Sustainable Communities is a committee of Rotary District 9810 in eastern Victoria. A small group of concerned Rotarians, some with professional expertise in the field, first came together in 2012. The committee now has members from three local Rotary clubs and one Rotaract club.

The committee sees the term ‘sustainability’ as having several wide-ranging yet connected meanings. These include something that is self-sustaining or self-efficient, something planned for long-term use or something ‘good for the environment’. We believe these multiple meanings of sustainability are relevant to Rotary in many ways.

As a committee, our role is to encourage and assist clubs in our district to participate in more sustainable projects and activities. Firstly, we promote and support projects and initiatives within and outside the district which has an environmentally sustainable focus. This includes projects which aim to protect or restore the local environment and ecosystems, those which make use of sustainable technologies or those promoting the uptake of everyday sustainable practices.

Projects may also be considered sustainable in that over time they become self-funding, are long-lasting, or for international projects, focus on long-term benefits, perhaps with eventual hand-over to local communities.

Many Rotary projects, whether deliberately or not, are already sustainable. Our committee aims to highlight these existing sustainable practices in Rotary projects and increase the consideration of sustainability ideas in planning new ones.

Overall we hope to increase the awareness of sustainability issues in Rotarians and the general public and to make a difference in the local and international community.

Check out these awesome links:

RI president says planting trees shows long-term commitment to the community

Sustaining the Environment: 2018-19 RI President Barry Rassin

ESRAG: Environmental Sustainability Rotarian Action Group