The Salisbury Crags have watched over many centuries of life in Scotland. In 1997, we reached the bicentenary of the death of James Hutton, whose contribution to our understanding of the planet has only recently been widely acknowledged. His "Theory of the Earth" is the foundation of modern geology. In it he sets out, for the first time the idea of continuous geological change: the rise and fall of continents, the erosion of land into the sea and the creation of new rock. In developing his ideas he was inspired by the strata so clearly revealed on Salisbury Crags.

And that perception of an ever-changing planet is at the root of the issues we face today of climate change and sustainable development. So we might regard James Hutton as a founding father of sustainable development thought in Scotland. But while James Hutton was content merely to understand these processes, we have to take action now to ensure that the natural world he studied can continue to support modern life as we know it.

This Government was elected in May 1997 on a Manifesto which pledged that we would put concern for environment at the heart of policy-making, so that it is not an add-on extra, but informs the whole of government, from housing and energy policy through to global warming and international agreements.

Over the last year it has become clear to me that to do this means adopting the principles of sustainable development as the underlying basis of policy. It is not enough to take account of environmental issues alone, we need to think about social and community aspects; and we need to maintain a strong economy. That is the kernel of sustainable development. Its delivery requires a change of attitude by many people and it is a role of Government to put in place a climate of opinion which supports that change.

This report brings together views on sustainable development from ten people whose companies or organisations have built sustainable development into their operations. Sustainable development will not be delivered by Government alone; it has to become normal business for us all. These articles show that business in Scotland, at all levels and in a variety of ways, already sees the future of the planet as relevant to its profitability and our prosperity.

For example, Gus Macdonald writes about the public perception of sustainable development and the need for consultation and inclusiveness. In the General Election of 1997 there was a definite consensus amongst all parties that the environment and sustainable development were matters which required action. We took early steps to deliver on our Manifesto commitment. Within days of the Election, the Deputy Prime Minister established a Cabinet Committee, called ENV, to oversee progress on environment policy. It was supported by a strengthened Green Ministers Group, on which I sit, aimed at greening the Government machine. These steps raised the profile of environment issues for many sectors of Government. The advent of the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee, which we supported, has given a new importance to these matters.

Within a year, the results began to show. We secured accreditation to ISO14001, an international environmental management standard, for The Scottish Office’s largest building at Victoria Quay. We started to replace cars and vans in the Government fleet with vehicles powered by alternative fuels: cars which would run on liquid petroleum gas and an experimental electric car, for use within Edinburgh. The Scottish Office joined in the Office Amnesty Day organised by Friends of the Earth Scotland which helped us put over 8 tonnes of materials to managed disposal or re-use. Some parts of The Scottish Office have given up waste paper bins and sort their waste before disposal. The civil servant is going green.

Scotland has a strong economy based on a well-educated work force and world class companies. Its attraction as a place to do business is enhanced by the clean environment and superb landscapes only a short run from our cities. This is not here by accident, people of vision have made the change from the heavy and dirty industries of the nineteenth century to the high technology of today. We have always traded across the world and our reputation has been built on innovation, science and vision. That is why companies with world-wide operations like Hewlett Packard, of which Harry Reid writes, come here. These are the strengths we now need from the business community if we are to achieve sustainable development in Scotland.

We published in August 1997 the first report from the Secretary of State’s Advisory Group on Sustainable Development (AGSD). The Group, chaired by Sir Charles Fraser, has been giving useful advice to Ministers about the steps we should be taking towards sustainable development. Publishing its report was a small but useful step in de-mystifying a subject which seemed distant for many people. Changing the atmosphere from refined theorising on global issues to practical action was one of the underlying themes of the AGSD report; and a recommendation we were happy to take up.

Over the last year I have been urging business and industry leaders to realise that their future success depends on a positive attitude to sustainable development. AGSD started us down this track with a dinner for senior Scottish figures in June 1997 and a number of those who attended that event have contributed to this report. As Ian Robinson says, "the values and vision of a sound business will not differ greatly from those of sustainable development". Sir Iain Vallance and Lord Nickson make this very clear. But Scotland is Clearing fly-tipping with the Dighty Environmental Group4 a country of small and medium size enterprises and we must do something to persuade Scottish companies which play on the world stage to transfer some of their knowledge and experience to their smaller cousins. We are looking to the enterprise networks to do some of that and David Douglas’ work at Tweed Horizons is demonstrating some of what can be done.

