Despite introducing ground-breaking environmental legislation in 1991 and supporting the theory of sustainable development, New Zealand has not promoted the process at a practical level. As a result, only a few New Zealand city and district councils have tried to adopt a Local Agenda 21 (LA 21) as a ‘blueprint’ for sustainable development. This article summarises the efforts of seven New Zealand district or city councils that have done so. It goes on to review the pros and cons of adopting LA 21 and concludes that while there is now renewed interest in sustainable development and LA 21 nationally, New Zealand must adopt these processes cautiously.