A (UK) European’s perspective on sustainable construction

Miles Keeping

Oxford Centre for

Real Estate Management,

School of Architecture

Oxford Brookes University

Contents/menu

Sustainability Environmental issues

incl. Investors’ intentions Environmental assessments &

sustainability Sustainability assessment criteria Conclusions

Sustainability what is it?

It is commonly argued that sustainable development encompasses three issues:

Environmental issues; Social issues; Economic issues

Others argue meanwhile that sustainable development is not so much a three-cornered stool as something with four aspects:

Environment; Equity; Public participation; Futurity

So what?

Environmental issues

There are many examples in the relevant

literature of confusion as to the difference

between sustainable development and

‘environmental stewardship’.

Whenever one asks questions of investors &

developers about ‘sustainability’, they often

respond with answers about ‘the

environment’.

Environmental issues

In a survey of 100 UK investors, developers, bankers and consultants (Parnell & Sayce, 1999):– 89% were quite or very concerned about

the state of the environment– only 17% felt able to contribute positively to

‘environmentally-friendly’ design on a frequent basis.

Environmental issues

Whereas 35% consider rents currently to be affected

by ‘environmental factors’, 66% thought this would be

the case in 5 years.

Whereas 44% consider yields (an indication of future

rental growth) currently to be affected by

‘environmental factors’, 80% thought this would be

the case in 5 years.

So what are ‘green’ buildings?

• Choice of materials• Choice of systems• Choice of ‘design & layout’• Choice of location• etc…

• Those which are assessed as being ‘environmentally friendly’

Environmental assessments & sustainability Environmental assessments of buildings fail

as ‘sustainability assessments’. “… there is no guarantee that buildings which

score highly against the [BREEAM] framework are making a substantive contribution to increased ‘environmental’ sustainability at a global scale.”

These scales are relative, not absolute.

Sustainability assessment criteria

Note the differences between the different

sustainability assessment criteria in terms of

depth and breadth...

Property Advisory Group (1998)

Establish possible presence of contamination & need for remediation

Consider environmental benefits of buildings shape, orientation & landscaping

Minimise energy consumption, e.g. with lighting & boiler specification

Avoid polluting gases in components Allow space for collection & use of recyclable

materials

Property Advisory Group (1998)

Try to avoid factors associated with ‘sick building syndrome’

Ensure compliance with developer’s environmental policy

Ensure legislative compliance re. materials, waste, noise, water & air pollution

Guy & Kibert (1998)

Land: Amount of brownfield land developed as proportion of site Area of green space per building area Inventory of tree cover Ratio of land area to perimeter distance of municipality

Water: Total impervious surface area per unit area Per capita water consumption Consumption of recycled/reclaimed water per capita

Guy & Kibert (1998)

Materials: Mass of construction & demolition waste recycled per unit

area of new construction No. of historic structures Proportion of commercial buildings with inherent recycling

facilities Energy:

Automobile accidents per selected intersection Proportion of electricity consumption from renewable

resources Toxins:

Smoke-free interior environments as proportion of total area.

Curwell & Cooper (1998)

Review need for the building (might refurbishment meet need more efficiently?)

Audit & justify all resource inputs (e.g. land, energy & water management strategies)

Minimise waste & pollution from building & development process

Reduce dependency on central infrastructure (e.g. water, energy, solid waste, effluent)

Assess & minimise pollution outputs to air, land & water over life cycle (e.g. construction & demolition phases)

Curwell & Cooper (1998)

Cost life cycle & identify building and component lifetimes during the design stage (enable design for reuse and recycling)

Replace habitats destroyed or displaced by development, reintroduce locally relevant species & introduce drought resistant species

Ensure local public participation in decision-making in terms of how the building might impact upon human development aspects of Local Agenda 21

Ball (1998)

Energy efficiency Bicycle/pedestrian access Environmentally sound/green materials Buying locally Retaining heritage features Water conservation Using second hand/recycled materials Local community links

DETR (2000)

Investment in people & equipment for a competitive industry

Achieving high growth while reducing pollution & resource use

Sharing the benefits of growth widely & fairly Improving towns and cities & protecting

countryside’s quality Contributing to international sustainable

development Being more profitable and competitive

DETR (2000)

Delivering buildings and structures that provide greater satisfaction, well-being and value to customers & users

Respecting & treating stakeholders fairly Enhancing and better protecting the natural

environment Minimising energy consumption and natural

resources

How are (should) assessment indicators (be) drawn up?

Degree of community involvement

Linkage (between sustainability issues)

Validity

Availability & timeliness

Stability & reliability

Are they understandable?

How are (should) assessment indicators (be) drawn up? Responsiveness Policy relevance Degree to which they represent relevant

issues Flexibility Degree to which they are proactive Whether they focus on the long term Whether they promote local sustainability at

the expense of others (globally, for example).

Conclusions?

Definitions of sustainability are many, various,

different.

Majority of actors consider environmental

issues to be the main issue.

Environmental appraisals are partially useful

in determining a building's level of

sustainability

Conclusions?

Drawing up sustainability criteria is complex.

Existing criteria (whether environmental, economic,

social…) should be used in conjunction.

Local criteria are useful, even if relative

This is the one of the most urgent issues for

investors to consider…

There is a growing movement to get away from the

so-called Vicious Circle of Blame

Occupiers:Demand sustainable buildingsHave little choice

Investors:Would fund sustainable buildingsExperience no demand

Developers:Would ask for sustainable buildingsBelieve investors won’t fund them

Contractors:Can build environmentally efficient buildingsDo not have demand

Vicious Circle of Blame

 

                                       

 

Show ends…

Research & sustainability

How do we research sustainability without

entering into the realm of guesswork?

There are “inevitable tendencies of the [urban

sustainability] debate to promote a utopian

vision of urban futures, however one might

argue that this is a tendency of any

envisioning and forward looking exercise”.