We have made some big changes in Scotland since the election which will have profound consequences for sustainable development. We have put tremendous effort into bringing people back into society, giving them a chance to express views and taking action on them. Sustainable development is dogged by doubters who haggle over definitions. An alternative to the three-armed view of social and economic development coupled with concern for the environment is that of wise use of resources. The crises we see ahead are about raw materials, waste products, and pollution and an approach based on wise use of resources will take us a long way towards sustainable development. The Forward Scotland promotion of the benefits to be had from landfill tax, described by John Markland, is an opening to a wider understanding of good resource management.

The most valuable resource is people. People out of work or living in depressed circumstances are prevented from contributing fully to the life of Scotland and we have been determined to take action on this. The New Deal and the effort on social exclusion are intended to return people to the community as valued and valuable members. We have established systems designed to treat each person on the New Deal as an individual. We have brought business closely into the action, with Ian Robinson chairing the Task Force for Scotland. Many companies have signed up to the New Deal, not only because it offers the benefits of an enhanced labour force but also because it is right. The more people feel part of the life of Scotland, the stronger we can feel in facing the challenges of the future.

As well as changing the climate of opinion we have faced the very real prospect of changes in our climate. At first sight, a warmer Scotland sounds attractive but if it brings wetter, stormier, more unstable weather global warming becomes a distinct threat. However, the real problems are not local but global. Rising sea levels, desertification of previously good agricultural land, and new territories for pests, could each bring political instability in their wake. Global warming is a threat to everyone and we must take action now to avert its worst consequences. Britain was amongst world leaders at Kyoto in December when agreement was reached on a global attack on greenhouse gases. There will be much detailed work to do to support our lead. Scotland will have a part to play, where we can probably hit above our weight. For example, a more positive attitude towards public transport will be needed as the car is a major contributor to both pollution and greenhouse emissions. Moir Lockhead, of FirstBus, shows that there are high quality options to the car already under development. Our White Paper on transport to be published in the summer will take integration and sustainable development as foundation principles.

Much of the practical action will fall to local authorities: they are responsible for the delivery of services, like public transport, waste manage-ment, and home energy efficiency which will contribute to meeting our targets for reduction of greenhouse gases. The Rio Summit in 1992 recognised that across the world local councils have clear responsibilities for sustainable development and the Local Agenda 21 programme is for them to deliver. A new vigour was given to LA21 in Scotland in November when virtually every council was represented at senior level at a conference called "Sustaining Change". Several councils have very active programmes for LA21 based around the idea of sustainable communities. In these local people are helped to work out the future shape of their communities based around the ideas of sustainable development, of jobs, decent homes and services, and a healthy environment. The private sector has much to offer here and I was very interested in the work on Islay, described by Alan Rutherford, which I visited in March this year.

Much of this agenda for change was set out in a speech I gave to the ERM Scotland Environment Forum in September 1997. That speech, delivered only a week after the referendum in which the Scottish people gave fulsome support to our devolution proposals, made clear that we would need to take steps to ensure that sustainable development was seized by the Scottish Parliament as central to good governance. In late summer we will publish an action plan which will offer ideas on how sustainable development could be taken forward in the early years of the Parliament.

Environmental and sustainable development questions were high in our priorities when we came to choose the site for the new Scottish Parliament building. We expect the building to be standing a century from now, perhaps two, and this is realistic given that much of the New Town of Edinburgh is over 200 years old already and still serving well. But in the next two centuries, there will be radical changes in the way we live, especially in travel and other communications. Wherever the Parliament building is put would define a network of travel patterns for many years. People have lived on the escarpment that is the High Street of Edinburgh for over 1000 years and it seemed right to follow nature in choosing a site close to such history. By coincidence, the new building will be next to the Dynamic Earth Exhibition, which will celebrate the ideas on the formation of the Earth which James Hutton set down in his Theory.

The Salisbury Crags inspired Hutton to understand the nature of the earth. There has been a change of climate in Scotland, a change towards inclusion, partnership and government close to the people. The Crags cannot fail to inspire the Parliamentarians of Holyrood to work for the future quality of life in Scotland, based on the ideas of sustainable development.