Conversations about the future: the 1994 Minnesota Congress on Sustainable Development

The 1994 Minnesota Congress on Sustainable Development brought together people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives to think about the state's social, economic and environmental future. The congress, held on February 24 and 25, was based on the work of the Minnesota Sustainable Development Initiative's seven citizen teams and provided the first forum for discussing their reports on sustainable agriculture, energy, forestry, manufacturing, mining, recreation and settlement. The congress' main goals we re to:

Educate Minnesotans about the concept of sustainable development in general and the work of the seven initiative teams in particular.

Expand commitment to sustainable development in Minnesota by inviting public feedback on the initiative's results; and

Use information from the congress to help guide Minnesota toward sustainable development.

This document is a summary of the congress and a companion to the initiative's report Redefining Progress: Working Toward a Sustainable Future. It attempts to capture the essence of the speakers' presentations and the main ideas offered by particip ants. Among the advice they offered was:

Establish a comprehensive education campaign on sustainable development.

Develop reliable sustainable development measures.

Ensure that government incentives and disincentives promote sustainable behavior.

Implement full accounting of social, economic and environmental costs and benefits.

Develop a process for reorienting tax policy to support and promote sustainable development.

Encourage community control of decision-making.

Establish public-private alliance to set common goals and strategies for achieving sustainable development.

Promote comprehensive land use planning.

Encourage grassroots initiatives.

Foster community round tables on sustainable development.

Develop and introduce a legislative package of key policy changes drawn from the initiative.

Make state government a model sustainable enterprise.

Develop a six-year strategic plan for sustainable development.

Establish a coalition for sustainable development to guide the initiative.

Collaborate with legislators and environmental, civic, business, educational and religious leaders to achieve sustainable development goals.