Advisory Report 46: Flemish Strategy for Sustainable Development (VSDO5), joint advice advisory report with SERV, Minaraad, SALV and SARC

Together with SERV, Minaraad, SALV and SARC, VARIO responded to Minister-President Diependaele’s request for advice on the draft of the fifth Flemish Strategy for Sustainable Development (VSDO5). The councils call for strengthening the sustainability policy, including within mainstream policy. This is necessary to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s), to orient policy towards the long term, to better seize the opportunities of sustainability and to avoid the risks associated with non‑sustainable practices. The councils support the choice for a mission-oriented approach, but raise questions regarding, among other things, the selection of the missions, their link to the SDGs and the level of support for them in practice. In a separate section, where the advisory councils highlight their own priorities, VARIO stresses that sustainable must also mean financially sustainable. Efforts towards (non-economic aspects of) sustainability must not come at the expense of our economic competitiveness.