EXECUTIVE ORDER 12852 and
REVISED CHARTER
President's Council on Sustainable Development
April 25, 1997

1. Official Designation

2. Vision Statement

"Our vision is of a life sustaining Earth. We are committed to achievement of a dignified, peaceful, and equitable existence. A sustainable United States will have a growing economy that provides equitable opportunities for satisfying livelihoods and a safe, healthy, high quality of life for current and future generations. Our nation will protect its environment, its natural resource base, and the functions and viability of natural systems on which all life depends" (Sustainable America, p. iv).

3. Mission

(a) Forging Consensus on Policy. The Council shall continue to bring together diverse interests to identify and develop innovative economic, environmental, and social policies and strategies that advance sustainable development;

(b) Demonstrating Implementation of Policy. The Council shall work with diverse interests to encourage and demonstrate implementation of sustainable development in real world settings. It should report on successes and recommend strategies to replicate those successful projects throughout the United States;

(c) Getting the Word Out About Sustainable Development. Sustainable development depends on the actions of individuals from every sector of society, and on our ability to learn from one another's efforts and experiences. To foster learning and the exchange of ideas, the Council shall gather and disseminate information on sustainable development. It should also build on its previous work to educate Americans on sustainable development.

(d) Evaluating and Reporting on Progress. The Council shall recommend national, community and enterprise level frameworks for tracking sustainable development. For each framework, it shall identify and report on a set of currently available indicators to measure progress, and recommend other appropriate indicators for which data do not exist.

The Council should balance its resources and workplan to carry out its objectives. To the extent the council carries out these objectives as they pertain to issues and recommendations that it has already addressed, it should build on those previous efforts.

4. Scope of Activities

(a) Advise the President on the next steps in building the new environmental management system of the 21st century by reviewing current environmental management reforms (including Project XL and other innovations), further developing a vision of innovative environmental management that fosters sustainable development (environment, economy and equity), and recommending policy improvements and additional opportunities to advance sustainable development. The Council shall report its recommendations on environmental management reform to the President no later than Spring 1998 and its broader recommendations on the role of environmental management in sustainable development by December 1998.

(b) Advise the President on domestic implementation of policy options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Council should not debate the science of global warming, but should instead focus on the implementation of national and local greenhouse gas reduction policies and activities, and adaptations in the U.S. economy and society that maximize environmental and social benefits, minimize economic impacts, and are consistent with U.S. international agreements. The Council should, at a minimum, identify and encourage potentially replicable examples of reductions in greenhouse gas emissions across diverse sectors and levels of society. The Council shall submit its initial recommendations to the President not later than Spring 1998.

(c) Advise the President on policies and approaches that promote sustainable communities. In particular, the Council should promote multi-jurisdictional and community cooperation in metropolitan and rural areas. The Council should create and participate in projects that help forge partnerships among representatives of federal and state agencies, urban centers, suburban areas, and rural communities with the goal of solving, in a comprehensive way, local and regional sustainable development issues. The Council should use the partnership projects to identify barriers to cooperation and innovative sustainable development strategies that engage the constituencies represented by the Council.

(d) Advise the President on policies that foster U.S. leadership in sustainable development internationally. Specifically, the Council shall promote the creation and continuation of national sustainable development councils around the world, advise the President on the promotion of sustainable development in international fora, and gather and disseminate information about U.S. and international sustainable development policies. In addition, given the increasing flow of financial capital from developed to developing countries, the Council shall recommend policies that encourage foreign investment by the U.S. Government, businesses, investors, and, as appropriate, multi-lateral institutions that are consistent with the principles of sustainable development.

(e) Ensure that social equity issues are fully integrated into all of the Council's efforts.

(f) Develop appropriate linkages among the four substantive areas of the Council's agenda, as listed in items a-d above, and with the ongoing Federal working groups on "Education for Sustainability," "Sustainable Development Indicators," and "Materials and Energy Flows."

