- Ensure a thriving farming sector and a sustainable, healthy and secure food supply
These are our main tasks. We need to focus on achieving these through everything we do.
Departmental strategic objectives
We have agreed some changes to our existing departmental strategic objectives (DSOs) with the Treasury – to focus DSO1 on adaptation; to make clear our role in promoting a low carbon resource efficient economy in DSO3 on sustainable consumption and production. We have created a new DSO to highlight our new additional role in ensuring a sustainable, secure and healthy food supply. All others remain unchanged, reflecting the fact that the bulk of departmental business continues.
Our new departmental strategic objectives
- A society that is adapting to the effects of climate change, through a national programme of action and a contribution to international action.
Cutting greenhouse gas emissions is a priority. But some climate change is now inevitable and all of us – as individuals, businesses, government and public authorities – will need to adapt to respond to the challenges of climate change.
- A healthy, resilient, productive and diverse natural environment.
To protect and enhance the natural environment, and to encourage its sustainable use within environmental limits.
- Sustainable, low carbon and resource efficient patterns of consumption and production.
Working towards an economy where products and services are designed, produced, used and disposed of in ways that minimise carbon emissions, waste and the use of non-renewable resource. Supporting innovation and encouraging economic prosperity.
- An economy and a society that are resilient to environmental risk.
This is delivered through ensuring that flooding and coastal erosion risks are managed sustainably, through the economy, human health and ecosystems being protected from environmental risks and emergencies, and through public health and the economy being protected from animal diseases.
- Championing sustainable development.
Defra is the government’s champion for sustainable development – domestically and internationally. Ensuring that policy and delivery at all levels of government observe the five principles of sustainable development set out in the 2005 SD strategy Securing the Future.
- A thriving farming and food sector with an improving net environmental impact.
Making the farming industry more innovative, self-reliant, profitable and competitive and with better environmental management throughout the whole food chain.
- A sustainable, secure and healthy food supply.
Working across government and with stakeholders for sustainable production, distribution and consumption of food, ensuring that it is available and affordable for all sectors of society, and considering the sustainability impacts of meeting global food needs.
- Socially and economically sustainable rural communities.
Taking an overview of the effects of government policies in rural areas and helping departments understand better the rural dimension, including by improving the evidence base.
- A respected department delivering efficient and high quality services and outcomes.
Respect is gained and maintained in the long-term by doing the day-job well, developing and delivering good policy through DSOs 1 to 8. But it’s also lost easily by messing up in any of our areas: policy, delivery or corporate.
Page last modified:
24 September 2009
