Both Cabinet (July 2001) and the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment (August 2002) declared a commitment to developing a New Zealand Sustainable Development Strategy (NZSDS).

In January 2003, Government changed its focus to a "Programme of Action", which looked specifically at water quality and allocation, energy, sustainable cities, and child and youth development. This approach was based on the Government’s interpretation of priority actions at that time, rather than the result of any community consultation. Although Phase2 supports all activities that promote sustainable development, we consider the 2003 'Programme of Action' to be too narrow and that a more strategic approach is now required.

Phase2 would like to work with Government and the wider community to develop a New Zealand approach to sustainable development. Our objective is to promote and assess the feasibility of producing an overarching blueprint that helps guide and interconnect various social, economic, environmental, and cultural strategies.

Phase2 continues to strive for the development, ratification, and adoption of a Sustainable Development Blueprint for New Zealand. Over the next few years we envisage working with stakeholders, including community groups, academia, business, and all levels of government, and developing discussion papers on a range of topics in order to distill consensus on the key building blocks for this blueprint.