The Council shall report to the President, in a form to be determined by the Council, no later than December 1998, except where otherwise specified.

The Council chair(s) may, from time to time, invite experts to submit information to the Council and may form subcommittees or task forces to review and report to the Council on sustainable development issues. The subcommittees and teams may include individuals other than members of the Council and shall be balanced in terms of the interests represented.

Members of the Council shall serve without compensation, but shall be allowed travel expenses, to the extent that adequate appropriated funds are available, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by law for persons serving intermittently in Government service (5 U.S.C. 5701-5707).

5. Membership

6. Expected Duration

7. Agency to Whom the Council Reports

8. Agency Responsible for Providing Administrative Support

9. Estimated Number and Frequency of Council Meetings

10. The Date the Charter is Filed

ORIGINAL CHARTER,
President's Council on Sustainable Development
July 20, 1993

1. Official Designation

2. Objectives, Scope of Activities, and Description of Duties

• advise the President on matters involving sustainable development. In furtherance of the mission, the Council will develop and recommend to the President a national sustainable development action strategy that will foster economic vitality;

• advise the President on fashioning an annual Presidential Award recognizing exemplary efforts toward the achievement of sustainable development ideals and submit nominations for the award to the President; and

• advise the President on conducting a public awareness and participation campaign on the importance of and appropriate uses of the nation's natural and cultural resources. The Council shall provide a copy of its advice to the Secretary of the Interior.

The duties of the Council are solely advisory in nature.

The Council may form subcommittees and teams to assist in the accomplishment of its objectives and duties. The subcommittees and teams may include individuals other than members of the Council and shall be balanced in terms of the interests represented and the Council's objectives and duties. The chairperson of the Council may invite experts to submit information to the Council and report to the Council on specific matters concerning sustainable development.

3. Duration

4. Official to Whom the Advisory Council Reports

5. Estimated Annual Operating Costs

6. Estimated Number and Frequency of Meetings

7. Membership

8. Date: This charter is filed on July 20 1993.

Executive Order No. 12852
June 29, 1993

Section 1. Establishment

Section 2. Functions

(a) The Council shall advise the President on matters involving sustainable development. "Sustainable development" is broadly defined as economic growth that will benefit present and future generations without detrimentally affecting the resources or biological systems of the planet.

(b) The council shall develop and recommend to the President a national sustainable development action strategy that will foster economic vitality.

(c) The chairperson or chairpersons may, from time to time, invite experts to submit information to the Council and may form subcommittees of the Council to review and report to the Council on the development of national and local sustainable development plans.

Section 3. Administration

(a) The heads of executive agencies shall, to the extent permitted by law, provide to the Council such information with respect to sustainable development as the Council requires to carry out its functions.

(b) Members of the Council shall serve without compensation, but shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by law for persons serving intermittently in the Government service (5 U.S.C. 5701-5707).

(c) The White House Office on Environmental Policy shall obtain funding for the Council from the Department of the Interior or such other sources (including other Federal agencies) as may lawfully contribute to such activities. The funding received shall provide for the administration and financial support of the Council.

(d) The Office of Administration in the Executive Office of the President shall, on a reimbursable basis, provide such administrative services for the Council as may be required.

Section 4. General.

(a) I have determined that the Council shall be established in compliance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended, except that of reporting to the Congress, which are applicable to the Council, shall be performed by the Office of the Administration in the Executive Office of the President in accord with the guidelines and procedures established by the Administrator of General Services.

(b) The Council shall exist for a period of 2 years from the date of this order, unless the Council's charter is subsequently extended.

(c) Executive order No. 12737, which established the President's Commission on Environmental Quality, is revoked.

William J. Clinton
The White House

Amendments to Executive Order No. 12852

AMENDMENT TO EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 12852
July 19, 1993

FURTHER AMENDMENT TO EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 12852
June 27, 1995

FURTHER AMENDMENT TO EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 12852, AS AMENDED
November 17, 1995