Four mayors from throughout the country focused on innovative leadership, in particular in the areas of sustainability and children and families, during a general session Saturday morning at NLC’s Congress of Cities in Orlando, Fla.

Charleston, S.C., Mayor Joseph Riley, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker engaged in a discussion on the challenges facing local leaders today.

Mayors and other local officials have been leaders in sustainability and the movement toward a green economy.

“Sustainability is something people really care about and no one was doing anything about,” Hickenlooper said. “So mayors got to work.”

Rybak said, “Sustainability means having a lifestyle we can sustain environmentally, economically and morally.” He talked about how moving to a green economy would create jobs and give the opportunity for people in cities to make things again.

Both Becker and Riley talked about the need to listen to constituents as well as the need to explain why taking sustainability measures is so important to the community and the nation.

The mayors also focused on the needs of children and families, discussing the new Mayor’s Action Challenge for Children and Families.

The new challenge  calls on mayors from across the nation to set at least one bold, measurable, locally defined goal in each of the following areas to ensure that every child has opportunities to learn and grow; a safe neighborhood to call home; a healthy lifestyle and environment; and a financially fit family in which to thrive.

The mayors on the panel Saturday morning stressed the importance of early involvement and intervention with children to avoid problems later on. They also talked about the challenges of dealing with the high school dropout problem.

For more on the Mayor’s Action Challenge for Children and Families, click here.