Sustainability
Introduction
Sustainability
South East Excellence encourages the consideration of the sustainable design of a place, including public spaces, infrastructure and buildings, to make it easier for people to live within their ecological footprint. The following pages focus on the environmental aspects of achieving a quality built environment. However, it is important to recognise that there needs to be an integrated approach between all aspects - environmental, economic and social - as they are inherently connected. For more information on the design angle of achieving sustainable communities through the built environment, visit the Urban Design section.
Environmental Sustainability in the Built Environment
The commonly used definition of sustainable development is that which "Meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs" (Brundtland, 1987). There are a number of ways in which people's actions can have negative effects on the environment, including energy used in the home, food consumption and transport. One way of measuring this is using eco-footprints and carbon footprints. In the UK the average carbon footprint is currently at around 10 tonnes per person, and this figure is still rising.
The built environment has a role to play in most of these elements. The use of heating, electricity, petrol, transport and public buildings are all influenced by the way we build and design our environment.
It is therefore vital that improved building design and planning is at the heart of the effort to tackle climate change and environmental resource depletion. With the rapid pace of house building taking place in the south east, it is essential that we create developments which consume a minimum quantity of energy and reduce the need for travelling through building mixed communities with adequate service provision.
This section focuses on how sustainability can be addressed through the way we build. It aims to provide an overview of some of the ways of addressing the key issues, pointing you towards relevant information, and providing examples of sustainable developments in the South East.
In the UK, the sustainability of houses is measured using the Code for Sustainable Homes. The Code measures the sustainability of a new home against categories of sustainable design, rating the ‘whole home’ as a complete package. The Code uses a 1 to 6 star rating system to communicate the overall sustainability performance of a new home. For non-residential buildings, BREEAM is used to assess environmental performance.
Useful Links
Further information on the Code for Sustainable Homes, including the technical guidance can be found here.
Further information on BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) can be found here.